12 December 2024 Comment
The only constant in politics is change. Sir Keir Starmer’s shifting stance on Brexit is a good example. Back in 2019, as Labour’s shadow Brexit secretary, Starmer was an ardent advocate for holding a second referendum and for his party to campaign to be within the EU in such a vote. Five years on, after […]
2 October 2024 Comment Perceived consequences of leaving the EU
One of the strategic objectives Sir Keir Starmer set for his party on becoming leader in spring 2020 was to reconnect with those of the party’s former supporters who had voted Leave in 2016 and had subsequently switched to the Conservatives in 2019. In this blog we use the data from the first poll to […]
2 July 2024 Comment The Brexit Vote: Right or Wrong? What should Brexit mean?
If the polls of voting intention in the general election are at all correct, then by the end of this week Sir Keir Starmer will be the new tenant of 10 Downing St. If so, then it is not expected that the new government will seek to overturn Brexit. In line with the stance adopted […]
7 May 2024 Comment Sources of persuasion The Brexit Vote: Right or Wrong?
One key feature of Sir Keir Starmer’s tenure as Labour leader has been a firm acceptance of the result of the 2016 referendum on Britain’s membership of the EU. The party even voted for the Trade and Co-operation Agreement when it was finally concluded at the end of 2020. Although the party has indicated a […]
26 February 2024 Comment Migration and freedom of movement
For a government that had argued that Brexit would deliver lower levels of immigration, there were two unwelcome bits of news in November. First, it emerged that net migration had reached a new record high annual total of 745,000. Second, the Supreme Court ruled that Rwanda is not a ‘safe country’ and thus an inappropriate […]
26 February 2024 Comment What should Brexit mean?
Should he win the next general election, one of the key decisions that will face Sir Keir Starmer will be whether and how far to seek a softening of the terms of the Brexit deal negotiated by Boris Johnson. Although Labour have ruled out any attempt to rejoin the EU, the party has left the […]
19 December 2023 Comment The Brexit Vote: Right or Wrong? The economic debate
The latest poll from Redfield and Wilton Strategies for UK in a Changing Europe shows something of a drop in support for re-joining the EU. Once those who say ‘don’t know’ or indicate that they would not vote are left aside, 56% now say they would vote to re-join, while 44% state they would back […]
8 November 2023 Comment Perceived consequences of leaving the EU The Brexit Vote: Right or Wrong?
Brexit emerges as a little less unpopular in the latest poll by Redfield & Wilton for the UK in a Changing Europe. Once those who say Don’t Know are set aside, 59% say they would vote to re-join the EU, while 41% indicate that they would vote to stay out. That represents a swing of […]
31 August 2023 Comment What should Brexit mean?
The defining slogan of the Leave campaign in the 2016 EU referendum was, of course, ‘Take back control’. The slogan not only referenced how Brexit would facilitate control of immigration, but also of goods and services entering the UK. For some advocates of Leave at least, that latter prospect was a crucial part of their […]
23 June 2023 Comment The Brexit Vote: Right or Wrong?
Much has happened in the year that has elapsed between today’s seventh anniversary of the 2016 EU referendum and the sixth anniversary a year ago. Two Prime Ministers have come and gone, one of whom is not even an MP anymore. Nicola Sturgeon has stepped down as First Minister of Scotland after as much as […]
