Rachel Reeves calls for UK to rejoin EU: ‘Brexit has made us poorer, weaker and less secure’

Rachel Reeves has said she believes Britain should rejoin the European Union as she warned Brexit has made the country “poorer, weaker and less secure”.

The former chancellor voiced her support for Andy Burnham’s move to open the door to negotiations with Brussels as she said she “welcomed” his decision.

Writing in the Sunday Times, Ms Reeves said she accepted there was a “debate to be had” about the UK’s future in the EU, but that she believes the country’s future ultimately lies within the bloc.

“I am proud of the progress we have already made in strengthening our relationship with the European Union,” she wrote. “Brexit has made us poorer, weaker and less secure. There is a debate to be had about our future relationship with Europe, and I welcome Andy Burnham’s leadership in facing up to this. No one in the Treasury ever doubted where my instincts were.

“I do believe Britain’s future lies in the European Union. However, it is incumbent on supporters of our re-entry to make the argument, demonstrate tangible benefits and to get the next steps right — especially ahead of the UK-EU summit later this month, where at a minimum we should be looking for confirmation of the ambitious youth mobility scheme negotiated earlier this year, and — I hope — progress towards entry into the SAFE defence partnership.”

The comments make Ms Reeves one of the most prominent Labour figures to speak out explicitly in support rejoining the EU, despite being part of a government that made a manifesto pledge not to reverse Brexit.

Last week, Mr Burnham wrote in the Sunday Times he believes it is time for an “honest” conversation about the impact of Brexit on the country. He said he would reveal more about any potential proposals for closer EU ties around the time of the EU-UK summit on November 20, when a youth free-movement deal will be struck.

It comes after a major new poll shared exclusively with The Independent showed support for reversing Brexit has risen and opposition has fallen since Andy Burnham opened the door to Britain rejoining the EU.

The Ipsos survey found that 56 per cent of respondents now say they would vote in favour of becoming part of the EU again, up four percentage points on a similar poll in May.

At the same time, the number who back staying out has fallen three points to 30 per cent.

When the findings were filtered by those likely to vote in a future referendum, the result was 63-34, with 3 per cent saying they did not know.

The poll also revealed that 73 per cent of those aged under 35 want to rejoin the bloc, alongside 77 per cent of those who voted Labour at the last general election, 31 per cent of Tories and even 16 per cent of Reform voters.