In a significant intervention, the head of the Trades Union Congress (TUC) has called on Prime Minister Keir Starmer to forge a much tighter economic relationship with Europe, with a customs union firmly on the table.
A "Botched Brexit Deal" Demands New EU Approach
Paul Nowak, the TUC's General Secretary, stated in an exclusive interview that the British public widely recognises the failure of the current post-Brexit trading arrangements. He argued that securing a vastly improved deal with the European Union has become more urgent than ever.
"Whether you voted for Brexit or not, people recognise we’ve got a botched Brexit deal," Nowak said. "They can see the impact of that bad Brexit deal on things like prices in supermarkets."
He emphasised that the government should explore all options to build the closest possible ties, explicitly mentioning a customs union as a potential route to stimulate economic growth. This push for closer alignment has been reinforced, he suggested, by the unpredictable nature of the UK's alliance with Donald Trump's United States.
Focus on Living Standards and a Warning to Challengers
Nowak, 53, placed the relentless focus on the cost-of-living crisis at the heart of his advice to the Labour leadership. With new TUC polling indicating four in five households feel financially stagnant or worse off, he said delivering tangible improvements was the key to reversing the party's poor standing in the polls.
While acknowledging that leadership speculation was inevitable given Labour's current polling, he issued a stark warning to any would-be challengers to Keir Starmer. "Frankly, the public will not thank you for parliamentary manoeuvrings and political shenanigans when the big job at hand isn’t being delivered," he cautioned.
He offered only measured support for Starmer, describing him as "the man doing the job at the moment," and noted that union representatives he meets are more focused on workplace issues than Westminster politics.
Immigration Crackdown and Union Concerns
The TUC leader also warned the government against adopting a "Nigel Farage-lite" approach to immigration. While acknowledging public concern over high migration levels, he expressed deep worry about proposed reforms to indefinite leave to remain, particularly plans to make migrants wait ten years to qualify.
"It has real-world consequences for people working in care homes, on our railways and on our buses and in our prisons, that you’re going to end up losing people that we desperately need," Nowak stated.
He further condemned the normalisation of racist language, which he linked to the rise of Reform UK, sharing an anecdote about a black social worker in County Durham who now fears walking the streets due to abuse.
Employment Wins and Future Battles
The union movement ends the year celebrating the passage of the Employment Rights Act after delays in the House of Lords. Nowak hailed the measures making it easier to organise as historic, marking "the first time in my 35 years... that any government’s ever repealed anti-union legislation." He now expects union membership to rise.
However, he stressed that significant parts of Labour's "Make Work Pay" manifesto package remain to be enacted. He called for the ban on zero-hours contracts to have "real bite" and for progress on ending bogus self-employment.
Nowak concluded by urging progressives disillusioned with Labour to engage rather than criticise from the sidelines. "I think we’ve got to make this the best possible Labour government that we can," he said, framing political change as a participatory effort, not a spectator sport.
