Rejoin

Lisa Nandy told the BBC she did not understand ‘sudden focus on Europe’ from Labour leadership hopefulUK politics live – latest updatesThe UK culture secretary has dismissed calls for Britain to re-enter the European Union as “odd”, a day after her former cabinet colleague Wes Streeting said the country’s future lies back in the bloc.Lisa Nandy criticised the former health secretary on Sunday, saying his comments over the weekend risked reopening a debate that was settled with the Brexit referendum 10 years ago. Continue reading...

Ex-health secretary, who is expected to launch leadership bid soon, condemns ‘heavy-handed’ approachWes Streeting has launched a scathing attack on what he described as Keir Starmer’s “heavy-handed” leadership culture, which he claimed had stifled creative policy thinking in government.Streeting criticised the effectiveness of Labour’s first two years in power – all of which he has spent in cabinet – saying Labour “arrived in government underprepared in too many areas and lacking clarity of vision and direction”. Continue reading...

Philip Rycroft says promises on issues from economics to immigration have not lived up to expectationsBritain should start talking about rejoining the EU, according to a former senior civil servant who ran the Brexit department.Philip Rycroft, who was permanent secretary of the Department for Exiting the EU, said the “argument was there to be won” about going back into Europe, adding that a “clear-headed appraisal of what is in the country’s best interests” was needed. However, he said rejoining the bloc could be a “long and windy” road. Continue reading...

But Labour’s ‘halfway house’ approach risks losing support from progressives and ‘red wall’ voters, experts sayUK politics live – latest updatesSupport for rejoining the EU rather than simply rejoining the single market is growing among British voters, with more than 80% of Labour, Liberal Democrat and Green party supporters favouring this option, research mapping voter attitudes 10 years after the Brexit referendum shows.But Labour’s “muted” approach means it now risks losing support among progressive voters and in “red wall” constituencies, experts have said as part of a research by Best for Britain. Continue reading...