Starmer is eroding the UK’s hard-won sovereignty and turning the country into an informal vassal state, compelled to follow decisions made in Brussels, says Stephen Bailey.
The Conservative Party has raised concerns that Keir Starmer’s government “is betraying Brexit by any means necessary,” adding, “Starmer is a lifelong Europhile and clearly wants to rejoin, so it should come as no surprise.
“He energetically campaigned for a second referendum with free movement of people after his side lost. His favourite piece of classical music is even Ode to Joy, the EU anthem. It’s no wonder he’s trying to unpick Brexit by the back door.”
A report by the pro-EU think tank UK in a Changing Europe sets out how Starmer’s government has reintroduced several EU rules that had been scrapped since Brexit. The study identified 21 instances where the Labour government has committed to following EU regulations, including alignment on food standards, veterinary rules, emissions trading, and electricity markets.
Other examples include the agreement with the EU on Gibraltar, placing the British overseas territory within a customs union with the EU. The government is also ensuring that UK rules mirror those of the EU on digital competition and product standards. The report highlights climate policy, energy, and global digital governance as further areas where Labour is seeking to tie the UK to EU frameworks, with more alignment likely in the future.
Also noted is the decision to join an EU-backed alternative to a World Trade Organisation arbitration body. The Labour government is supporting EU efforts to form closer ties with the trans-Pacific CPTPP trade bloc, of which the UK is a member, and is also working to join the Pan-Euro-Mediterranean Convention, another EU-linked trade arrangement.
Joel Reland, Senior Researcher at UK in a Changing Europe and author of the Regulatory Divergence Tracker — which monitors how UK laws have diverged from EU rules since Brexit — said:
“There is no longer a political imperative to demonstrate UK divergence from the EU. It is clear that, on the vast majority of issues, the UK and EU now see each other as partners rather than competitors.”
In other words, under Labour, the UK is no longer pursuing an independent regulatory path, but instead is quietly aligning with rules set by the EU.
Starmer’s so-called ‘Reset’ deal amounts, critics argue, to quietly reversing Brexit. As he signs the UK up to EU rules by stealth, he is being accused of “betraying Brexit by any means necessary.” Starmer is eroding the UK’s hard-won sovereignty and turning the country into an informal vassal state, compelled to follow decisions made in Brussels.
For more from Stephen Bailey please visit: https://ukunionism.wordpress.com/blog-2/
© 2025 Stephen Bailey
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