{"id":970001,"date":"2026-05-19T02:03:37","date_gmt":"2026-05-19T02:03:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/970001\/"},"modified":"2026-05-19T02:03:37","modified_gmt":"2026-05-19T02:03:37","slug":"could-the-united-kingdom-rejoin-the-e-u-heres-everything-you-need-to-know","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/970001\/","title":{"rendered":"Could the United Kingdom Rejoin the E.U.? Here\u2019s Everything You Need to Know"},"content":{"rendered":"

The debate over Brexit and whether the United Kingdom could rejoin the European Union has returned to the forefront of British politics at a time of great instability<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Former Health Secretary Wes Streeting<\/a>, who resigned last week citing a lack of confidence in embattled Prime Minister Keir Starmer\u2019s leadership<\/a>, has said the U.K. should seek to rejoin the bloc.<\/p>\n

\u201cLeaving the European Union was a catastrophic mistake,\u201d he insisted over the weekend. \u201cIt’s left us less wealthy, less powerful, and less in control than at any point before the industrial revolution.\u201d<\/p>\n

Condemning the Brexit referendum of 2016, he continued: \u201cWe can no longer afford to be silent about it. We must remake the argument\u2026 We need a new special relationship with the E.U., because Britain\u2019s future lies with Europe and one day back in the European Union.\u201d<\/p>\n

Streeting urged Britain to band together amid growing geopolitical instability, pointing to \u201cRussian aggression\u201d<\/a> and what he described as “the retreat of America first.<\/a>“<\/p>\n

The former Health Secretary made the bold remarks at the Labour Party\u2019s progress conference, during which he also expressed his intent to run in any leadership challenge<\/a> against Starmer, who has been urged to resign or set a timeline for his departure by dozens of lawmakers.<\/p>\n

Despite being a lead contender to replace the Prime Minister, Streeting has said it isn\u2019t \u201cin the party’s interest [or the] national interest\u201d to have a leadership contest before Andy Burnham, the Mayor of Manchester, has had the chance to return to Westminster and throw his own hat in the ring.<\/p>\n

Read More<\/strong>: Could ‘King of the North’ Andy Burnham Replace Starmer as Prime Minister? What to Know<\/a><\/p>\n

Burnham, often referred to as the \u201cKing of the North,\u201d has previously expressed support<\/a> for Britain rejoining the E.U., but he distanced himself from Streeting\u2019s rhetoric on Monday.<\/p>\n

Speaking at the Great North Summit, Burnham said that Brexit, in his view, has been \u201cdamaging,\u201d but insisted \u201cthe last thing we should do right now is re-run those arguments.\u201d<\/p>\n

“I am not proposing that the U.K. considers rejoining the E.U. I respect the decision that was made at the referendum,” he said<\/a>. \u201cIt’s going to undermine everything I’ve said about strengthening democracy if we don’t respect that vote.<\/p>\n

Burnham is seeking a seat in a by-election in Makerfield\u2014where nearly<\/a> 65% voted to leave the E.U. in 2016.<\/p>\n

Despite Burnham\u2019s efforts to redirect the focus away from Brexit, Streeting\u2019s strong stance has spurred much debate.<\/p>\n

Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy referred<\/a> to his Brexit argument as “odd.”<\/p>\n

Reflecting on Labour’s heavy losses in the local elections on May 7, Nandy said: \u201cIf rejoining the E.U. is the answer, essentially what we’re saying to people is: ‘Life was fine in 2015. We just need to go back there.’ The answer has to be bigger.\u201d<\/p>\n

Labour lawmaker Dan Carden issued a similarly critical response<\/a>, insisting: \u201cWorking class communities don\u2019t want to be told they got Brexit wrong. They were sending a message, and Labour still hasn\u2019t properly heard it.\u201d<\/p>\n

The divide has been noted by Kemi Badenoch, the leader of the Conservative Party, who argued<\/a> the discourse is a sign the Labour Party \u201cdoes not have a plan for the country\u201d as they want to \u201cgo back and re-fight wars which were settled a long time ago.\u201d<\/p>\n

