UK needs ‘national consensus’ over rejoining EU, David Miliband says

Key Takeaways

• Britain needs a “national consensus” about rejoining the European Union, David Miliband has said, in response to revelations that the UK government pitched the creation of a single market for goods with the EU to the bloc.
• The former foreign secretary, who is now president of the International Rescue Committee, said he thought the UK needed a reset of its relations with the EU at “a much higher dosage” than the government was planning.
• Asked on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme about the report by the Guardian, he said he was “absolutely convinced” the security and prosperity of the UK depended on an “institutionalised, deep and strong relationship with the rest of Europe”.
• “When the government says we want a reset of our relations with Europe, I think that’s a good thing, but then when I look at the reset so far, [which] is only worth £9bn by 2040 and I remember that Britain is a £3tn economy, I’m left saying no, we need a much higher dosage in our reset.” When pressed on whether he would advocate for rejoining the union, he said: “What we have to do is build a national consensus about our position with the European Union.
• I’m very happy with it as a long-term goal … I want this strong institutional relationship with the European Union, but then I know the deal we had until 2016 is not available now; we’re not going to be able to get that deal again.” The European Union was changing profoundly, he said, with Ukraine an increasingly important factor.