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Sir Keir Starmer has insisted that closer ties with the EU will be “good for our boarders, cut bills and boost jobs”, ahead of a summit where he could announce a deal.
As the prime minister prepares to host the first UK-EU summit on Monday, where he hopes to make significant progress on a deal, a cross-party group of MPs warned that his efforts were being hampered by a “perceived absence of a strategic vision”.
In a letter to Sir Keir Starmer, the Commons Foreign Affairs Committee said the lack of a “compelling political narrative” had left those outside Westminster unclear about British policy and unconvinced of the “strategic importance” of making the reset a success.
Urging the government to be bolder, committee chair Dame Emily Thornberry said: “We should be clear about what it is that we want and act with a little less caution and a lot more confidence. If we do this, there is every reason to believe the EU will respond positively.”
The £25bn-a-year prize at stake in Starmer’s Brexit reset talks with EU
A £25bn annual boost to British exports is at stake for Sir Keir Starmer as he tries to secure a Brexit reset deal at a crucial summit on Monday, analysis shared with The Independent reveals.
Removing trade barriers on goods, including food and drink and electrical items, could result in a 2.2 per cent uplift in gross domestic product in the long run, boosting the economic growth the prime minister so desperately wants to deliver, financial analysts Frontier Economics found.
Read more here by Alicja Hagopian, David Maddox:
Rebecca Whittaker18 May 2025 09:30
Tories: Sounds like Brexit reset will be ‘bad deal’
The Conservatives have said Sir Keir Starmer’s post-Brexit reset with the EU will be a “bad deal”.
The shadow chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster said a youth mobility scheme believed to have been agreed with Brussels risks reopening the door to freedom of movement.
Quizzed over why the party was opposing the US, India and now EU deals struck by Sir Keir Starmer, Alex Burghart told Sky News: “It’s easy to sign bad deals
“You can sign bad deals any day of the week. And, the truth is that we have a worse deal with the US now than we had at the start of March. and the deal, with India has, has come at a price on, on immigration.
“Anyone can walk into a negotiating room and say, ‘I'll tell you what, I'll give you what you want. Can we have a deal?’ and the fear is that that is exactly what's going to happen with the EU summit on Monday.”
Rebecca Whittaker18 May 2025 09:20
Britons to whizz through EU passport queues, minister suggests
Mr Thomas-Symonds, who is in charge of Britain’s post-Brexit reset with Brussels, has suggested Britons will be able to whizz through EU queues on holiday as part of the reset deal.
In a boost to travellers, the Europe minister confirmed he has been pushing his EU counterpart to allow UK arrivals in the bloc to use its passport lanes.
He stopped short of confirming it has been agreed, cautioning that “nothing is agreed until everything is”.
But he told Sky News: “We want British people who are going on holiday to be able to go and enjoy their holiday and not be stuck in queues.”
Sam Rkaina18 May 2025 09:10
Brexit status quo ‘isn’t working for British people’, Europe minister says
The Brexit status quo “isn’t working for the British people”, Sir Keir Starmer’s Europe minister has said.
Nick Thomas-Symonds told Sky News the government is “pushing everything to the limit and negotiating very hard” to reset Britain’s trading relationship with Europe.
“That's exactly what the British people would expect of us,” Mr Thomas-Symonds said.
But, amid last-minute wrangling with the EU over thorny issues such as fishing and tuition fees, he warned that “nobody can guarantee” a deal will get over the line.
He added: “We want to emerge with a deal that we can say makes our borders more secure, is good for jobs and growth and is bringing people's household bills down.
“That is what is in our national interest, and that's what we'll continue to do over these final few hours.”
Sam Rkaina18 May 2025 09:02
Starmer will negotiate 'in the national interest', government insists
With Tory leader Kemi Badenoch expressing concern about the nature of the talks, claiming that “whenever Labour negotiates Britain loses”, a UK government spokesperson insisted that Sir Keir would “negotiate in the national interest”.
