The Liberal Democrats will press Andy Burnham to end Labour’s cautious approach to the EU and advocate for Britain rejoining the single market. This represents a firmer stance from the party ahead of the tenth anniversary of the Brexit referendum. Ed Davey plans to urge Burnham to remove Labour’s restrictions on the customs union and single market if he becomes prime minister, and to start negotiations for a stronger agreement with the EU. Davey will advocate closer economic links, including free movement, plus a new European security council to address threats from Russia and uncertainty over US policy. This signals a shift toward supporting renewed EU membership. At the previous election the party favoured a more measured path than its 2019 manifesto, which prominently featured opposition to Brexit. Keir Starmer has confirmed the next EU reset summit will occur on 22 July. Labour had pledged in 2024 not to rejoin the EU, single market or customs union. In his speech Davey will state that Labour’s limits are impeding Britain and benefiting Nigel Farage and Reform UK. He will call on potential future leaders to abandon those limits immediately to move beyond Labour’s hesitant European policy and properly repair relations. Davey will outline the Liberal Democrat proposal to join the single market via the European Free Trade Association alongside Norway and Iceland, together with a new UK-EU customs union, to eliminate trade barriers and reverse Brexit-related economic losses. He will describe this as the strongest route back toward EU membership and estimate annual costs of Brexit at £90 billion. Rejoining the single market would involve accepting free movement, creating tension with Conservative and Reform positions on immigration. EU officials have indicated openness to UK participation in the European Economic Area but have rejected ideas for goods rules without free movement. Former European Council president Charles Michel stated the single market is not available for partial access. Liberal Democrat sources linked Brexit to increased irregular migration and proposed negotiating returns agreements while noting benefits for sectors such as hospitality and agriculture from additional EU workers. The party also seeks deeper defence cooperation, including a European security council and joint rearmament efforts aligned with Nato goals.
