By JASON GROVES, POLITICAL EDITOR

Published: 01:29 GMT, 12 January 2026 | Updated: 02:01 GMT, 12 January 2026

Nigel Farage on Sunday warned he will not pay compensation to the EU for tearing up Labour's Brexit reset.

Keir Starmer is set to agree a 'Farage clause' with Brussels in a bid to stop his deal being axed by Reform.

Brussels is demanding the UK guarantees compensation in case Mr Farage wins the next election and follows through on his pledge to scrap Labour's attempts to reverse Brexit.

Mr Farage said: 'No Parliament may bind its successor, we will not honour any clause.

'If Starmer signs this, it is a democratic outrage.'

Sir Keir has made watering down Brexit a central part of his strategy to cling on as Labour leader.

Ministers have already signed up to follow EU rules in areas such as food and farming in return for easier access to the single market.

Legislation due in the coming weeks will introduce so-called 'dynamic alignment', meaning that UK laws will automatically be updated in line with new EU regulations.

Nigel Farage (pictured) said: 'No Parliament may bind its successor, we will not honour any clause'

The process will apply initially to food, farming and the electricity market but is expected to extend to other areas.

The PM indicated last week that he wants a much closer deal with Brussels, despite Labour's manifesto pledge to respect the referendum result.

'If it's in our national interest to have even closer alignment with the single market, then we should consider that,' he said.

But officials in Brussels fear that any deal could be torn up by an incoming Reform government and are demanding an insurance policy that could cost the UK billions of pounds.

An EU diplomat told the Financial Times that Brussels wanted a 'safety provision to provide stability and a deterrent for Farage and co'.

'The EU wants an agreement long-term and not only until 2029, should a change happen at the next election,' the source said.

The termination clause would commit the UK to paying 'significant financial compensation' if Sir Keir's deal is torn up in future.

A draft text of the deal states that compensation would be needed to cover 'the infrastructure and equipment, initial recruitment and training, in order to set up the necessary border controls' required to put the deal in place.

Keir Starmer (pictured) indicated last week that he wants a much closer deal with Brussels, despite Labour's manifesto pledge to respect the referendum result

Tory frontbencher Saqib Bhatti said the attempt to tie the hands of a future government 'speaks volumes about the lack of respect that the EU and Starmer have for our parliamentary democracy... it reeks of arrogance and desperation'.

The Conservatives have also pledged to scrap Sir Keir's plans.

Former Brexit minister Lord Frost said the Prime Minister's plans would 'deprive us of the ability to set our own rules for our own interests, in our own country'.

'It's going to make us subject to what Brussels decides to do... and we will get no say,' he added.

Former home secretary Suella Braverman said: 'The London and Brussels establishment despise the will of the British people and will do anything to crush it.'