Trevor Phillips Torches New Brexit Rows In Labour

Trevor Phillips has ripped apart the return of the Brexit rows by describing it as “performance art”.

The Sky News presenter opened his Sunday morning show by laying bare the rivalries on both sides of the political spectrum right now as parties fight over the Makerfield by-election.

The seismic contest could end up choosing the next prime minister.

If Labour candidate and Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham wins, he is expected to oust Keir Starmer.

If he loses to Reform’s Robert Kenyon, there are wider fears of an all-out civil war in Labour.

The right-wing party’s chances of winning the next general election will be bolstered, too.

But as Phillips pointed out: “The sharpest political tensions aren’t between left and right, but within each wing of politics.

“On the left, a split is emerging between those who want the UK in effect back in the EU, and those who want to keep the red lines of no customs union, no common market, and no freedom of movement.

“Most of this is performance art since right now nobody in the EU wants us back.

“In pretty much every European language, the word United Kingdom translate into a phrase meaning, ‘massive pain in the backside’,” he said. “And even if they did offer a deal it would cost us billions we don’t have.”

Burnham’s leadership rival ex-health secretary Wes Streeting revived conversations about whether Britain should set up a new “special relationship” with the EU.

This was seen as a blow to Burnham, who is also in favour of closer ties with the trade bloc, because Makerfield voted Leave in the 2016 EU referendum.

Phillips continued: “On the right, we have what you might call the deportation game. Reform and Restore, a splint group to its right, are competing for the number of people it can throw out the country.

“Given [home secretary] Shabana Mahmood is now overseeing the largest drop in migration numbers for a decade or more, there’s a slight feeling of two bald men wrestling over a comb.”

Reform wants to remove approximately 400,000 asylum seekers but Restore – led by former Reform MP Rupert Lowe – has proposed removing up to two million illegal migrants.

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