When asked to comment on the discourse, Stamer\u2014who has doubled down on resisting calls to resign\u2014did not reject the possibility of the U.K. one day rejoining the bloc, but refused to get drawn into something that may happen \u201cyears down the line.\u201d<\/p>\n

Instead, Starmer said<\/a> he remains \u201cgrounded\u201d in his job, making sure the U.K. is \u201ccloser to the E.U.\u201d as \u201cit\u2019s in our [best] national interest.\u201d<\/p>\n

With the Brexit debate once again dividing Labour and prompting cross-party discussion amid the lingering Westminster crisis, here\u2019s what to know about the U.K.\u2019s journey out of the E.U.\u2014and how it could potentially find its way back.<\/p>\n

\"Britain's<\/p>\n

Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer and European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen lead the U.K.-E.U. Summit at Lancaster House in London on May 19, 2025. \u2014Kin Cheung\u2014Getty Images<\/p>\n

When did the U.K. leave the E.U.?<\/p>\n

In a referendum<\/a> held on June 23, 2016, a slim majority of British voters backed leaving the European Union, with 51.9% voting Leave and 48.1% voting Remain.<\/p>\n

The European Council formally triggered<\/a> the process for Britain\u2019s withdrawal from the E.U.,commonly referred to as \u201cBrexit,\u201d in March 2017.<\/p>\n

It was \u201can incredibly traumatic process both for the U.K. and the E.U.,\u201d Mujtaba Rahman, managing director for Europe at the Eurasia Group, tells TIME. \u201cThe Europeans lost access to one of the world’s most important financial centers, a diplomatic heavy hitter and nuclear power. The U.K. lost access to one of the world’s most important markets.\u201d<\/p>\n

The withdrawal process proved politically difficult, ultimately leading to Conservative Prime Minister Theresa May<\/a> announcing her resignation in May 2019 after repeated failed attempts to pass a Brexit agreement that satisfied her own party.<\/p>\n

Rahman says one of the central problems was that the original referendum campaign never clearly defined what Brexit would actually look like in-practice.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe divorce was acrimonious because the Brexit referendum didn’t make at all clear what the terms of the decoupling would be, and that needed to be negotiated and that was a very difficult process,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson later won<\/a> a parliamentary majority promising to \u201cget Brexit done.\u201d<\/p>\n

The European Union Withdrawal Agreement Act 2020<\/a> entered into force in the first few weeks of 2020, with the U.K. formally leaving the E.U. before exiting the single market and customs union at the end of that year.<\/p>\n

Catherine Barnard, a professor of European Law at Cambridge University, describes the agreement as sitting at \u201cthe most brutal end of Brexit,\u201d despite preserving tariff-free trade on all goods that comply<\/a> with the appropriate rules of origin.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt generated a very large amount of paperwork, and so what you’ve seen is that only large exporters have continued to export from the U.K. to the E.U.,\u201d she says, adding that many smaller exporters stopped<\/a> because they can’t justify the costs of filling out the paperwork.\u201d<\/p>\n

How is the current relationship between the U.K. and E.U.?<\/p>\n

Communications between Britain and the E.U. have improved under Starmer, experts say, after Labour pledged<\/a> to \u201creset\u201d relations with Brussels upon winning the general election in 2024.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe goal of Starmer was to improve diplomacy and the political relationship between the two sides,\u201d Rahman says. \u201cThen slowly begin to also reduce some of the economic barriers and the trade barriers that have come into place since the U.K. left.\u201d<\/p>\n

At the May 19, 2025 E.U.-U.K. summit<\/a>, London and Brussels adopted a joint statement, where they agreed on a shared \u201cSecurity and Defence Partnership.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, negotiations on other areas, including a youth mobility scheme<\/a> and Britain\u2019s reintegration into Europe\u2019s electricity market<\/a>, have stalled.<\/p>\n

Barnard says one of the key sticking points remains financial contributions and how much it would cost the U.K. to \u201csign up to any of these agreements.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the initial aftermath of Labour\u2019s losses in the May 7 local elections, Starmer reaffirmed<\/a> his desire to place Britain \u201cat the heart of Europe\u201d following Labour\u2019s losses<\/a> in the local elections.<\/p>\n

