The head of the TUC has urged Keir Starmer to pursue a much closer relationship with Europe, potentially including a customs union. Paul Nowak, the TUC’s general secretary, stated that the public recognizes the need for a significantly better trading arrangement. He argued this is more urgent than ever due to the unpredictable nature of relations with Donald Trump’s United States.
In an interview with the Guardian, Nowak said Starmer must relentlessly focus on the cost of living to improve Labour’s poll numbers, adding it was no surprise there was leadership speculation given the party’s poor performance. However, he warned potential challengers that the public would “not be thankful” for any distraction from the government’s core economic focus.
He also cautioned Starmer and Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood against being “Nigel Farage-lite” on migration, expressing union concerns over reforms to indefinite leave to remain.
Nowak’s new year’s message called on the government to do everything possible to help ordinary families, citing new polling that shows four in five households feel their finances are stagnant or worsening. He suggested exploring a customs union with the EU as a way to grow the economy.
“The government needs to do whatever it can to build the closest possible positive working relationship with Europe economically and politically… up to and including the customs union,” he said. “I think that’s been reinforced by the events of the past 12 months where Trump and the White House have proven the US is not the predictable ally we’ve always depended on.”
Nowak, 53, believes there are not significant numbers of voters still opposed to closer European ties, but stressed the issue goes beyond electoral politics. “Whether you voted for Brexit or not, people recognise we’ve got a botched Brexit deal,” he said. “They can see the impact of that bad Brexit deal on things like prices in supermarkets.”
Nowak, who became TUC leader in 2022, has historically been a strong Starmer supporter, despite criticizing the government’s winter fuel cuts and welfare reforms, most of which have since been reversed. His current backing for the Prime Minister is cautious, with Starmer’s position likely facing more pressure after next May’s critical elections.
“He is the man doing the job at the moment,” Nowak said. “When I go around and talk to groups of union reps in workplaces… they are not obsessed about who is the prime minister or who is up or who is down.”
Unions have recently elected leaders skeptical of the current Labour government, despite low voter turnouts. Two of the largest unions, Unite and Unison, are now led by Starmer critics: Sharon Graham and the newly elected Andrea Egan, who was expelled from the Labour Party in 2022.
Nowak declined to comment on what this means for union relations with the government. However, he stated that unions must feel able to criticize a Labour administration. “There’s always going to be points of tension and we can’t agree on everything,” he said. “I think people got frustrated that sometimes it looked like the hard choices were falling on those who could least afford them. This year they just have to be clear… show how you are making a difference to people’s standard of living.”
He welcomed Labour’s pre-budget U-turn on plans for an income tax rise. “It’s not just the sharp end of the labour market who are feeling the pinch, it’s right across those low- and middle-income earners.”
On leadership speculation, Nowak said he was unsurprised. A likely challenger would be Angela Rayner, who has close union ties, particularly with Unison, and who steered the employment rights bill before being sidelined.He was forced to resign earlier this year.
“When the prime minister is personally doing badly in the polls, you can’t avoid that kind of leadership speculation,” Nowak said.
“I just don’t think it’s useful for me to play fantasy politics. We’re dealing with the reality we have right now.”
He said Starmer has an opportunity this year to deliver tangible improvements in how people feel about the cost of living, and if he does, it will “look fundamentally different in the polls.”
But he warned leadership hopefuls not to get distracted by politics. “Frankly, the public won’t thank you for parliamentary maneuvering and political shenanigans when the big job at hand isn’t being done.”
Nowak said he remains extremely concerned about the rise of Reform UK—even though he acknowledges many trade union members likely support Nigel Farage’s party. But he warned that the normalization of racist language is having a devastating impact on some minorities.
“I was in County Durham a couple of months ago and met a black social worker who’s been in the country for 20 years. She talked about being afraid to walk the streets because she’s being racially abused,” he said.
“What we’ve done is legitimize language that, frankly, five or ten years ago we would have found unacceptable. If it walks like a racist and quacks like a racist, it probably is racist.”
Nowak acknowledged widespread concern about high levels of immigration and said unions would support fair-minded reforms. But he cautioned that such changes would have a major effect on public services, and he is deeply worried about the proposal to make people wait 10 years for indefinite leave to remain.
“It has real-world consequences for people working in care homes, on our railways, on our buses, and in our prisons. We’re going to lose people we desperately need,” he said.
“Both my grandfathers came to this country during the Second World War, and the idea that if you come to the UK, someone could decide within two and a half years that you need to go back? It’s really difficult… We’ve made this point to the government.”
The TUC and most trade unions are ending the year on a high note after the Employment Rights Act finally passed following months of delay in the Lords. But Nowak said significant steps remain to fully enact Labour’s promised Make Work Pay package from the manifesto.
He stressed it’s crucial that the end to zero-hours contracts is implemented “with real bite,” so the onus is on employers to offer fixed hours. He also urged the government to move ahead with its consultation on defining a single status of worker to end bogus self-employment.
“Bad employers can be incredibly innovative when it comes to insecure forms of employment,” he said.
But Nowak said he is most encouraged by the new measures making it easier for unions to organize in workplaces.
“It’s the first time in my 35 years as a trade union activist and official that any government has ever repealed anti-union legislation,” he said.
For the first time, he expects union membership to rise in the coming years.
“I think this moves us away from being a minority sport to the mainstream of British workplaces,” he added.
Nowak said he also wants the government to be louder about its left-wing credentials—from the employment rights bill to nationalization and ending the two-child benefit cap.
But he also urged progressives who are disillusioned with Labour to engage more and show what pressure can achieve.
“I think we’ve got to make this the best possible Labour government we can,” he said.
“In my job, or for anyone really interested in progressive politics, you can’t treat politics as a spectator sport. It’s not our job to carp from the sidelines—it’s to engage the government and lobby.”I’m sorry, but I need more context to provide a helpful rewrite. The text you’ve given is just the word “them.” Could you please provide the full sentence or paragraph you’d like me to revise?
Frequently Asked Questions
Of course Here is a list of FAQs about a trade union leader urging the Labour Party to strengthen ties with Europe designed to cover a range of perspectives
Beginner Definition Questions
1 What does strengthen ties with Europe actually mean
It means building a closer political and economic relationship with the European Union than the UK currently has postBrexit This could involve new agreements on trade regulations or cooperation in areas like security and research
2 Who is this trade union leader and why does their opinion matter
While the specific leader can vary trade union leaders represent millions of workers Their opinion matters because unions are a core part of the Labour Partys traditional support base and their views on issues like jobs and the economy carry significant weight within the party
3 Why would a trade union care about relations with Europe
Unions care primarily about jobs workers rights and wages Many unions believe that a closer relationship with the EU would make trade easier for UK industries protect jobs that rely on European supply chains and help maintain high standards for worker protections that were originally influenced by EU law
Benefits Reasons
4 What are the main benefits a union leader would see in closer EU ties
Job Security Easier trade can protect manufacturing and service sector jobs linked to Europe
Workers Rights Aligning with EU standards can prevent a race to the bottom on rights like paid leave fair working hours and protections for agency workers
Economic Stability Predictable trade rules can encourage business investment leading to more stable employment
5 Isnt Brexit settled Why is this being brought up again
While the UK has left the EU the exact nature of the longterm relationship is still evolving Many unions and businesses are experiencing the realworld impacts of current trade barriers and are pushing for a better deal to improve economic conditions
Common Problems Objections
6 What are the arguments against following this advice
Brexit Divisions It could reopen the bitter Brexit debate and alienate some voters who want to move on
