Why a fresh embrace of Europe would be one of the PM’s more sensible ideas - Jayne Dowle

In June it will be a full decade since the EU referendum. So much has happened since; domestic political turmoil, a global pandemic, Russia invading Ukraine and Donald Trump returning to power in the US, unleashing an alarming array of protectionist and expansionist measures.

We are not the same people, and our politics have changed. A full generation of adults, too young to vote in the 2016 referendum - which swung with a tight margin of 51.9 per cent in favour of Leave, against 48.1 for Remain - is now old enough to express a preference.

In a recent Deltapoll survey for a national newspaper, most people said they would want to see the UK rejoin the EU if another Brexit referendum was held. Nearly six in 10 (58 per cent) who would vote in a second referendum said they would return to the EU.

Support for a return was strongest amongst 18 to 24-year-olds, with more than eight in 10 (86 per cent) in favour.

Even the most ardent Brexiteer could not sustain much argument that leaving Europe has wholeheartedly improved life in the UK.

Farmers have suffered immeasurably, deprived areas of the country no longer benefit from EU regeneration funding, British travellers face onerous checks at passport control, the NHS hasn’t magically benefitted from all those missing millions we sent to Brussels, and clearly leaving Europe has done absolutely nothing at all to prevent illegal immigration. Indeed, if anything, the UK’s isolation from continental Europe has made this worse.

We simply can’t carry on going it alone. Under Trump, Europe is becoming further adrift from its historic understanding with the United States. This ‘special relationship’ is under increasing stress. Meanwhile, China ramps up the economic threat and a pugilistic Russia refuses to budge on Ukraine. Against this background, any sensible British government would not continue to pursue a policy of splendid isolation.

Surely, a reassessment of our own situation regarding Europe is a practical sign of progress. After all we now know, does anyone really believe that Boris Johnson really had our interests at heart when he negotiated the tortuous Brexit deal? It is time for the hoary old rhetoric to be challenged.

Starmer has said that the UK should align more closely with the EU if it is in the national interest.

The key point is that any moves should be clearly in the national interest and not in the interests of the Prime Minister himself, understood to be under pro-European pressure from some quarters of his parliamentary party.

Should any leadership challenge arise this year, ‘Europe’ will be on the agenda. Current Health Secretary Wes Streeting, who perhaps protests too much that he has no sights on a leadership challenge, has signalled that the UK rejoining a customs union with the EU would bring “enormous economic benefits”.

Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy has also said that it could be beneficial for the UK to consider re-entering a customs union with the EU. Meanwhile, Andy Burnham, still Manchester mayor, but hovering in the wings, said back in September that he wanted to see the UK rejoin the EU in his lifetime.

Signalling early that more alignment would not be off the table is believed by cynics to be Starmer’s way of protecting himself.

This, whilst important to bear in mind, may end up becoming irrelevant. What is relevant is that given the state of the world, the UK is increasingly isolated and therefore vulnerable.

Whilst there are risks in throwing ourselves in with other European countries, particularly as President Trump is setting his sights on Greenland, part of the kingdom of Denmark, surely there is (more) safety in numbers?

By the end of the year, we could be looking at a brand-new world order, and that is no exaggeration. If Trump does invade Greenland, NATO, the long-standing defensive alliance of 32 European and North American countries, could shatter. We can’t afford to be left out in the cold should the global plate tectonics undergo a seismic shift.

These are early days, with much remaining in turmoil. However, in place of panic, diehard Brexiteers might consider a pragmatic re-assessment of return.