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Brexit’s 10th Year: Britain Seeks a Practical Reset With the EU

Starmer is pursuing sector-by-sector deals to cut trade friction without rejoining EU structures.

Union flags hang across a street near the Houses of Parliament in central London on June 25, 2016, two days after the UK voted to leave the European Union in a national referendum.
Image
Trucks arrive at the Port of Dover ferry terminal on the southeast coast of England on June 2, 2025.
Almost half of people, 43 per cent, now say David Cameron was right to hold the EU referendum (Photo: Wiktor Szymanowicz/Getty)

Overview

  • The government is negotiating a calibrated reset with Brussels ahead of a July 22 summit that aims to win practical agreements on youth mobility, sanitary and phytosanitary rules, and links between emissions trading systems.
  • Recent academic studies cited by the National Bureau of Economic Research estimate Brexit has reduced UK GDP by about 6–8 percent, cut business investment by roughly 12–13 percent, and trimmed productivity by about 3–4 percent.
  • Firms say the main costs now are non-tariff barriers such as extra customs paperwork, border certifications and tighter visa rules, which impose time and expense on exporters in sectors from autos to food service and construction.
  • Polls show growing public frustration with the Brexit outcome, with nearly half saying it has gone worse than expected, and official data and analyses record a sharp fall in EU-origin migration alongside a rise in non‑EU migration.
  • Labour keeps firm manifesto red lines against rejoining the single market or customs union, but Keir Starmer faces leadership pressure and strong Reform UK polling that could reopen the party debate over how far to push the EU reset.