The prime minister’s comments about seeking closer relations with the EU are to be welcomed as a step in the right direction (Starmer calls for ‘ambitious’ new UK-EU ties as Trump threatens to quit Nato, 1 April). Yet a piecemeal approach to repairing the damage done by Brexit is unlikely to succeed.
A genuinely “ambitious” plan would be for Labour to announce a referendum on whether the UK should open negotiations on re-entry to the EU, promising a general election to secure a mandate to implement the proposal should the British public vote in favour. It would allow the government to seize the initiative, providing it with an issue around which to rally a broad base of electoral support.
This would also expose the increasing reluctance of Reform UK and the Conservatives to defend Brexit and silence accusations of the betrayal of British voters.
But above all, it would provide a practical route for restoring Britain to its rightful place within the EU, at a time when shifts in the global order make that task more urgent than ever.
Prof Philip Murphy
Director, History & Policy
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