{"id":33845,"date":"2026-05-11T14:57:48","date_gmt":"2026-05-11T14:57:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/33845\/"},"modified":"2026-05-11T14:57:48","modified_gmt":"2026-05-11T14:57:48","slug":"starmer-promises-to-put-the-uk-back-at-the-heart-of-europe-majority-of-bulletin-readers-back-britain-rejoining-the-european-union","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/33845\/","title":{"rendered":"Starmer promises to put the UK back \u2018at the heart of Europe\u2019: Majority of Bulletin readers back Britain rejoining the European Union"},"content":{"rendered":"

Prime Minister Keir Starmer today promised to put the UK back \u2018at the heart of Europe\u2019 in a much-anticipated speech to his Labour Party, in which he set out his government\u2019s priorities following Labour\u2019s crushing defeat in last Thursday\u2019s regional and local elections.
Brexit, Starmer said, \u201cmade us poorer and weaker\u201d, in one of his most pro-European speeches in recent memory, although he did not outline any concrete plans for this rapprochement with Europe following the country\u2019s traumatic exit from the European Union in 2016.
The impact of Brexit on the British economy was profound, according to all economic analysts. A study by Stanford University, also reported by the Financial Times, claims that the UK lost between 6 and 8 per cent of its GDP because of Brexit.
\u201cThe last (Conservative) government was defined by severing our relationship with Europe. This Labour government will be defined by rebuilding that relationship with Europe, putting the UK at the heart of Europe,\u201d he stated following one of the most critical weeks of his tenure.
\u201cWe have to talk about that,\u201d argued an unusually energetic Starmer, \u201cbecause we have to face up to the situation we are in: we have to offer this country a stronger economy, a stronger defence and a stronger network of relationships, given the world we live in. That is why I said \u2018closer to Europe\u2019, and this government will be defined by bringing Europe back.\u201d
The Prime Minister used this pro-European speech to attack Nigel Farage, the populist leader whose Reform UK party was the big winner in Thursday\u2019s election and who has always been known for his anti-European stance.
\u201cFarage said that (with Brexit) we would be stronger and richer, that we would have plenty of money for the National Health Service and that immigration would fall. It all turned out to be a lie, and he has taken no responsibility for it,\u201d he said, thereby acknowledging that Farage has become one of his most dangerous rivals, even more so than the Conservatives, whom he barely mentioned.
Since the UK left the European Union life for British expats has become increasingly complicated, challenging and costly – so much so some have left Mallorca and Spain. A YouGov survey last year revealed that majorities in France, Germany, Italy, and Spain would support the UK rejoining the European Union, but not on the same terms it previously enjoyed (e.g., opt-outs from the euro or Schengen area). The poll also indicated that a clear majority of British voters backed rejoining, but only if they can keep their opt-outs, creating a \u2018public opinion impasse.\u2019
The survey also found significant support in continental countries for an independent Scotland joining the EU. YouGov polling has long since shown that the public are \u2018Bregretful\u2019 about that outcome, with the latest survey showing 56% think it was wrong for Britain to vote to leave the EU. And a recent survey carried out by the Bulletin online has dissevered that nearly 66% of readers who took part in the survey agree that the UK rejoin the European Union.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Prime Minister Keir Starmer today promised to put the UK back \u2018at the heart of Europe\u2019 in a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":33846,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[13,2156],"class_list":{"0":"post-33845","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-britain","8":"tag-britain","9":"tag-latest-headlines"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@UnitedKingdom\/116556536485816775","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33845","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33845"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33845\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/33846"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33845"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33845"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33845"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}