News release
Labour needs to make an emergency application to rejoin the EU to halt the UK’s economic and political decline, the Rejoin EU Party says.
Keir Starmer reportedly is due today to convene an emergency meeting to decide how to ease economic pressure on households caused by soaring oil prices linked to the US and Israeli war on Iran.
But any measures agreed are only likely to scratch the surface of the growing economic crisis faced by the UK, which financial analysts say is flirting with stagflation as prices rise at the same time as the economy flatlines, with no obvious growth driver apparent – other than reversing Brexit.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves last week said the UK needed to align more closely with EU rules and London mayor Sadiq Khan said Labour should include a pledge to rejoin the EU in the party’s next election manifesto.
But the Rejoin EU Party believes more radical, urgent and decisive action is needed if Britain is to avoid sliding into the economic abyss.
Financial markets indicate the scale of the problems facing the country, with the cost of government borrowing rising to levels not seen since the financial crisis of 2008 amid a potential prolonged energy-price shock.
As well as providing a foundation for renewed economic growth, rejoining would reassert the UK’s international political influence and send a message that the UK is not in Washington’s pocket.
It would also strengthen the country’s security alliances with European partners at a time of increasing threats, not only from the Middle East, but also Russia and China.
Rejoin EU Party chairman Brendan Donnelly said: “Desperate times call for emergency measures.
“Sooner or later, the UK will certainly rejoin the EU. The current Labour government can help the country and itself by initiating a bold move to speed up that process.
“Continuing prevarication on Europe will be self-defeating. We need to rejoin the EU as a matter of urgency.”
Rejoin EU Party deputy leader John Stevens said Starmer should also support a move to a proportional representation voting system immediately after the May elections, to prevent right-wing populists derailing a potential economic boost from rejoining.
“We now face a scenario in which interest rates will rise rather than fall, increasing pressure on the gilt market,” Stevens said. “These will be exacerbated by further pressure for additional government spending to mitigate rising energy costs and boost defence. If, as is possible, the oil-market crisis precipitates a recession, then obviously government tax revenues will reduce, perhaps significantly. On top of this is the continuing concern, especially for our European neighbours, about a Reform-led government following the next general election.”
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The Rejoin EU Party is campaigning to re-join the EU because we believe re-joining is the only way to solve the multiple problems Brexit has created. Brexit is broken and it’s breaking our country too. All the promises on which Brexit was sold to the electorate in 2016 were nonsense. Far from reducing red tape and providing £350m a week for the NHS, Brexit makes trading with the crucial European market more complex, difficult and expensive and threatens to reduce funding for public services. If you agree Brexit is making our country poorer, less tolerant and less united, join us and send a message to Westminster that you want your EU membership back, with all its freedoms and benefits.
Promoted by Richard Hewison for the Rejoin EU Party, 86-90 Paul Street, London, EC2A 4NE.