The spokesperson said: “No final agreement has been made. We are not providing a running commentary on our discussions with the EU; these are ongoing and cover a wide range of issues.
“We have been clear that we will always act in the national interest to secure the best outcomes for the UK.”
Andy Gregory18 May 2025 07:00
Any deal with EU not a 'one off', says Rachel Reeves
Chancellor Rachel Reeves has said that any deal secured on Monday would not be a “one off” but a “step towards” closer partnership with Europe in further areas.
In an interview on Friday, the chancellor insisted that the government would stick to its “red lines” but suggested that an agreement on Monday could herald deeper cooperation with the EU.
“We think that because of the trust we built, we can get a better deal. The European Union have understood from the beginning those red lines,” Ms Reeves told The Guardian.
“I am ambitious for our future. This isn’t a one-off. There will be things that we achieve, some concrete outcomes on Monday, but there will also be a step towards where we want to go next between our countries.
“And I see that as a journey, not that what happens on Monday is the end; there will be future areas where we can do more.”
Andy Gregory18 May 2025 06:00
Starmer told to be more ambitious with EU reset to tackle Brexit ‘suffering’
The Labour chair of the Commons foreign affairs committee has urged Keir Starmer to be “courageous” in resetting his relationship with Europe to tackle the “suffering” caused by Brexit.
In an interview with The Independent, Dame Emily Thornberry said: “We should be going further than the government currently seems to have the ambition for doing.”
She warned there was a “compelling case... of the amount that the country is suffering as a result of having put trade barriers between Europe and Britain, (which) means that our growth has been severely compromised”.
To tackle the problem and tear down some of the barriers, such as the need to check goods coming into the country meet certain standards, she said ministers should be more relaxed about the issue.
“I would like us to be much more relaxed about goods having the same sort of regulation… if we just agree the same kind of standards, not just for food, but generally, I think that would make life much easier.”
Our Whitehall editor Kate Devlin reports:
Andy Gregory18 May 2025 05:00
Starmer accused of shutting foreign press out of Monday's summit
Sir Keir Starmer has been accused of shutting European news outlets out of his much-hyped EU-UK summit on Monday.
With the prime minister set to unveil his post-Brexit reset plans alongside Brussels leaders, the Foreign Press Association (FPA) has said “almost every European news outlet” with a foreign correspondent in London has been denied access to the summit.
In a letter sent to Downing Street the FPA, which represents foreign journalists based in the UK, said: “Sir Keir Starmer, you state that you want a reset with the EU. You organise a summit between the UK and the EU to restart the relationship.
“Yet you deny accreditation to almost every European news outlet who has a foreign correspondent in London, leaving out the biggest news agencies, the most important papers, the most trusted broadcasters.”
Andy Gregory18 May 2025 04:00
Starmer vows closer EU ties will be good for jobs and living standards
Sir Keir Starmer has said that closer ties with the EU will be good for the UK's jobs, bills and borders ahead of a London summit on Monday at which he could announce a deal with the bloc.
The prime minister said: “In this time of great uncertainty and volatility, the UK will not respond by turning inwards but by proudly taking our place on the world stage – strengthening our alliances and closing deals in the interests of British people.
“First India, then the United States – in the last two weeks alone that’s jobs saved, faster growth and wages rising. More money in the pockets of British working people, achieved through striking deals not striking poses.
“Tomorrow, we take another step forwards, with yet more benefits for the United Kingdom as the result of a strengthened partnership with the European Union. It will be good for our jobs, good for our bills and good for our borders.
“That’s what the British people voted for last year, and it’s what my government will deliver.”
Andy Gregory18 May 2025 03:00
Starmer gives new hope for EU youth mobility scheme
Sir Keir Starmer has defended his planned youth mobility scheme with the EU, insisting it does not cross Labour’s red line on freedom of movement and will be good for “working people”.
Ahead of its announcement at the UK-EU summit in London on Monday, he said a youth mobility deal is “not freedom of movement”.
Our political correspondent Archie Mitchell reports:
Andy Gregory18 May 2025 02:00
English (US) ·