The received wisdom in Westminster is that the Brexit process was so bruising and divisive that no party aspiring for power will want to go near the European question for at least a decade. Radical reform, such as rejoining the single market and the customs union, let alone full EU membership, will be off the table, just as it was a non-issue in the 2024 general election campaign.
It is a familiar theme of these columns to question that opinion for three reasons. The economic and geopolitical arguments for a much closer relationship are fundamentally strong; public opinion has largely concluded that the 2016 Leave vote was a mistake; and our political parties will eventually recognise that there are votes to be won by taking a more ambitious approach.
Listen to the New Statesman podcast
Content from our partners
