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Joe Meighan shares why the UK must now double down on rebuilding cooperation with Europe.

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A few weeks ago, Brexit was a taboo word in Westminster. Now Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves are telling us Brexit is why the government has had to raise taxes in today’s Budget.

The government is right. Brexit has left our economy in a mess.

Brexit made it much harder to trade with our European neighbours. That is costing us up to £240bn in wealth and £90bn in tax revenue every year, according to a recent study.

Without Brexit there would be more money to go around. Without Brexit people would wait less time for NHS treatment. Without Brexit our children’s classrooms would be better equipped.

It’s no use crying over spilt milk. We need radical action to repair the Brexit damage. Then, future budgets might put money into people’s pockets rather than taking it out.

Yet the government is taking only baby steps – and baby steps are not enough.

Credit where it is due. The government is working with the EU to try to get rid of some expensive Brexit red tape that is holding back food and energy businesses. As a result, those businesses may be able to cut prices, create more jobs and increase sales, so that they will also pay more in tax.

But it won’t be enough to pay for many MRI scanners or repair many crumbling school buildings. 

The current negotiations with the EU could add 0.3% to the UK economy, according to the government. But its own bean counters in the Office of Budget Responsibility say Brexit is costing us over 13 times that much! And many economists think the price tag for Brexit is even higher than that.

There is a way to get back a much bigger slice of the money Brexit has cost us. By getting the UK back into the EU single market. That would mean any business in, say, Birmingham could once again sell to customers in Barcelona or Berlin as easily as to customers in London or Edinburgh. Exactly as it could before Brexit.

Negotiating a return to the EU single market will take time. It will mean tough decisions. It will mean confronting the populist posturing of Nigel Farage and Reform. And it won’t solve all the UK’s problems. But we need to be in that single market if we want a future Chancellor to bring gladder tidings than Rachel Reeves has delivered today.

COP30 served as a powerful reminder of the influence that the UK and EU can wield when they act together.

As negotiations approached a weak final communique, one that risked minimising the urgency of moving beyond all fossil fuels, a unified front led by the UK and EU, with support from Latin American states, effectively steered the talks away from failure. This vital step kept global climate action on course.

The talks looked like they would not progress, with the integrity of them in question, over 'how to talk about fossil fuels'. But it was on this issue of semantics that the UK and EU united and a final agreement was passed at COP30.

The model of UK-EU cooperation we saw on display at COP, like that we have seen with the coalition of the willing efforts, and the joint efforts to secure peace in the Middle East, clearly shows that on foreign policy, the UK and EU must work in concert to meet our mutual aims.

To preserve Britain's influence on the world stage, we must lead with our neighbours. At COP, the UK and EU shifted negotiations, fortified the final deal, and showcased prescient global leadership.

This success in climate cooperation should be a starting point, not an exception. If joint action can deliver progress amid the complexity of COP negotiations, imagine what sustained, structured cooperation could achieve across the broader climate and environmental agenda here in Europe. Re-establishing closer policy links, ensuring the UK keeps up with the EU’s advancing environmental standards and formally aligning on climate action would boost both sides’ credibility internationally and unlock greater impact at future summits.

COP30 showed what’s possible when the UK and EU speak with one voice. Now is the moment to build on that partnership, for the climate, for Europe, and future generations.

For the sake of our planet, we need to take this spirit of cooperation further. Find out more on what we are calling for in our One Earth. One Team. campaign.

Joe Meighan assesses progress made since May and asks, when will the substance catch up with the rhetoric?

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Today, as COP30 draws to a close, we have launched a new campaign video calling for deeper UK–EU cooperation on energy, climate, and environmental protection.

Narrated by our Co-President Caroline Lucas, the video highlights how cross-border collaboration is essential to tackling shared challenges such as climate change, nature loss, polluted air and water, and the rising cost of energy.

Our One Earth. One Team. campaign urges both the UK and the EU to seize this moment of global focus on climate action and work more closely together to secure cheaper bills, healthier communities, and a thriving natural world.

Add your name and tell the government to work with Europe now.

European Movement UK has confirmed its new leadership line-up following elections announced at Saturday’s AGM in Oxford.

Mike Galsworthy has been re-elected as Chair for a further two years, joined by newly elected Vice-Chairs Molly Scott Cato and Gayle Darlington-Shaw. The trio shared a short message with members at the AGM, which brought together supporters from across the country.

"You can feel politically that things are changing, and this is going to involve everyone," said Galsworthy.

“Now it's about capitalising that Labour is now accepting the economic damage of Brexit,” added Scott Cato said, "and about countering Reform."

"We're actively growing the movement. We're campaigning in Westminster, in communities, online and lots of people are joining us," added new Vice-Chair, Darlington-Shaw.

The full election results are available here. Thank you to all those who stood for roles and who took part in the vote.

With the new Board and National Council now in place, our focus is on the mission ahead: challenging the ongoing impact of Brexit and championing a positive, European future for the UK.

[Photo: historian and author Timothy Garton Ash addresses the AGM.]

By Mark English, Policy and Media Advisor to European Movement UK (personal views)

To make smartphones, electric cars, military hardware and much else, you need minerals known as ‘rare earths’. You need to mine them, refine them and put them into the components that many modern products rely on.

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