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Sir Keir Starmer has ruled out the UK rejoining the EU single market in his lifetime, a move that sets up a future confrontation with the pro-EU wing of the Labour party.
Asked during a trip to Wales if he could foresee “any circumstances” in which the UK would rejoin the EU single market during his life, the 61-year-old Labour leader — whom polls say is on track to become prime minister after Thursday’s general election — was emphatic.
“No,” he told the Financial Times, “I don’t think that is going to happen. You know, I’ve been really clear about not rejoining the EU, the single market or the customs union or a return to freedom of movement.”
Starmer’s decision not to limit Labour’s manifesto commitments on Brexit to a single parliament but to rule out rejoining for decades puts him at odds with the opinions of a large section of Labour supporters.
Labour voters were “markedly more likely” than average to say they would vote to rejoin the bloc, with as many as 78 per cent saying they would vote to go back into Europe, according to polling by UK In A Changing Europe (UKICE) think-tank published this week.
At the same time, more than half of Labour voters said they believed Britain’s EU membership had “not been settled and should be reopened”, raising questions about whether Starmer would face pressure as prime minister to be more ambitious.
“The Labour party and its electorate are far more pro-EU than Starmer seems to be, and that could create a substantial political headache for him after the election,” said UKICE director Anand Menon.
Pro-EU campaigners have lobbied hard for Starmer not to rule out the possibility of deeper engagement with Brussels, leaving the door open to a rapprochement if Starmer were to win a second five-year term in 2029.
Starmer is pushing for a closer relationship with the EU on several fronts including trade, security and research and development, he said on Wednesday.
However, the party leadership has repeatedly emphasised its “red lines” on single market membership, including accepting the free movement of people, one of the main reasons why the UK voted to leave the EU in 2016.
The leadership even ruled out negotiating a youth mobility agreement with the EU to enable young people to work and travel more easily, saying such a package was too close to free movement.
However, Mike Galsworthy, chair of the European Movement, a pro-rejoin pressure group, said popular support for re-engaging with the EU ran deep, driven by sympathy with European values and the need to reduce the economic damage of Brexit.
“Sooner rather than later, the UK government will have to engage with big decisions on Europe that they may now fear. But being ready to offer that choice is far better than getting caught short by their own wishful thinking,” he added.