Keir Starmer maintains his red lines on reversing Brexit

"British politics has fallen back into a familiar pattern: its battles and its salvation once again center on Europe. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer knows that the Labour Party's crushing defeat last week in England's municipal elections was driven by two very specific fronts: the far right of Reform UK, the party led by Nigel Farage, the politician who did most to secure the triumph of Brexit; and the combined strength of the Green Party and the Liberal Democrats, whose voters remain bitter over the Labour Party's decision to give up on returning to the European Union."

"That's why Starmer, on Monday, once again promised to rebuild the relationship between London and Brussels, to put the United Kingdom back at the heart of Europe. I want to remind you what Nigel Farage said about Brexit, said Starmer in a speech. He said it would make us richer. Wrong. It made us poorer. He said it would reduce migration. Wrong. Migration went through the roof. He said it would make us more secure. Wrong again. It made us weaker."

"He took Britain for a ride and, unlike the Tories [who] actually at least have to face up to it, he just fled the scene and now he'll talk about almost anything other than the consequences of the one policy he actually delivered. In recent months, as polls have reflected growing public frustration, Starmer's government has become less hesitant to denounce the economic and political disaster that was Brexit. Since arriving at Downing Street nearly two years ago, the Labour Party has pledged to work to reset the U.K.'s relationship with the EU."

"The starting point was cooperation on defence, with a coordinated effort to support Ukraine against the aggression of Vladimir Putin's Russia. Building on that renewed alignment of shared interests, London and Brussels worked on an ambitious new bilateral treaty aimed at repairing the most damaging elements of the Withdrawal Agreement signed by Boris Johnson's Conservative government."

British politics is framed as centering on Europe again, with municipal election losses attributed to Reform UK’s far-right support and to Green Party and Liberal Democrat strength among voters dissatisfied with Labour’s stance on EU return. Keir Starmer promises to rebuild relations between London and Brussels and place the UK back at the heart of Europe. Nigel Farage’s claims about Brexit are rejected, with assertions that Brexit made the country poorer, increased migration, and weakened security. Labour’s government is described as increasingly willing to denounce Brexit’s economic and political damage. Labour has pledged to reset the UK’s relationship with the EU, starting with defense cooperation to support Ukraine, followed by work on a bilateral treaty to repair damaging elements of the Johnson-era Withdrawal Agreement.

Read at english.elpais.com