The EU that the UK left no longer exists

Andy Burnham’s rise has stoked talk of the terms for a future British return – but this is the wrong question The question of the UK’s relationship with the EU has resurfaced with Keir Starmer’s premiership drawing to a close and Andy Burnham, his likely successor, preparing to enter No 10. Wes Streeting, until recently one of the contenders for the top job and now a possible future chancellor of the exchequer, went as far as to say recently that Britain should be back in the EU . The “rejoin” debate in the UK has focused squarely and, parochially, on two things. The first is the cost imposed by Brexit on the UK economy , the second is the price of rejoining – in other words, whether the UK would be able to win back its previous opt-outs from the Euro and Schengen areas. Mujtaba Rahman is the managing director for Europe at Eurasia Group, a political risk research and consulting firm Continue reading...