Operation softer Brexit: Inside the Whitehall plan to achieve Starmer's EU reset

Keir Starmer is “absolutely clear” that he wants the UK to achieve a “reset” with Europe.

But the immediate caveat he gave during his trip to Germany last week – that this “does not mean reversing Brexit or re-entering the single market or the customs union” – is a sharp reminder of just how politically tricky this area is for the Prime Minister.

That also doesn’t mean it will be kicked into the long grass or forgotten about. Better trading relations with the EU are crucial to Labour’s overarching goal of better economic growth – and a new Whitehall operation is already getting to grips with the task. But it is expected to be a long haul.

Even if Starmer did want to undo Brexit, he’d quickly learn that when it comes to the EU, very little power lies behind the door of Number 10.

Between political pressure at home from tetchy Eurosceptics who think Starmer is bracing to sell out Britain and a Brussels machinery that’s bored of Brexit; watering down Boris Johnson’s deal, let alone unpicking the whole thing, would be harder than virtually anything else in his inbox. And officials fear that by making public statements without outlining plans, Starmer risks undermining the more modest reset with the EU that he does want to achieve, as outside voices set the narrative.

The PM adopted a conciliatory tone during his visits to Berlin and Paris last week, where he talked up closer cooperation with the two most powerful EU leaders. And it was, in fairness, consistent with what he said during the election campaign: build bridges with Brussels while reversing nothing. But by leaving a vacuum on exactly what he wants, critics on both sides have filled the void with pessimism and anger.

‘Fear of backlash could scupper PM’s plan unless he starts to sell it’

Europhiles had initially been cock-a-hoop at Starmer’s reset pledge. The number of pro-EU voices in his top team and the appointment of Cabinet Office Minister Nick Thomas-Symonds, a Remainer in 2016 and vocal supporter of a second referendum, as the Europe point man – expected to be backed up by a beefed-up team of handpicked experts from across Whitehall – were seen as a green light for a shift towards Europe.

However, Starmer’s tone and the government’s double down on not joining the Erasmus student scheme have left Remainers underwhelmed.

Meanwhile, ardent Brexiteers say Starmer’s warm words and the unit for better EU relations that is forming under Thomas-Symonds in the Cabinet Office prove that Labour wants to undo Brexit by the backdoor. Predictably, Eurosceptic papers have accused Starmer of a “plot”, accusing him of “trashing” Brexit.

Government officials working with Thomas-Symonds are alarmed at how quickly these narratives have spiralled out of control and are urging for clarity. They fear the absence of facts is allowing imaginations to run wild and if they don’t put a lid on speculation now, Starmer could get boxed in by fury on both sides, unable to move in any direction for fear of political backlash.

“There is an urgent need and a public demand to explain the plan, who Nick [Thomas-Symonds] will be working with and what he hopes to achieve,” a senior Government official tells i. “’Can he make going on holiday in Europe easier?’, for example, is a more important question right now than ‘Are we rejoining the Single Market’.”

If Starmer is too slow, he could fall into a familiar trap: trying to strike a balance while ultimately pleasing no one and leaving himself politically exposed.

What’s happening now?

The appointment of Thomas-Symonds comes with a restructuring of how Brexit policy fundamentally works.

Responsibility for it is being moved across from the Foreign, Commonwealth and International Development Office to the Cabinet Office. This means Thomas-Symonds can bring in people with specific expertise from across government, whereas the FCDO tends to draw on its own people.

The implication could be that rather than a Foreign Office big picture approach, detailed technical issues like the cross-border sanitary issues being worked on by DEFRA officials would be folded into the new unit.

A government official went so far as to say that they expect Foreign Secretary David Lammy will not be too directly involved, with Europe now considered a domestic issue rather than international – a meaningful shift from the last government.

The team to support Thomas-Symonds isn’t in place yet. “The machinery of government will change. Nothing has been confirmed yet, but you can expect experts in other departments will jump to the Cabinet Office,” an official said. “There is no doubt he is the chief on future Europe policy and you can expect his private office to grow.”

Speculation that Sir Olly Robins, Theresa May’s former the chief Brexit negotiator, and a scourge of the Eurosceptics, could become the next Cabinet Secretary and head the civil service is of particular concern to previous Conservative government advisors. They think, given his background, it is reasonable to assume he would work closely with Thomas-Symonds.

What’s the long-term plan?

Downing Street is playing down the idea that Starmer wants anything more than to put the UK on a more stable footing with Brussels. However, sources haven’t denied that Starmer’s pleasantries on the continent, though framed as talks with individual nations, were said with an eye on making changes to the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement, up for renegotiation in 2026.

Officials are adamant that these bilateral talks with Germany and France are exactly that – bilateral that have nothing to do with the trade deal, which can only be altered through the EU.

And there are big hurdles to clear before that could happen. Starmer will have to agree to ease immigration controls for young Europeans to come to the UK if he wants his Brexit reset to succeed, EU sources have told i. The PM insisted last week he had no plans to agree to a wider EU youth mobility scheme. But that is not the same as ruling it out for good.

Thomas-Symonds has already met with his Brussels counterpart, Maroš Šefčovič, in what the government said were first steps “as the UK seeks to reset its relationship with the bloc and build closer cooperation on shared issues.” A government release quoted the minister: “Our Government is committed to resetting the relationship with the European Union, to strengthen ties, reinforce our security and tackle barriers to trade.”

Which, to some, might sound like rolling the pitch for something bigger.

The EU is wary so what can Starmer realistically do?

Even if he wanted to drag the UK closer to Europe, Starmer’s hands are tied politically. As we’ve seen, any suggestion that he seeks to reverse parts of Brexit will be met with howls of disapproval from Leavers or impossibly high bars from Remainers. Brexit, unfortunately for the PM, is still so emotive it can derail even the most stable of leaders.

Officials in Brussels know this and have set their expectations accordingly. “There is no appetite here to get back into negotiations with a partner that has been so unstable,” a Commission source tells the i. “Starmer is in now, but for how long?”

If Brexit fatigue became an issue for British politicians, our European counterparts felt it too. “We are happy it’s over. Everyone is tired of Brexit. No one talks about Britain and I can’t see any member state pushing for something new at the risk of pissing off the rest,” the official adds.

That said, Brussels can see room for closer cooperation on defence and other issues outside of big-ticket trade. And if Starmer can move from “simply not being a player here”, as a Commission official put it, to a credible partner, then who knows – there’s a lot of time until 2026.

Optimists among those wanting the UK to move towards Europe say that now Starmer is in power and has control of government mechanics, he could use the next few years to prepare for dramatic change, should he want. He could use the civil service to publish reports on the economic benefits of closer ties. When you consider the public’s shift in attitudes to Brexit, it’s easy to see how a change in tone from government could transpire into a manifesto pledge.

European diplomats say Starmer’s trip to Berlin went down well, not least because of political instability on the continent. “A visit from an old friend at times when things here are quite strained was quite welcome,” says a German official.

Meaningful progress, though, is still way off. For now, Starmer can do little but work within the narrow margins of what is palatable at home and what a disinterested Europe can be bothered to countenance after eight years of hostility.

The PM might be advised to be honest with the public and paraphrase Theresa May during the hardest bloodiest days of the Brexit battle: Brexit still means Brexit and, despite his best efforts, nothing’s changed.