The prime minister is backing the deal as it would allow British firms to access the contracts funded by the loan
On Sky News Mel Stride, the shadow chancellor, has just said that in principle his party welcomes the announcement from Keir Starmer about joining the EU’s €90bn loan for Ukraine. (See 8.40am.) But he would want to see the details, Stride said.
However, his colleague Priti Patel, the shadow foreign secretary, was a lot less happy about the Times report suggesting the UK could end up paying the EU up to £1bn a year for better access to the single market.
European negotiators have made it clear that paying the cash, expected to amount to about £1bn a year, is a condition of further access to the EU’s single market.
They want Starmer to make the concession in principle at a summit between the prime minister and European leaders this summer before detailed negotiations on more integration.
Starmer is unpicking Brexit and planning another undemocratic hit job on British taxpayers by signing us up to a £1bn annual payment to the EU.
Once again, this weak prime minister goes to the negotiating table, comes home empty-handed, having fleeced hard pressed taxpayers with his terrible judgment.
The move to support the financial boost for Kyiv [see 8.40am] is expected to be followed by another tranche of stinging sanctions by the UK on Russian companies to disrupt military supply chains later this week, further degrading Russia’s military capability.
In recent weeks and months, Ukraine has successfully outmanoeuvred Russian forces and continued to regain territory, including 200sq km around Kherson, while imposing strategic cost on Russia. Losses on the battlefield now exceed Russia’s ability to mobilise replacements.
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Source link : https://www.theguardian.com/politics/live/2026/may/04/local-election-uk-keir-starmer-ukraine-eu-loan-deal-latest-news-updates
Author : Andrew Sparrow
Publish date : 2026-05-04 08:34:00
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