Sir Keir Starmer faces rebellion by scores of MPs as he and leadership rivals signal closer EU ties
The row erupted after Health Secretary Wes Streeting called for a 'deeper trading relationship with the EU'.
By GLEN OWEN AND BRENDAN CARLIN
Published: 22:30 GMT, 3 January 2026 | Updated: 02:11 GMT, 4 January 2026
Sir Keir Starmer has been warned that he faces a 'civil war' inside Labour if he tries to reverse Brexit in an attempt to shore up his embattled leadership.
The row erupted after Health Secretary Wes Streeting called for a 'deeper trading relationship with the EU' – a move which was interpreted as both a call to rejoin the Customs Union and an attempt to gain the support of Europhile Labour MPs ahead of a leadership bid against the Prime Minister.
Mr Streeting's potential main rival in any contest, Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham, has also been agitating against Brexit, saying that he hopes that the UK will rejoin the EU in his lifetime.
Tory leader Kemi Badenoch has told Labour not to try to boost its flagging poll ratings by 're-opening old Brexit wounds'.
Now Labour MP Dan Carden has warned Sir Keir – and those seeking to succeed him – not to rejoin a Customs Union, saying: 'We hear suggestions that this is being seriously contemplated by some at the very top of the Government.
'Moreover, we hear that it appears to be the aim of people who now have designs on the PM's job.
'Andy Burnham has declared how he wants to see us back in the EU in his lifetime, while Wes Streeting wants us to have a deeper trading relationship with Europe.'
Mr Carden's reference to the mayor comes after Westminster sources revealed his Liverpool Walton seat was on the list of constituencies which Mr Burnham had targeted in the hope that the sitting MP would stand aside to allow him to fight a by-election, return to the Commons and then challenge the Prime Minister.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer (left) speaks to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen (rigtht) during the UK-EU Summit at Lancaster House in London on May 19, 2025
Health Secretary Wes Streeting (pictured) called for a 'deeper trading relationship with the EU'
Mr Carden added: 'The European Union (EU) is... a low-growth bloc with a declining share of global GDP. Joining a Customs Union would mean scrapping our post-Brexit trade deals with places that are the 21st Century growth centres, such as the US and India.
'Shifting closer to Brussels would mean giving up our hard-won national freedoms.
'I urge Sir Keir not to seek to tie the UK into a new Customs Union or any other such arrangement which may carry a disguised name but amount to the same thing.'