{
  "id": 19230936,
  "title": "I wrote Labour’s Brexit red lines. This is why it’s time to scrap them | Chris Ward",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/09/i-wrote-labours-brexit-red-lines-this-is-why-its-time-to-scrap-them",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-11-09T17:00:14.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Guardian Business",
    "slug": "guardian-business",
    "url": "https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/nov/09/labour-brexit-red-lines-scrap-europe"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Since 2020, the world has evolved significantly, and a closer relationship with Europe is now seen as the most effective means to achieve peace and security. Labour MP for Brighton Kemptown and Peacehaven, Chris Ward, has been actively involved in the Brexit debate throughout his career, serving as an adviser, helping to craft Labour's red lines for the 2024 manifesto, and working as a Cabinet Office minister on an EU-reset. Despite these efforts, the discussions surrounding the EU have not progressed much since the UK's departure on January 31, 2020.\n\nThe red lines drawn up during the Labour leadership contest in 2020 aimed to close down the debate and narrow Labour's target, advocating a closer relationship with Europe without rejoining the bloc or relitigating the 2016 referendum. This strategy, known as Schrödinger's Brexit, was believed to be the right course for Labour at the time. However, as the world has changed, the relevance of these red lines has diminished. The economic arguments for rejoining the EU or the single market remain the same as in 2016, but the geopolitical shifts and security and cyber threats now demand a reassessment of the relationship between the UK and Europe.\n\nEmerging threats from Russia, China, Iran, and others, combined with the declining reliability of the United States as a security partner, necessitate a reevaluation of the depth and nature of the EU relationship. Ensuring peace and prosperity in a time of growing global threats and US retrenchment should now be the primary focus of foreign policy, geostrategic choices, and domestic priorities. This calls for a more ambitious future relationship with the EU, potentially through formal rejoining or an associate deal, rather than relying on tired arguments from 2020.",
  "summary": "The world has moved on since 2020 – in uncertain times, closer ties to Europe are the best way to peace and security Chris Ward is Labour MP for Brighton Kemptown and Peacehaven If offering the public some “breathing space” in the cost of living crisis was the mantra of last month’s budget, the political space it created to revisit our relationship with the European Union may prove more defining.…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}