Keir Starmer’s government has been accused of attempting to drag Britain back under Brussels’ control after it emerged that UK negotiators explored rejoining the EU’s single market for goods—a move that would have required Britain to follow EU rules without having any vote over them.
According to reports in The Times and the BBC, British officials proposed establishing a UK-EU single market for goods as part of Labour’s wider “Brexit reset” negotiations ahead of a summit expected in July.
The proposal would have allowed British firms to sell goods into the EU without border checks or regulatory barriers. In exchange, however, Britain would have been expected to align with existing and future EU regulations, effectively making the country a rule-taker once again.
Brussels ultimately rejected the proposal after the UK refused to accept the return of free movement, a policy that Britons voted to end when they backed Brexit in 2016.
EU officials reportedly insisted that Britain could not be part of the single market while remaining outside the bloc’s wider rules, including unrestricted movement of EU citizens.
The revelations have intensified fears that Labour is trying to reverse Brexit by stealth while avoiding openly campaigning to rejoin the EU.
The government has already announced plans for a European Partnership Bill, which would make it easier for officials to adopt EU regulations without democratic oversight from Parliament or the British public.
The talks form part of Starmer’s broader push for closer ties with the EU on trade, energy, defence, and regulation. Ministers are already negotiating agreements covering food standards, emissions trading, and electricity markets.
The controversy has deepened following recent comments by former health secretary Wes Streeting, widely viewed as a possible future Labour leader, who described Brexit as a “catastrophic mistake” and suggested Britain could eventually seek to rejoin the EU.
Former British negotiators and EU officials warned that any future attempt to rejoin the bloc would likely require Britain to recommit to the EU’s principle of “ever-closer union,” meaning deeper political and legal integration with Brussels. Critics argue this would further erode British sovereignty and increase the power of EU institutions over national governments.
Critics warn that the strategy undermines the democratic purpose of Brexit by steadily reconnecting Britain to EU structures while denying voters any direct say over the process.
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage described the approach as “a direct betrayal of the Brexit referendum and a total breach of the government’s manifesto promises,” adding: “The British people didn’t vote to become rule-takers, and we will fight this every step of the way.”
