Dear Rt Hon Sir Keir Starmer MP,

The European Movement extends our sincere congratulations to you in your success in the General Election. The last Parliament was a period defined by the impacts of Brexit, and its damage to our standing in the world will be felt for generations to come, unless something is done.

We hope the new Labour Government will significantly change the UK’s relationship with our friends and allies in Europe. Following David Lammy’s visits to Germany, Sweden and Poland on his first week as Foreign Secretary, we urge you to build on the European Political Community Summit and rebuild trust and reset relations with European political leaders.

If your Government is to deliver on its ambitious policy proposals across the board, from health to housing, it will be essential to dismantle the trade barriers that Brexit has put up.

To that end, the European Movement asks your Government to take the following steps, as outlined in the Manifesto on Europe which we published during the general election campaign:

1. Promote a pragmatic foreign policy which has at its heart the UK working in much closer collaboration with all our European neighbours.

2. Recognising that European relations have been a divisive issue in British politics, we urge you to commission an independent ‘State of the Nation’ assessment of our future relations with Europe, with clear, objective analysis and recommendations to the Government as to how any improvements can be made, and proposing remedies for negative impacts Brexit is having on the UK economy and key cultural and societal sectors.

3. Seek deeper agreements with the EU on shared issues from defence to food safety to fighting climate change, establishing a new working framework with the European Union.

4. Put the rights of a generation hit hardest by Brexit first by opening negotiations with the European Union to restore the UK’s inclusion in Erasmus+ and accept the invitation to negotiate a bilateral youth mobility scheme.

Changing the direction of travel on Europe set by your predecessors needs to be a priority of your Government. Now is the time to press reset and forge a closer relationship with our neighbours.

Yours Sincerely,

Sir Nick Harvey

CEO of the European Movement UK on behalf of the undersigned.