Britain should rejoin the European Union and public opinion supports such a move, says leading think-tank

Rejoining the EU should be the UK’s medium term goal if it wants to protect its prosperity, security and democratic institutions and the public would support rejoining, an influential centre-left think tank has said.

The Institute for Public Policy Research published a report yesterday, in which it argued that reversing Brexit “is the best way for the UK to cope with “Russian aggression, American unreliability and Chinese coercion”.

It argues that the assumptions underpinning the UK’s foreign and economic policy have broken down in the face of Russian aggression, an unpredictable United States and growing economic coercion from China.

The report comes as Prime Minister Andy Burnham made it clear last week that he would use a summit in Brussels next month to push for closer ties. He also told Labour conference that Brexit had caused ‘more harm than good’, with the Prime Minister also saying he wants a national conversation on the UK’s long-term relationship with the EU, which will include the option of rejoining the bloc.

The IPPR states: “In a world increasingly organised around large economic and security blocs, IPPR argues that the UK lacks the scale to protect its prosperity, security and democratic institutions alone.”

It goes on to add: “New polling commissioned by IPPR and Persuasion UK finds that a majority of voters want a closer relationship with Europe. More than half (52 per cent) want to join the EU, compared with less than a third (29 per cent) who want to stay out. Among those expressing a view, that is a 64–36 split, leaving 10 per cent who ‘don’t know’ and nine per cent opting out of voting. Even among Labour voters considering switching to Reform, 54 per cent want to join the EU, compared with 36 per cent who want to stay out.”

When voters were presented with different approaches to Europe, maintaining the UK’s current relationship with the EU appeared to be the least popular option.

Harry Quilter-Pinner, IPPR executive director, said: “The world Britain built its post-Brexit strategy for no longer exists. We are entering an age in which economic strength, security and political influence increasingly depend on scale, and Britain cannot manufacture that scale on its own.

“The government has made important progress in repairing relations with Europe, but a series of individual deals will not be enough. There is one option which is best for the UK’s relationship with Europe – membership of the EU. That does not mean announcing another referendum tomorrow. But this means starting work to move towards this destination, building political support at home and in Europe.”