Surge in support for rejoining EU is a reason to get excited about the UK's future again
As public support for rejoining the European Union grows, politicians are becoming increasingly serious about the idea
The UK is stuck. The economy is in the doldrums. Taxes, the national debt and government spending are historically high, but many public services are struggling, with the problems even more acute in Scotland.
Among many politicians, there’s agreement the welfare bill must be reduced, but also that defence spending must rise. So Andy Burnham and John Swinney find themselves with limited room for manoeuvre. Both are trying to find efficiency savings, but that’s often a difficult task.
However, there is a possible escape route, a way to make a step-change in the fortunes of the economy and put Britain back on track towards prosperity: returning to the European Union.
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Few ‘Independence Day’ celebrations
A paper published by the National Bureau of Economic Research estimated the UK’s GDP per capita was 6 to 8 per cent lower in 2025 than it would have been if the UK had stayed in the EU. Investment was put at 12 to 18 per cent lower and employment 3 to 4 per cent lower.
It was one of many reports by experts – infamously dismissed by Leave campaigners ahead of the 2016 referendum – that have arrived at the same broad conclusion: Brexit has been seriously bad for Britain.
This year was the tenth anniversary of the Brexit referendum, yet there were few celebrations of that historic decision. If there were calls to make the UK’s ‘Independence Day’ a national holiday, they fell on deaf ears.
It’s sometimes hard to admit mistakes, but the tide is turning. According to YouGov, 59 per cent of voters now support rejoining.
In a speech yesterday, Scottish Labour leader Michael Marra said he’d been troubled by his remark in September that it would take a “generation or more” before this became a realistic prospect.
He said he had “told people what I thought was politically possible... now I understand that my job is to help change what is possible”. It was a refreshing admission and politicians in other parties should now engage in similar, serious reflection.
We finally have a reason to get excited about this country’s future again. Now we just need to make it happen.
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