𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

Brexit continues to divide opinion across Britain nearly a decade after the referendum. Labour insists it will not reverse the 2016 vote, but senior figures within the party have taken very different tones when discussing the UK’s future relationship with the European Union. Some argue Brexit has caused economic damage and needs closer alignment with Brussels.

Others go further and openly say they hope Britain will one day rejoin. With those differences now clearer than ever, many Express readers will have strong views about who they trust, or don’t trust, to deliver what they see as a proper Brexit. So what do you think? Vote in our poll below and join the debate in the comments section.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer has recently moved away from the slogan “Make Brexit Work” and instead speaks about deeper cooperation with Europe.

Speaking at the Munich Security Conference in February, he said: “We are not the Britain of the Brexit years anymore. Because we know that in a dangerous world, we would not take control by turning inward.

“We would surrender it. And I won’t let that happen. That’s why I devote time as Prime Minister to Britain’s leadership on the world stage. And that’s why I’m here today. Because I am clear, there is no British security without Europe, and no European security without Britain. That is the lesson of history, and it is today’s reality as well.”

However, in recent days, reports have suggested that closer ties with Brussels could come at a cost.

According to The Times, EU officials have demanded that Britain contribute around £1billion a year into European budgets as part of any deal granting further access to the single market.

Writing in a Sunday newspaper, Sir Keir said: “It [Brexit] has damaged our economy and there’s no doubt in my mind where the national interest lies. Britain must be at the heart of a stronger Europe on defence, on security, on energy, and on our economy.”

Health Secretary Wes Streeting has been blunt about Brexit’s economic impact. Speaking at The Spectator Parliamentarian of the Year Awards festival panel in October 2025, he said: “I’m glad that Brexit is a problem whose name we now dare speak. There’s no doubt that that’s the other problem we’re dealing with [alongside low productivity].

“I have enormous respect for people who voted to ‘take back control,’ but we haven’t had a rigorous debate about the economic problems that have arisen. We’ll be paying the price for decades, not just in terms of the lost £400bn but also the destruction of the working patterns of the population.”

Angela Rayner focused on what she described as broken promises during an interview with ITV’s Lorraine in July 2025. She said: “Nigel Farage was the key architect for Brexit, and all these wonderful things we were going to get, and we haven’t had those wonderful things.

“Now we can argue this – we were promised a lot, and we haven’t had that. So I think you have to be very sceptical about people who will promise the world the moon on a stick, and then there’s no detail of how they can actually deliver it.”

She also previously told the BBC: “The country did vote to leave the European Union and we said we respected that. We’re not going to be like the Lib Dems and just ignore that. But some of the problems we have at the moment – the framing of this is everyone’s Remain, and that’s just not true.

“We will negotiate a deal that puts jobs first, but we have to be honest that the current situation isn’t working for working people.”

Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham went further during a Labour Party Conference fringe event in September 2025.

He said: “I do think you call out what has put the country in this position. The growth is not there as it once was. Long term, I’m going to be honest, I’m going to say it: I hope in my lifetime I see this country rejoin [the EU].

“Brexit has been a financial disaster for the country, and we have to be honest about that if we want to fix the economy.”

He added: “Greater Manchester wants to remain a part of Europe and the rest of the world. To dismiss what happened [the economic decline] would be to ignore something bigger that is happening across this country.”