# I wrote Labour’s Brexit red lines. This is why it’s time to scrap them | Chris Ward

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/i-wrote-labours-brexit-red-lines-this-is-why-its-time-to-scrap-them-chris-ward/
- Published: 2026-11-09T17:00:14+00:00
- Updated: 2026-11-09T17:24:37+00:00
- Original publisher: The Guardian (publisher lean: Left)
- Original article: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/nov/09/labour-brexit-red-lines-scrap-europe
- Topics: Europe, Politics, Space, Technology, World

## Key points

- Chris Ward says Labour should retire its Brexit red lines before the next election.
- He argues Europe’s security challenges make closer UK-EU ties more urgent.
- The expected reset deal could include youth mobility and a return to Erasmus+.

## Summary

Chris Ward, Labour MP for Brighton Kemptown and Peacehaven, argues Labour should retire its Brexit red lines before the next general election. He helped shape them to keep Labour’s 2024 offer distinct from rejoining the EU, while still supporting closer ties; he says the geopolitical landscape has since changed and security now makes a deeper relationship with Europe worth reconsidering.

Ward says the economic case for EU membership is much as it was in 2016, but argues that growing threats from Russia, China and Iran, alongside uncertainty about US reliability, make security the more urgent reason to reassess the UK’s relationship with Europe. He expects the UK-EU reset deal, due to be discussed at a summit this month, to bring practical benefits such as lower business costs, a youth mobility scheme and a return to Erasmus+. He says those steps can fit within the current red lines, which he believes will have served their purpose by the next election.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.