Reeves says UK's future should be inside the EU

Published1 November 2026

Former Chancellor Rachel Reeves has argued the UK's future should be inside the EU, and that Brexit has made the country "poorer, weaker and less secure".

In her first major intervention since leaving the Treasury, Reeves said she welcomed debate around the UK's relationship with Europe.

At the last election, Labour's manifesto said a Labour government would stay outside the EU and make Brexit work.

But Prime Minister Andy Burnham has said there needs to be an honest discussion about what the future relationship looks like.

The Conservatives have said there is no desire to rerun the Brexit debate and Reform UK's Nigel Farage has said there is no mandate to pursue closer EU ties.

Labour's 2024 election manifesto ruled out a return of free movement, single market membership or a customs union.

Burnham has said that any changes would require a mandate at a general election, which is next due by 2029.

In the Sunday Times, external, Reeves wrote: "No-one in the Treasury ever doubted where my instincts were. I do believe Britain's future lies in the European Union."

She said supporters of rejoining the EU had to "make the argument, demonstrate tangible benefits and to get the next steps right".

Reeves added that at the forthcoming UK-EU summit, she hoped for confirmation of the youth mobility scheme she has been pushing for since she was in office.

She also said she was hoping for "progress towards entry" into the Security Action for Europe (SAFE) scheme.

Announced last March, SAFE is part of an EU-wide effort to rearm after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

A defence pact agreed with the EU last May paved the way for UK-based defence companies to be part of projects funded by SAFE.

In her piece for the Sunday Times, Reeves also sought to defend her record in office.

She wrote about the need for governments to be "braver" in building big infrastructure projects and "clear eyed" about the risks and benefits AI would drive in advanced economies.

Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch said she "can't even believe we are reopening" the Brexit debate.

She told BBC One's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg: "This is not something that is needed in order to cut welfare, in order to spend money on defence.

"We are having yet another Westminster bubble argument about the EU when it is time for us to actually start using the opportunities, fix mistakes that have been made and go into the future."

Badenoch added: "I do not want to indulge Andy Burnham's fantasies about redoing the referendum because he doesn't have a plan for what to do today."

Burnham told Badenoch during the most recent session of Prime Minister's Questions that he was focused on "getting a better deal for Britain, that is my responsibility".

The next UK-EU summit will take place in Brussels on 20 November.

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