As the UK prime minister opens up a debate over Britain’s future relationship with Europe, a new report argues that becoming a member of the EU should be the UK’s medium-term goal.
Being part of the EU is necessary to protect the UK’s prosperity, security and democracy, the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) argues.
The stark message calling for full EU membership by the leading think tank, which has close links to Labour, is bolstered by new polling, commissioned by IPPR and Persuasion UK, which found that a majority in the UK backs EU membership across stress test of tough trade-offs.
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The research 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.
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The report welcomes the shift towards a wider debate about the UK’s relationship with Europe. It argues that this must now go beyond piece-by-piece negotiations over trade and regulation. Instead, the UK should begin a sustained political rebuild with Europe, with the medium-term objective of securing a democratic mandate for EU membership.
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.
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The research suggests that “staying as we are” also carries political risk. 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. While voters differ over exactly what a closer relationship should look like, the findings point to a broad appetite for change rather than simply preserving the post-Brexit status quo.
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In an effort to move the conversation into 2026, IPPR says the government should develop a new Europe strategy, which should include:
- Working with the EU to deliver continent-wide industrial policy, under which the UK would open its public procurement market to European firms in return for the EU doing the same for the UK
- Creating a European Defence Alliance, with the UK offering capabilities where Europe remains heavily dependent on the US, including satellite communications
- Once consent is stronger, gaining a mandate to join the EU, either through a fresh referendum or a clear manifesto commitment
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I am in total agreement. The trouble is there seems to be no alternative that is likely to take power in the UK just the same never changing uniparty. Different faces same outcomes, higher taxes, worse services, more surveillance and greater limitations on protest and expression
It reminds me of the potent idea that Adam Curtis explored in his film series The Power of Nightmares, in which he posited that modern governments and politicians had stopped trying to offer a dream of a better world, but instead started offering nightmares, boogeymen, things to fear. Instead of making a better world, they all turned towards creating nightmares for their populace to “need” them for. They are part of democracies that have become (or started as and continue to be, as is with the case of the USA) morally bankrupt with little more than lip service to actual democracy. Since they can’t offer a dream of something better, they must offer a nightmare to make us afraid and need them as a protective figure.