May must stand firm. Or the uk will become jeremy corbyn’s people’s republic | thearticle

As the Brexit crisis enters a new phase, there has been a renewed focus on the Labour Party and its stance — in particular, on Jeremy Corbyn’s call for Britain to remain in the customs union

even after we have left the EU. This wasn’t the party’s position all along, but it is the basis for the somewhat withered olive branch that Corbyn offered Theresa May in their meeting this

week. Admittedly, that brief encounter sounds as though it was as chilly as the wintry weather that has now descended on the country. There was no meeting of minds. How could there be

between a vicar’s daughter who believes in One Nation Conservatism and a man whose credo is Stalin’s “socialism in one country”? Yet the idea of a customs union has an attraction for Corbyn,

who is fundamentally averse to anything that smacks of free markets or free trade. The customs union is the aspect of the EU that appeals to him, because it is inspired by protectionism.

The reason why those Tories who believe passionately in free trade are so worried about the Irish backstop — which in the EU is seen as integral to the Withdrawal Agreement, but which Mrs

May is now trying to unpick — is that it traps the whole UK in the customs union. That is also what Corbyn likes about the deal, and why he is relaxed about Labour MPs voting for it. To

understand this subplot of the Brexit saga, a little intellectual history is in order. One of the most influential of all political economists was David Ricardo (1772-1823), the great

successor of Adam Smith. He is best remembered for his theory of comparative advantage, which established once and for all that free trade is mutually beneficial for both trading partners.

Ricardo’s ideas led eventually to the abolition of the Corn Laws in 1847, which ushered in the first era of globalisation. Britain led the world in creating unprecedented prosperity, all

based on the triumph of free trade over protectionism. In continental Europe, by contrast, Ricardo’s theory was never embraced with the same enthusiasm. The German-American economist

Friedrich List (1789-1846) disagreed with the free market approach of Smith and Ricardo, arguing instead for a “national system” protected by a customs union. He was an admirer of Napoleon’s

“Continental System”, the wartime blockade of Britain, because this had in his view enabled the German economy to flourish. List’s ideas were the basis for the German _Zollverein, _the

original customs union, which emerged in the period after the Napoleonic wars and led eventually to the unification of Germany in 1871. This German idea of a customs union was highly

influential in the creation of the European Economic Community in 1957, and it remains a pillar of the EU today. Corbyn is really a disciple, not of List, but of another 19th-century German

economist: Karl Marx. Unlike List, Marx was not afraid of “capitalism”, as he termed the free market, because he was convinced that it would collapse and be replaced by a communist utopia.

But protectionism was embraced by the Soviet Union and the only remaining communist superpower, China, is still highly protective of its internal markets. If Donald Trump, also an unashamed

protectionist, pursues his trade war with China, we can expect to see an Asian customs union emerge, led by Beijing, as a barrier against capitalist America. So it is no surprise that the

Leader of the Opposition is keen on Britain remaining inside the EU’s customs union, but much less keen on the Single Market. The latter was a creation of Margaret Thatcher, and has been

quite successful, though it has also been used by Brussels to impose too much bureaucracy and centralisation. It also requires the free movement of labour, which has had a disproportionate

impact on Britain. Corbyn rejects most aspects of the Single Market, because it would rule out his project of renationalising public services and perhaps also the “commanding heights” of the

British economy. Membership of the customs union, by contrast, would enable Corbyn to create his socialist paradise — even if it ended up like Venezuela. The ultimate aim of any customs

union is political union, and the EU is no exception. This is the point that Corbyn chooses to ignore, but which alarms most Conservatives. If the UK ends up still inside a customs union

after Brexit, not only will it be unable to negotiate free trade deals with the rest of the world, but it will still be drawn along the path to a federal Europe. Mrs May should bear that in

mind before coming to any arrangement with Corbyn to facilitate the passage of a revised Withdrawal Agreement through the Commons. It would be better to remain in the Single Market, on the

Norway model, or even to remain a full member of the EU, than to be left in the customs union alone. A Brexit that left Britain inside the customs union would be a Brexit in name only. And

the British people would be unforgiving of a Tory party that paved the way for Jeremy Corbyn’s People’s Republic.