Since taking up the role of UK Prime Minister in the beginning of July, Keir Starmer has significantly contributed to restoring the frayed connections with the European Union, going beyond what his Conservative predecessors had managed to achieve in the eight years following the Brexit referendum of June 2016.
This week, as part of his ongoing efforts to strengthen relations, Starmer visited the two largest EU members, Germany and Paris. He conducted preliminary discussions with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz regarding a collaboration agreement focusing on matters of energy security, defence, and migration.
Starmer’s visit closely followed another encouraging step announced in Labour’s legislative plan for the upcoming parliamentary term. The Product Safety and Metrology Bill assists in maintaining regulatory synchronisation with the EU by incorporating changes made to the regulations across the union. This contrasts with the previous Conservative administration’s Retained EU Law Bill which allowed the UK to disregard EU laws under a tactic of regulatory divergence to potentially benefit from Brexit.
Aligning regulatory frameworks more closely with its biggest commercial partner will enhance the UK economy’s prospects. The bill is also expected to help alleviate political strain in Northern Ireland.
If the UK and EU’s regulatory divergence had grown, tensions could have escalated. But Labour’s strategy of conforming with EU regulations can seamlessly reduce any potential trade conflicts between the UK and Northern Ireland.
Starmer’s reconciliation approaches, however, have boundaries. He dismisses the idea of conducting another EU membership referendum, a sound decision considering the uncertainty unleashed by the 2016 poll. Additionally, he is against the UK reentering the single market or customs union, even though this is favourable to the majority of UK citizens.
Starmer stated during the week that the forthcoming budget would be challenging due to the critical condition of the nation’s finances. Re-entering the single market and customs union could provide an imperative economic stimulus. Nevertheless, politically, this idea is, at this stage at least, perceived as too ambitious.