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00:00Keir Starmer is someone who opposed Brexit back in 2016 and wanted Britain to remain
00:05in the EU.
00:06So how could his election change the UK's relations with the European Union?
00:11Well, to talk about that, I'm joined on set by France 24's Caroline Clarkson, who has
00:15been looking into the issue.
00:17Caroline, you wrote an article before the election about the fact that Labour really
00:22didn't say much about Brexit during the campaign.
00:25Why is that?
00:26That's right.
00:27So this can pretty much be explained by what we call the red wall.
00:32Those red wall seats that traditional Labour voters who deserted the party at the last
00:38election in 2019 and voted for the Conservatives, Labour really needed to win those people back.
00:45So the party just avoided talking about Brexit.
00:48Why?
00:49Because a lot of those people voted for Brexit and Labour was worried about thinking that
00:53mentioning or criticising Brexit would put those people off.
00:56So they played it very safe.
00:58That seems to have paid off because they've now won back most of those seats.
01:01But yes, we've seen this sort of conspiracy of silence about Brexit during the campaign,
01:06even though Keir Starmer himself opposed Brexit.
01:08I mean, it's a divisive issue, so I can see why you'd want to avoid it.
01:12Now Keir Starmer has taken office.
01:16Are things going to change then in Brussels?
01:18So I'll tell you what's not going to change, Alison.
01:22We're not going to see the UK rejoining the EU, the single market, the customs union or
01:27accepting freedom of movement.
01:30Labour ruled out all of those things in their manifesto.
01:33So you know, obviously going back in a manifesto pledge, not a good idea.
01:37So we can probably expect that those things won't happen.
01:41Also Starmer doubled down on the eve of the election saying he didn't expect a return
01:45to the single market or the customs union in his lifetime.
01:49However, never say never.
01:50The expert I interviewed for my article, very interesting.
01:54He said that if Labour wins a second term in office in five years time and people think
02:00increasingly that they want to rejoin the EU.
02:03So if public opinion shifts even more that way, and if the UK doesn't see much economic
02:09growth, there could be increasing pressure on the government to reassess that stance.
02:15So that's looking far ahead.
02:17In the short term, what we can expect, Labour have said in their manifesto they want to
02:21reset relations with the EU.
02:23So the trade deal that the Conservatives negotiated, that comes up for renewal next year.
02:28We can probably see some tweaks to that, for example, on reduced checks for British food
02:33exports, that kind of thing.
02:35Labour would like to do more.
02:36They'd like, for example, to do a deal for touring artists like musicians to make things
02:41easier for them.
02:44But basically, that could be difficult.
02:48So in an interview with The Telegraph last month, Michel Barnier.
02:52So remember, he was the chief negotiator during the Brexit negotiations.
02:56He basically, and I'm paraphrasing here, he basically said no cherry picking from the
03:01single market without accepting freedom of movement.
03:05And like I said earlier, Labour have ruled out freedom of movement.
03:08So this just shows how difficult it's going to be for Labour to, you know, improve relations
03:13do more with the EU, but while remaining fully outside the bloc.
03:17Yeah, it's the kind of thing you can't really have it both ways.
03:20But I guess it remains to be seen.
03:21We'll see if things get a little softer between the EU and the UK.
03:25Caroline, thank you so much for that.
03:27That's Caroline Clarkson, a reporter from our internet desk.