Barnard argues that position remains constrained by Labour\u2019s current policy red lines.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can’t be at the heart of Europe, so long as the Labour Party has got its red lines of not joining the customs union or not rejoining the single market,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Discourse continues over the financial implications of Brexit.<\/p>\n

The U.K. in a Changing Europe think tank estimates<\/a> that as of 2025, Brexit had cost the British economy anywhere around from 6% to 8% of its GDP growth.<\/p>\n

The Office for Budget Responsibility, an executive non-departmental public body sponsored by the Treasury, projected<\/a> in July 2025 that in regards to trade, both exports and imports will be around 15% lower in the long-run than if the U.K. had remained in the E.U.<\/p>\n

How would the U.K. potentially rejoin the E.U.?<\/p>\n

While Britain could rejoin the E.U., the process would be politically and legally complex.<\/p>\n

Barnard explains that any future application would proceed under the standard Article 49<\/a> of the Treaty on European Union, which governs how any external state applies for membership.<\/p>\n

She notes that Britain would begin from a comparatively strong position because it already has many institutional structures required by the E.U., including an independent judiciary.<\/p>\n

However, the process would still require unanimous approval from all member states, which \u201cmay be harder to come by,\u201d she adds, noting that France<\/a>, for example, could potentially end up having a nationwide referendum of its own<\/a> before approving the readmission of the U.K.<\/p>\n

The British public\u2014who voted for the U.K. to leave the E.U.\u2014would also likely need to be given a say.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt could be a central part of the next Labour manifesto,\u201d says Rahman. \u201cThat would mean, in turn, that it’s a de-facto referendum, and if Labour were to win a majority, it will be seen as a mandate for the government to then do what the manifesto says.\u201d<\/p>\n

How has the bloc responded to the current discussion?<\/p>\n

The office of Kaja Kallas, the E.U. high representative for foreign affairs and security policy, declined to comment when contacted by TIME.<\/p>\n

The European Commission\u2019s chief spokesperson Paula Pinho, when asked about the prospect of the U.K. rejoining the bloc at a press briefing on Monday, said she would \u201cnot take any conclusions at this stage\u201d and pointed to the upcoming U.K.-E.U. summit where discussions such as this can take place.<\/p>\n

German lawmaker Knut Abraham\u00a0 has reportedly expressed support for the potential reunion. \u201cEurope would certainly welcome Britain back. Such a step [an application to rejoin the E.U.] would be a win-win situation, especially at a time when the threats from outside are growing,\u201d he\u2019s quoted<\/a> as saying.<\/p>\n

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro S\u00e1nchez indicated<\/a> earlier this year that Spain would \u201cabsolutely\u201d support Britain rejoining. \u201cWe miss the U.K,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Still, Barnard predicts many European leaders would likely remain prudent given the current turmoil in Westminster.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think they [E.U.] would not want to go anywhere near negotiations with the U.K. until they know that there is a clear settled view on U.K. accession,\u201d she says. \u201cThey are very mindful of the fact that our politics are back into a complicated place, and there is the possibility of a Reform [UK] government in 2029, which will want to go nowhere near the E.U., so the E.U. will be treating us with great caution.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to a YouGov poll<\/a> published in April 2026, 55% of Britons support rejoining the E.U.<\/p>\n

However, that signaled support should not be overstated, experts warn.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think there is a widespread recognition that Brexit has been certainly bad for the U.K. economically, but that doesn’t necessarily translate into people thinking that they want to rejoin the E.U.,\u201d says Barnard.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The debate over Brexit and whether the United Kingdom could rejoin the European Union has returned to the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":970002,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5174],"tags":[8916,242755,2000,299,5187,2557,1699,807,15,1220,3595],"class_list":["post-970001","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-eu","tag-andy-burnham","tag-e-u","tag-eu","tag-europe","tag-european","tag-european-commission","tag-european-union","tag-keir-starmer","tag-united-kingdom","tag-ursula-von-der-leyen","tag-wes-streeting"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/116598788594378769","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/970001","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=970001"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/970001\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/970002"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=970001"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=970001"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=970001"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}