Labor leader Keir Starmer has ruled out any radical overhaul of UK-EU relations but has made clear his distaste for Boris Johnson’s post-Brexit deals.
Labor and its current leader, Keir Starmercould lead the United Kingdom after 14 years in opposition, if the polls are confirmed.
The match of center-left of the opposition is far ahead of the ruling Conservatives in polls for next week’s UK general election, with a 36% support compared to 20% of the Tories, according to the latest YouGov poll.
For many in Brussels, the rise in popularity of labor has raised a number of questions, including whether the party might reconsider its 2016 decision to leave the EU, confirmed in the referendum.
Starmer, a risk-averse former lawyerhas ruled out any radical transformation of the relationship between the United Kingdom and the EU, that is, the return of the United Kingdom to the fold, but has advocated for strengthen ties in trade and security.
There is no turning back from Brexit
Following the UK’s official departure from the bloc in 2020, those who believed that a Labor Party government could start undoing Brexit.
Despite having campaigned in favor of remaining in the EU, Starmer has publicly hardened his approach and has ruled out a return to the single marketor to the customs uniontherefore rejecting any promise of fully restore freedom of movement between the United Kingdom and Europe to pre-Brexit levels.
He has also ignored calls made within his own party by the mayor of London, Sadiq Khanto create a new visa agreement allowing young workers to move between the UK and EU for four years and rejoin the student exchange program Erasmus.
Joël Relanddel think tank The United Kingdom in a changing Europesaid to Euronews that this could be a product of electoral caution, as the party tries to maintain its majority in the polls and avoid the attack of the Tories.
However, Starmer has been critical of London’s policies towards the EU, stating that the post-Brexit deal under the mandate of Boris Johnson It was a “sloppy” and that the UK could do better.
His shadow chancellor of the exchequer, Rachel Reevesrecently explained that the UK would seek a less “contentious” approach in negotiations with the EU, focusing on trade agreements in specific sectors.
The Labor election manifesto points to the relaxation of border controls to cut down on food costs, support for artists’ tours and mutual recognition of professional qualifications. Other proposed changes include a new veterinary agreement with the EU, in the hope of improving trade.
Browse Brussels
The problem for Starmer will be trying to get the United Kingdom – and its economy– return to the European Union in a way that Brussels accepts, without antagonizing the sections of the British population who voted to leave.
“Labour is going to have to come up with a really clear proposal, or else there won’t be much incentive for the EU to come to the negotiating table because, frankly, they have a long list of more important priorities,” Reland told Euronews.
Officials in Brussels may show reluctant for the UK to re-engage with the EU, that is, to accept agreements that would economically benefit the United Kingdom but which would not normally be granted to a third country that is officially outside the Union.
“The second challenge is around political trade-offs, because any deal will involve a high degree of alignment with EU rules, and that carries fairly clear political risks for a Labor government,” Roeland added.
For example, one of Brussels’ requirements is that the United Kingdom have oversight of the Court of Justice of the European Communities -the supreme court of the European Union for community legislation- to be able to sign a new veterinary agreementwhich could anger potential eurosceptic voters.
Furthermore, what Labor is willing to concede in future negotiations with Brussels could depend on the size of its majority if it comes to power, and the party could feel limited in what it can negotiate based on the mandate it has from British citizens.
What will happen to Ukraine?
Meanwhile, the Labor Party has clearly stated that he is so committed to NATO and the defense of Ukraine like his conservative rivals.
ADVERTISINGThe former NATO analyst Patrick Burydefense and security expert, declared to Euronews that Labour’s approach to the military alliance will probably be “continuity over change“.
Labor has promised to uphold the Conservative government’s commitment to spending the 2.5% of its GDP in defense. However, having inherited an economy struggling with high inflation, a Labor Party government would find itself fiscally constrained in terms of how much it can spend on defense beyond this figure.
As well as pledging to maintain Britain’s commitment to NATO, Labor has promoted a new “security pact” with Europe, although the precise details about what this may entail are quite vague and imprecise.
This vagueness could be a deliberate means of the Labor Party to try to negotiate defined security issues that would not otherwise be open to someone outside the EU architecture.
In its electoral program, Labor highlights Germany and France as two countries with which they would probably try rebuild security and defense relations.
ADVERTISING“If you look at their rhetoric, there’s a lot of focus on meetings, presence and public engagement. That’s what the security pact is really about. It’s a way of saying, look, we want to talk to each other a lot, because that doesn’t really happen.” currently in the relationship. I think they will largely focus on inject that energy and goodwill to relationships,” concluded Reland.
