Starmer must tackle economic ‘disaster’ of Brexit, warn Labour grandees

Lord Hain says Labour, as the prospective party of government, has a duty to deal with the fallout from Brexit. Photograph: Tom Jenkins/The Guardian

Keir Starmer must urgently develop a series of practical policies to address the economic “disaster” of Brexit and prevent it from driving Scotland towards independence, a former Labour Europe minister has warned.

Backed by several other Labour peers, Peter Hain, who is also a former Northern Ireland secretary, says the crises caused by climate change, the Ukraine war, the lack of economic growth and rising energy prices can only be tackled through closer cooperation with our EU neighbours than the current Brexit arrangements allow.