Brussels could humiliate Sir Keir Starmer if he is elected PM by snubbing his request for a closer relationship in what's being dubbed as a Brexit reversal. The Labor leader's hopes to “deepen ties” with Brussels look set to be ignored, according to a new analysis.
A report from the UK in a Changing Europe (UKICE) reveals that the EU wants to “reduce its reliance on foreign partners” and focus on “strategic autonomy”. It adds: “The EU is evolving in a direction which is likely to make deeper cooperation with the UK harder.”
Anand Menon, director of UKICE, said the EU has simply moved on from the UK and it's too late to rewrite the Brexit deal, despite Remainer hopes.
UKICE said that Brussels will become a “more challenging partner for the UK to work with” in the coming years. The analysis claims that the UK would have to offer up some Brexit freedoms, such as a mobility agreement, to win any deal.
This could embarrass Labor after Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves pledged to “deepen ties” with the EU if elected.
She wants to revisit closer ties in sectors such as chemicals and for City of London workers.
The Institute for Government's Jill Rutter echoed this UKICE report, suggesting that “huge efforts to make life much easier for UK businesses in Europe look unlikely to be high on anyone's agenda” in Brussels.
Ms Rutter said that many in Brussels “have much bigger problems to deal with”.
Meanwhile, Labour's pledge to forge closer ties with the EU sparked a backlash among senior Tories.
Former Trade Secretary Liam Fox said that Brexit could be at risk if the Tories are ousted from power.
He said: “Starmer and Reeves make no secret of wanting to bring the UK under EU rules over which we would have no say.”
Mr Fox said that Ms Reeves' comments go further than any previously aired from a senior Labor figure.
Lord Frost, who negotiated the UK's Brexit deal, echoed this, telling The Sun: “You can't trust Labor on Brexit.
“I'm happy to deepen ties with any friendly country, whether in the EU or not. I don't want to be governed by them and I don't want their laws and courts to have force in this country without us having a say. That's what Labor wants.”
However, Ms Reeves and Labor pledge that attempts to “reset” its EU relationship would not compromise Brexit.
In its manifesto, Labor promised to “tear down unnecessary barriers to trade,” while ruling out a return to the single market or customs union.