{"id":76541,"date":"2026-07-04T16:27:13","date_gmt":"2026-07-04T16:27:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/76541\/"},"modified":"2026-07-04T16:27:13","modified_gmt":"2026-07-04T16:27:13","slug":"neil-kinnock-britain-must-rejoin-the-eu-its-the-patriotic-thing-to-do","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/76541\/","title":{"rendered":"Neil Kinnock: Britain must rejoin the EU \u2013 it\u2019s the patriotic thing to do"},"content":{"rendered":"

Former Labour leader Neil Kinnock<\/a> has said the UK must rejoin the EU, insisting it is the \u201conly patriotic thing to do\u201d for Britain.<\/p>\n

In an exclusive interview with The Independent, Lord Kinnock argued that anyone who truly loves Britain should back rejoining the bloc \u2013 and they should do it for the \u201ckids\u201d at the very least.<\/p>\n

In a stark message to the incoming prime minister, Lord Kinnock also urged Andy Burnham not to be as constrained <\/a>as Keir Starmer by Labour\u2019s so-called \u201cred lines\u201d on Europe,<\/a> which rule out rejoining the customs union and single market or allowing free movement of labour.<\/p>\n

He said: \u201cThe only patriotic thing to do is to get us back into the European Union \u2013 it\u2019s as raw and as basic as that.<\/p>\n

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\u201cIf you love your country, and the people who live under the flag \u2013 and not just saluting the flag \u2013 then you will want to get us back into the European Union.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll the other options are not patriotic. They are not serving the national interest.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lord Kinnock, who was speaking to The Independent as part of its Europe: The Way Back campaign<\/a>, which is calling for the UK to rebuild its relationship with Europe, questioned whether the Brexit vote accurately reflected the views of Britain today.<\/p>\n

\"Neil<\/p>\n

Neil Kinnock spoke to The Independent as part of its Europe: The Way Back campaign (The Independent)<\/p>\n

\u201cDo it for the kids. They didn\u2019t get a chance to have a say,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cA one-off referendum, with a yes\/no question, might legitimately represent the view of a generation or a given population on a given day. The view could have changed a fortnight later \u2013 certainly 10 years later\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u2018Avoidable disaster\u2019<\/p>\n

Lord Kinnock, who was leader of Labour between 1983 and 1992, said he has not been surprised by the effects of leaving the EU. \u201cI\u2019ve been deeply saddened. Indeed, I\u2019ll be honest, enraged by it, because this was an avoidable disaster,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He compared Brexit to \u201ccontracting some dreadful, long-lasting illness that debilitates and doesn’t kill … We have been debilitated by being outside the European Union.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hitting out at the economic, political, social and cultural damage caused by the UK\u2019s departure from the bloc, the Welsh fireband said it is \u201cwide and deep, and worst of all, it\u2019s continuing, and will continue\u201d.<\/p>\n

He said the economic damage alone was \u201cdifficult, really, to believe\u201d in scale, pointing to analysis which estimates it has cost the UK economy<\/a> at least six per cent in lost growth \u2013 a loss of tens of billions of pounds \u201cneeded for vital services\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll this works out at something like \u00a33,200 a year per person loss in Britain,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor a conventional family, that\u2019s over \u00a36,000 \u2013 and the damage\u2026 won\u2019t come to a stop until we\u2019ve got an entirely different new relationship, which I think should involve applying again to join the European Union\u201d.<\/p>\n

In a wide-ranging interview<\/a>, Lord Kinnock, now 84, also predicted a future referendum could see Britain vote to re-enter the EU<\/a> by a huge margin of two to one, as he accused Nigel Farage, one of the main proponents of Brexit, <\/a>of going silent over the alleged \u201cbenefits\u201d of Brexit.<\/p>\n

For exclusive analysis on how Britain can rebuild its relationship with Europe, sign up for our weekly Europe: The Way Back newsletter here<\/a><\/p>\n

Earlier this week, one of Mr Farage\u2019s top allies warned he \u201ccannot hide away\u201d from growing questions over a \u00a35m gift<\/a> he received from a crypto-billionaire<\/a>, which he has claimed was a reward for \u201ccampaigning for Brexit for 27 years\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cFarage… when he makes a speech listing the material advantages of Brexit \u2013 maybe the sun won\u2019t rise that day,\u201d Lord Kinnock said. Asked if he would also eat his hat that day, he added: \u201cNo, I’ve got a very conservative appetite.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lord Kinnock was candid about the deficiencies of the Remain campaign that worked to keep the UK in the EU before the 2016 referendum \u2013 10 years ago last month \u2013 saying it \u201cdid not score any goals at all\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"Lord<\/p>\n

Lord Kinnock urged Andy Burnham to rethink Brexit \u2018red lines\u2019 (Getty)<\/p>\n

But he argued there was a way back for the UK into the EU, although he admitted it would be a \u201cslog\u201d that would involve \u201cmaking the arguments that relate to people\u2019s everyday lives\u201d.<\/p>\n

The choice would have to be agreed either through a \u201cvery plain undertaking\u201d at a general election or potentially another referendum.<\/p>\n

The 1975 referendum on EU membership saw the Yes campaign win the support of the overwhelming majority of the public, winning by a margin of 67 per cent to 33 per cent. Asked if such a win was possible again, he said: \u201cI think it is.\u201d<\/p>\n

But he said that any deal to return must be based on the \u201cmutual advantages\u201d that the two can bring to each other.<\/p>\n

He also expressed his optimism that the UK was \u201cnow moving into a different phase of relationships with the European Union, and maybe, maybe Andy will have a different perspective \u2013 and not feel himself quite as constrained by the so-called \u2018red lines\u2019, which invited difficulty\u201d.<\/p>\n

These rule out rejoining the customs union and single market or allowing free movement of labour.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have to say that I don\u2019t think that we\u2019re going to reach substantial and sustainable rates of economic growth, while access to our main market is impeded, and when imports from our main market carry extra costs,\u201d Lord Kinnock said.<\/p>\n

But he said the red lines could not be scrapped \u201csimply because that\u2019s the basis on which Labour was elected to government, and even under new leadership, I don\u2019t think there\u2019s a tearing-up option. Much as I would, if it was possible and practical [scrap them].\u201d<\/p>\n

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