Topics / Geopolitics
Should the UK rejoin the EU?
Should the United Kingdom apply to rejoin the European Union, seek a closer relationship short of membership, or stay outside on broadly current terms? The disagreement turns on how people weigh economic effects, democratic self-government, the standing of the 2016 referendum and the practical terms that would be on offer.
Positions
- Yes, rejoin: The UK should apply to rejoin the European Union as a full member. Leaving has made the country poorer and less influential, and membership is the best way to trade freely with our nearest partners and to help shape the rules that affect us.
- Closer relationship, not membership: The UK should build a much closer economic relationship with the EU, through a customs union, single market participation or deep sectoral agreements, while staying outside EU membership and its political institutions.
- No, stay out: The UK should stay outside the EU. Making our own laws, running our own trade policy and deciding our own immigration rules matter more than the economic costs of leaving, and the 2016 referendum settled the question democratically.