PM vows to put UK ‘at heart of Europe’ as he seeks to repair elections damage

Sir Keir Starmer said his Labour Government would be defined by putting the UK at the “heart of Europe” – but he stopped short of promising to reverse Brexit.

The Prime Minister vowed to set up “an ambitious youth experience scheme” as the centrepiece of his efforts to recalibrate the UK’s relationship with Brussels.

He urged the party to reject “arguments of the past” when he took a question about whether Labour would seek access to the European single market or customs union as part of a future manifesto.

He was speaking in a pitch to voters and Labour campaigners on Monday, after his party suffered an electoral drubbing across England and Scotland last week.

In Wales, Labour lost its status as the largest party in the Senedd for the first time in its history.

Sir Keir claimed the previous Conservative government “was defined by breaking our relationship with Europe”, referring to the referendum on European Union (EU) membership almost 10 years ago in which voters backed leaving the bloc by 52% to 48%.

He continued: “This Labour Government will be defined by rebuilding our relationship with Europe by putting Britain at the heart of Europe, so that we are stronger on the economy, stronger on trade, stronger on defence.”

The Prime Minister also said: “Standing shoulder to shoulder with the countries that most share our interests, our values and our enemies – that is the right choice for Britain, that is the Labour choice.”

He pledged “an ambitious youth experience scheme to be at the heart of our new arrangement with the EU, so that our young people can work and study and live in Europe – a symbol of a stronger relationship and a fairer future with our closest allies”.

Labour was elected in 2024 on the manifesto promise of being “confident in our status outside the EU but a leading nation in Europe once again” – an indication the party would not reverse Brexit entirely by trying to rejoin the bloc.

Asked if he would rule out seeking single market or customs union access as part of a fresh set of promises, Sir Keir replied: “What I want to do is take a big leap forward with the EU-UK summit this year and take us closer, both on trade, the economy, defence and security.

“And that will then be a platform on which we can build as we go forward.

“And as we do that, I strongly believe we’ve got to turn our back on the arguments of the past, not open old grievances, but look forward together to how we make this country stronger, how we make this country fairer.

“And so that’s the approach that I will take.”

But Liberal Democrats leader Sir Ed Davey said the Prime Minister should drop “red lines on Europe” and join the customs union.

“If the Government wants to regain the trust of the British people, they have to end the cost-of-living crisis,” he said.

“There is no way of doing that without getting rid of Keir Starmer’s red lines on Europe and fixing the botched Brexit deal, including a customs union. It’s really that simple.”