Labour MP Chris Ward urges ditching Brexit red lines as UK-EU reset becomes unavoidable
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Labour MP Chris Ward, who co-authored the party’s Brexit red lines, says they should be retired and argues that Britain must pursue a much closer relationship with the EU to confront mounting security and geopolitical dangers.
Labour MP Chris Ward, who helped draft the party’s Brexit red lines in the 2024 manifesto, said the constraints – which rule out rejoining the EU, the single market, the customs union and restoring freedom of movement – have long since outlived their usefulness. In an article for the Guardian, Ward argued that a new security relationship with the EU is needed because the United Kingdom can no longer rely on the United States for strategic support, a shift he described as "unthinkable in 2016" but "unavoidable in 2026."
Ward, a close adviser to Prime Minister Keir Starmer and former shadow Brexit secretary, said the red lines were originally intended to narrow the Brexit debate but should now be given a "well-earned and dignified retirement" before the next general election. He suggested that any future push to rejoin the EU or single market should be framed around the stark realities of current geopolitical and cyber-security threats rather than the tired economic arguments used in 2016.
The MP called for a public debate on whether the UK should seek full EU membership or an associate arrangement similar to Canada’s, and urged the prime minister to explain why now is the appropriate time to reopen the Brexit discussion. Burnham, the Labour leader, is expected to use the upcoming European Political Community summit in Dublin and a Brexit reset meeting in Brussels to promote a deeper UK-EU partnership, including possible options for single-market access that would require a referendum.