A shocking report has been released today by the influential left-wing think tank, the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR), calling for Britain to make EU membership its medium-term goal.
Andy Burnham with Von Der Leyen (Image: Getty)
Andy Burnham has today been handed a blueprint to deliver the ultimate Brexit betrayal to the British people.
The Prime Minister has already admitted that he will push for new post-Brexit deals with the EU at a summit next month, in a move Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch warned risks ‘unpicking’ the historic deal.
But in a shocking report published on Monday, influencial left-wing think tank IPPR said the changes in global politics of the past decade mean the UK should now make becoming an EU state its “medium-term” goal.
Harry Quilter-Pinner, IPPR’s executive director, said: “The world Britain built its post-Brexit strategy for no longer exists.
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“We are entering an age in which economic strength, security and political influence increasingly depend on scale, and Britain cannot manufacture that scale on its own.”
The report argued that Britain lacks the “scale” to deal with “Russian aggression, American unreliability and Chinese coercion” on its own, restricting the UK’s sovereignty and its ability to act.
The Government has so far been reluctant to choose between the US and Europe, insisting it can maintain strong partnerships with both.
But the IPPR report argued that such “hedging” was “a strategy for survival rather than success”.
IPPR associate director Laura Chappell said: “Whether it’s protecting households from swings in the cost of living, restarting industry, or keeping us secure, we lack the weight to act alone.
“In today’s world, we can’t take back control while being an outsider in Europe.”
But the think tank conceded that the Government would need to take time to build a case for membership, suggesting working with the EU on defence, manufacturing and democratic resilience as steps on the way to full membership.
Mr Quilter-Pinner said: “There is one option which is best for the UK’s relationship with Europe – membership of the EU.
“That does not mean announcing another referendum tomorrow. But this means starting work to move towards this destination, building political support at home and in Europe.”
Part of moving towards membership could include seeking inclusion in the EU’s “Made in Europe” scheme, which prioritises European firms for public contracts and subsidies.
So far, discussion has focused on including the UK’s car industry in the scheme, which the Government has said would be welcome, but is also likely to require alignment with EU tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, potentially putting net zero targets at risk.
But IPPR said a “more comprehensive – and less transactional – approach” was needed.
With the Brexit referendum now a decade in the past, IPPR said there was now a public appetite for EU membership.
Polling carried out for the think tank by Persuasion UK in June found 52% of people supported rejoining, while only 29% opposed.
Even among those Labour voters considering switching to Reform UK, some 54% supported joining the EU.
The think tank said old arguments about freedom of movement had lost “salience”, while claims of “betraying” the 2016 referendum also mattered less.
But it noted that concerns about contributions to the EU’s budget and replacing the pound with the euro could cause significant damage to support for membership.
A Government spokesman said: “The threadbare Brexit deal inherited by this government has weakened our ability to control illegal immigration, slowed growth and left businesses tangled in red tape.
“We are working on practical deals that pay off for British farmers and families and will support growth in every UK postcode, cutting back on paperwork and easing pressure on prices.”
Meanwhile, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood is to meet EU commissioner Magnus Brunner in London on Monday for talks on migration.
Ahead of the talks, Mr Brunner said the UK’s contribution to tackling illegal migration was “indispensable”.
Pointing to a significant drop in illegal migration, including across the Channel, he said: “Anyone looking at the EU’s migration record today will find a different picture from the one many remember. We have put our European house in order.”
The think tank said old arguments about freedom of movement had lost “salience”, while claims of “betraying” the 2016 referendum also mattered less.
But it noted that concerns about contributions to the EU’s budget and replacing the pound with the euro could cause significant damage to support for membership.
A Government spokesman said: “The threadbare Brexit deal inherited by this government has weakened our ability to control illegal immigration, slowed growth and left businesses tangled in red tape.
“We are working on practical deals that pay off for British farmers and families and will support growth in every UK postcode, cutting back on paperwork and easing pressure on prices.”
Meanwhile, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood is to meet EU commissioner Magnus Brunner in London on Monday for talks on migration.
Ahead of the talks, Mr Brunner said the UK’s contribution to tackling illegal migration was “indispensable”.
Pointing to a significant drop in illegal migration, including across the Channel, he said: “Anyone looking at the EU’s migration record today will find a different picture from the one many remember. We have put our European house in order.”
Conscription age limit for men as UK told ‘prepare for war’
If World War 3 breaks out, men of these ages could be forced to join the UK’s army and fight in Europe.
Pat McFadden discusses prospect of conscription in 2025
Preparation for WW3 worst-case scenarios could be stepped up after the head of the army called on the UK’s political leaders to start a ‘frank conversation’ with the public about preparing for war.
General Sir Roly Walker told Sky News that ‘every’ citizen will be ‘asked to make sacrifices’ and play their part in the defence of the country.
It comes in the wake of escalation between Russia and Ukraine as the US, unthinkably, appears to be siding with Russia. US President Trump has in the past week urged Ukraine to ‘get a new leader’ after signing a deal with Russia for diesel supplies, and has increasingly blamed the global price of diesel on Ukraine’s refusal to surrender to Putin, rather than the US’ war with Iran.
It’s not something anyone wants to think about, but as tensions escalate around the world, there is a possibility that World War 3 could erupt. Just this past summer, the UK government last year told people to prepare for war on British soil, and is urging better preparedness for conflict across society.
British people could be forced to join the army if WW3 breaks out (Image: Getty)
Assuming tensions continue to ramp up and a new global conflict were to erupt, there are some indicators about what would happen if the UK went to war and needed to introduce conscription, or mandatory military service, whether in a WW3 situation or not.
In WW2, conscription began for men aged between 20 and 22 in 1939, up to six months before the war actually broke out.
The UK Parliament website says: “During the spring of 1939, the deteriorating international situation forced the British government under Neville Chamberlain to consider preparations for a possible war against Nazi Germany. Plans for limited conscription applying to single men aged between 20 and 22 were given parliamentary approval in the Military Training Act in May 1939. This required men to undertake six months’ military training, and some 240,000 registered for service.”
But when war was declared, the age range was immediately widened to any man aged 18 to 41.
It continues: “On the day Britain declared war on Germany, 3 September 1939, Parliament immediately passed a more wide-reaching measure. The National Service (Armed Forces) Act imposed conscription on all males aged between 18 and 41 who had to register for service.”
The only men who weren’t called up were those who were too unfit medically, or who worked in vital industries like baking, farming, and medicine, which were vital to the war effort.
It adds: “Those medically unfit were exempted, as were others in key industries and jobs such as baking, farming, medicine, and engineering.”
By the end of 1941, women and ‘all childless widows’ between the ages of 20 and 30 were called up, while men aged up to 51 were called up for military service. Even those aged 52 to 60 were required to take part in “some form of military service.”
In 2024, Grant Shapps, who at the time was Defence Secretary, said that we are “moving from a post-war to a pre-war world”, and General Sir Patrick Sanders, Britain’s most senior army officer, called for an increase in the size of the army and said that the country needed to increase preparedness for conflict.
It isn’t clear what would happen to those refusing to serve in a potential WW3 scenario, but in WW2, British ‘conscientious objectors’ were put on trial, with some given mandatory jobs to contribute to the war effort in other ways instead.