UK should seek new customs union with EU, Lib Dems to say

Ed Davey said a customs union would be ‘the single biggest thing we can do to turbocharge our economy in the medium and long term’. Photograph: Ben Birchall/PA

The Liberal Democrats are to call for the government to seek a formal customs union with the EU to boost growth and insulate the UK from the impacts of a Trump presidency, a move that will place new pressure on Keir Starmer over Europe.

The changed Lib Dem stance – the party’s election manifesto argued only for closer links with Europe – will be made by its leader, Ed Davey, in a speech in London on Thursday.