Keir Starmer has become more explicit in recent days about his hopes for a closer relationship with the European Union if he becomes prime minister after the next UK general election. Opinion polls may show Labour well-placed to win that contest, due to take place before the end of next year, but Starmer has been cautious up to now on the issue, mindful of the sensibilities of Leave voters in “red wall” constituencies which the party must regain in order to win a parliamentary majority.
In talks with EU officials in the Hague last week, Starmer called for greater co-operation over migration policy. And in advance of Tuesday’s meeting with Emmanuel Macron, he told the Financial Times that Labour would secure “a much better” Brexit deal than the current Trade and Co-Operation Agreement (TCA) the UK signed in 2020. That will be easier said than done; the TCA will be up for review in 2025 but, as European Commission vice-president Maroš Šefcovic has pointed out, the EU views that process as a procedural matter of refining technicalities rather than a renegotiation of terms. Since Starmer has ruled out rejoining the customs union, the single market or indeed the EU itself, any easing of current restrictions on trade and movement will require painstaking negotiations on a case-by-case basis over complex issues such as veterinary agreements and industry standards. Labour is also keen to ease restrictions on young people and musicians travelling between the UK and EU.
The party’s shadow trade secretary, Nick Thomas-Symons, told the BBC on Sunday that the British “national interest will come first” in any future negotiations, but the reality is that the EU will require closer alignment with its own regulations in areas such as agriculture if agreement is to be reached. That will be attacked by Labour’s critics in parliament and the media as “rule-taking” and an erosion of British sovereignty. The criticism will have some justification, but it is an inescapable consequence of the UK voluntarily putting itself outside the decision-making processes of the EU in 2016 and the subsequent decision by Boris Johnson’s Conservative government to plump for the hardest Brexit possible.
Starmer’s move is not without danger. He got a taste of what is in store when right-wing media accused him of selling out on migration in the Hague last week. He can expect more of the same as the election draws nearer. But he must surely realise that, after decades of moving away from Europe, the time has come for a UK government to change the direction of travel. His country’s true national interest requires him to start the slow and painful process of rebuilding ties and trust between his country and the EU. The unfortunate reality is that process will likely take not years, but decades.