The UK should reverse Brexit given the global threats facing the nation, according to a new report from the IPPR think tank, which argues that the country should make EU membership its medium-term goal.
The report, published on Monday, comes as Prime Minister Andy Burnham prepares to set out the country's options for its ties with the European Union at the UK-EU summit in Brussels on November 20, with rejoining the bloc likely to be one of the options.
Global politics have changed
Harry Quilter-Pinner, IPPR's executive director, said: "The world Britain built its post-Brexit strategy for no longer exists."
"We are entering an age in which economic strength, security and political influence increasingly depend on scale, and Britain cannot manufacture that scale on its own," he added.
The report argued that Britain lacks the "scale" to deal with "Russian aggression, American unreliability and Chinese coercion" on its own, restricting the UK's sovereignty and its ability to act.
Political support for rejoining
London Mayor Lord Sadiq Khan has led calls for Britain to rejoin the EU, with MPs in the capital backing the move after the economic and political damage inflicted on Britain by Brexit.
The Government has so far been reluctant to choose between the US and Europe, insisting it can maintain strong partnerships with both, but the IPPR report argued that such "hedging" was "a strategy for survival rather than success".
The think tank conceded that the Government would need time to build a case for membership, suggesting working with the EU on defence, manufacturing and democratic resilience as steps towards full membership.
Path to membership
Part of moving towards membership could include seeking inclusion in the EU's "Made in Europe" scheme, which prioritises European firms for public contracts and subsidies.
So far, discussion has focused on including the UK's car industry in the scheme, which the Government has said would be welcome, but is also likely to require alignment with EU tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, potentially putting net zero targets at risk.
The IPPR said a "more comprehensive, and less transactional, approach" was needed.
Public opinion and next steps
With the Brexit referendum now a decade in the past, the report argued there was now a public appetite for EU membership. Polling carried out for the think tank by Persuasion UK in June found 52% of people supported rejoining, while only 29% opposed. Even among those Labour voters considering switching to Reform UK, some 54% supported joining the EU.
Senior London MP Dame Emily Thornberry has argued that the UK should go back into the EU without a second referendum, instead putting the issue to a vote through Labour's manifesto for the 2029 general election.
The IPPR said old arguments about freedom of movement had lost "salience", while claims of "betraying" the 2016 referendum also mattered less. But it noted that concerns about contributions to the EU's budget and replacing the pound with the euro could cause significant damage to support for membership.
A Government spokesman said: "The threadbare Brexit deal inherited by this government has weakened our ability to control illegal immigration, slowed growth and left businesses tangled in red tape."
"We are working on practical deals that pay off for British farmers and families and will support growth in every UK postcode, cutting back on paperwork and easing pressure on prices," the spokesman added.
