UK Rejoining EU ‘Unlikely in My Lifetime,’ Says Starmer’s Europe Reset Negotiator

Published: 12 September 2025 | English Chronicle Desk

Britain is unlikely to rejoin the European Union in the foreseeable future, according to Nick Thomas-Symonds, the minister who has spearheaded Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s recent reset of UK-EU relations. Speaking on the Guardian’s Politics Weekly podcast, Thomas-Symonds said he could not envisage Brexit being reversed within his lifetime, despite the thaw in continental relations that he has helped bring about.

“I can’t,” he said when asked whether the UK might re-enter the EU. “What I can say is that the work I have been doing, with the democratic mandate from the 2024 general election, is building a closer, more constructive relationship. What I’m about now, having reset the relationship, is building this new strategic partnership.”

Thomas-Symonds’ remarks reflect a broader consensus in senior government circles that full EU membership is probably off the table indefinitely, in part due to the significant changes the EU has undergone since Britain’s departure. On the question of rejoining the customs union or the single market—moves that economists argue could boost UK growth—he remained noncommittal. Labour’s 2024 manifesto pledged not to re-enter either during the current parliament, although no long-term commitments have been made.

“We’ve pledged not to rejoin the single market or the customs union, or go back to freedom of movement, and that remains,” Thomas-Symonds said.

Over the past year, Thomas-Symonds has shuttled between European capitals negotiating an outline agreement to strengthen ties between the UK and EU. Announced by Starmer in May, the deal extended British fishing quotas and linked carbon emissions trading schemes on both sides of the Channel. It also granted Thomas-Symonds and his European counterparts the remit to negotiate new agreements on youth mobility and agricultural trade.

One tangible outcome of the improved UK-EU relationship has been a returns agreement with France, allowing Britain to return up to 50 asylum seekers a week who have crossed the Channel, in exchange for accepting 50 individuals with existing UK connections. A separate accord instructs French authorities to intercept small boats at a distance of up to 300 metres from their shore. Despite recent political instability in Paris, Thomas-Symonds affirmed that both deals would proceed, having received assurances from French President Emmanuel Macron.

“These are deals struck with the French government, with President Macron being very important to that as well,” he said. “Obviously, he remains in office, and our expectation is that, having struck that with the French government, it will go ahead and be implemented.”

Thomas-Symonds emphasized that British ministers are keen to highlight the growing closeness of UK-EU relations, noting that public sentiment is now more receptive to pro-European arguments than in previous years. “People want to put the battles of the past behind them,” he said. “There is a real sense that we should be building this closer relationship because it’s in our national interest to do so.”

While the prospect of rejoining the EU appears remote, the ongoing efforts to strengthen diplomatic, economic, and security ties signal a pragmatic approach by the Starmer government to navigate post-Brexit Europe. Thomas-Symonds added a political observation: “I’m not sure that Nigel Farage mentioned Europe very much at all in the conference speech he just gave,” suggesting a shift in the political discourse around the UK’s continental relations.