UK Politics
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It's close to the perfect time. But coming back will not be easy.
I don't think the UK is going to rejoin the EU soon, and yes it would probably take compromises - the EU might insist on the UK adopting the Euro and joining the Schengen Area. Who knows.
I guess more likely would be the UK negotiating some form of EU single market access in the next few years, like the EFTA countries have (Norway, Switzerland, Iceland, Liechtenstein). Starmer has even suggested this, as quoted in the article:
I don't disagree. As little as that may seem or be, comercial agreements already carry a lot with them. The demand for standards alone implies a good deal of common ground.
Single market access in some areas could be a big deal, but the EU might insist on freedom of movement for single market access, and like the article says, Labour committed to no freedom of movement with the EU in their manifesto. I wouldn't mind so much if they broke that manifesto commitment, but I assume Starmer will want to stick to that commitment.
EU better have them make some serious concessions. Can’t reward stupidity or it’ll keep happening.
Thats the plan. Last i saw there were calls for a clause that would fine them an enormous sum if they left again in the first few years. They called it the "farage clause"
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jan/11/draft-farage-clause-eu-if-reform-uk-wins-election
Yeah. Happy to have them back but no more special treatment please and some provisions against flip flopping.
They had iirc the sweetest deal out of all the member countries, with rebates and exceptions to half the rules and obligations. But they still went out against all common sense, that should not be rewarded.
They’re not getting the concessions Thatcher handbagged out of Delors. They join the EU on equal terms with other members. If they would prefer to stand proudly alone with their delusions of imperial grandeur and get pushed around by everyone else and eventually turned into a hollowed-out kleptostate run from Beijing, Riyadh, Mar-a-Lago and a dozen tax havens, then they can’t be helped. (Though if Scotland and Wales make a break for it, they should be welcomed into the EU on the standard terms.)