London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Saturday, Jul 05, 2025

Gordon Brown says he will not give up fight to reverse Brexit

Gordon Brown says he will not give up fight to reverse Brexit

Comments at Guardian Live event are first time former PM has explicitly called for UK to rejoin EU
Gordon Brown has said he will not give up pushing for the UK to rejoin the EU, while stressing that this is a personal view and he accepts it is unlikely in the short term.

While the former prime minister was a strong supporter of remain before the 2016 referendum, his comments at a Guardian Live event on Wednesday night are the first time he has explicitly called for the UK to return to the EU.

“I want to rejoin the European Union,” Brown said. “I’ll not give up. I didn’t support joining the euro because I didn’t think it would work for Britain, it wasn’t because I objected to a single currency.

“I’m not some mad integrationist that in all situations will say, integrate, integrate, integrate. But I do think our future is still European, and I do think that myself. But I recognise that’s not what’s going to happen in the very short term, and I also recognise that we’ve also got to find a better way of expressing global Britain, to persuade people of the need for international cooperation.”

This was, he stressed, not a recommendation for Labour. “I’m only saying it as a personal view. I still regret leaving the European Union, and I still see a long-term future as part of Europe. And that’s all I need to say. That’s my contribution to the debate. I’m not there to decide Labour’s policy at the next election.”

Speaking and answering audience questions at the online event, Brown said he despaired of the negative, fear-based approach of the official remain campaign, saying he even phoned David Cameron to make this point. Brown said he was “just dismissed as being out of touch”.

He said: “My idea for the slogan for the European campaign was ‘leading, not leaving’, because I do think people need to be proud of their country, and being proud of your country by being a leading force in Europe, I think, could have won people’s hearts and minds to staying in the European Union.

“Now we’ve got what’s called global Britain, and I think this is where we should put pressure on the government. Because global Britain cannot be a glorified Hong Kong of the west, or a Singapore of the west, where we become a tax haven and we become a deregulatory centre for anybody and everybody to come in.

“So we’ve got to fashion what a global Britain, in the short term, is going to look like, and I think it is about something we’ve forgotten. Churchill said we had three circles of influence – Europe, America and the Commonwealth – and that was right, of course. But there is a fourth circle, and that’s the international institutions.

“And we should be playing a leading part in the United Nations, in the International Monetary Fund, in the World Bank. We should be shaping the agenda there with other countries. And we just seem to be out of that. And you really can’t talk about global Britain unless we’re part of that.”

After the Brexit referendum, Brown was a regular voice warning that no deal or an overly robust departure would greatly harm the union of the UK.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
London Stock Exchange Faces Historic Low in Initial Public Offerings
A new online platform has emerged in the United Kingdom, specifically targeting Muslim men seeking virgin brides
Trump Celebrates Independence Day with B-2 Flyover and Signs Controversial Legislation
Boris Johnson Urges Conservatives to Ignore Farage
SNP Ordered to Update Single-Sex Space Guidance Within Days
Starmer Set to Reject Calls for Wealth Taxes
Stolen Century-Old Rolls-Royce Recovered After Hotel Theft
Macron Presses Starmer to Recognise Palestinian State
Labour Delayed Palestine Action Ban Over Riot Concerns
Swinney’s Tax Comments ‘Offensive to Scots’, Say Tories
High Street Retailers to Enforce Bans on Serial Shoplifters
Music Banned by Henry VIII to Be Performed After 500 Years
Steve Coogan Says Working Class Is Being ‘Ethnically Cleansed’
Home Office Admits Uncertainty Over Visa Overstayer Numbers
JD Vance Questions Mandelson Over Reform Party’s Rising Popularity
Macron to Receive Windsor Carriage Ride in Royal Gesture
Labour Accused of ‘Hammering’ Scots During First Year in Power
BBC Head of Music Stood Down Amid Bob Vylan Controversy
Corbyn Eyes Hard-Left Challenge to Starmer’s Leadership
London Tube Trains Suspended After Major Fire Erupts Nearby
Richard Kemp: I Felt Safer in Israel Under Attack Than in the UK
Cyclist Says Police Cited Human Rights Act for Riding No-Handed
China’s Central Bank Consults European Peers on Low-Rate Strategies
AI Raises Alarms Over Long-Term Job Security
Saudi Arabia Maintains Ties with Iran Despite Israel Conflict
Musk Battles to Protect Tesla Amid Trump Policy Threats
Air France-KLM Acquires Majority Stake in Scandinavian Airlines
UK Educators Sound Alarm on Declining Child Literacy
Shein Fined €40 Million in France Over Misleading Discounts
Brazil’s Lula Visits Kirchner During Argentina House Arrest
Trump Scores Legislative Win as House Passes Tax Reform Bill
Keir Starmer Faces Criticism After Rocky First Year in Power
DJI Launches Heavy-Duty Coaxial Quadcopter with 80 kg Lift Capacity
U.S. Senate Approves Major Legislation Dubbed the 'Big Beautiful Bill'
Largest Healthcare Fraud Takedown in U.S. History Announced by DOJ
Poland Implements Border Checks Amid Growing Migration Tensions
Political Dispute Escalates Between Trump and Musk
Emirates Airline Expands Market Share with New $20 Million Campaign
Amazon Reaches Milestone with Deployment of One Millionth Robot
US Senate Votes to Remove AI Regulation Moratorium from Domestic Policy Bill
Yulia Putintseva Calls for Spectator Ejection at Wimbledon Over Safety Concerns
Jury Deliberations in Diddy Trial Yield Partial Verdict in Serious Criminal Charges
House Oversight Committee Subpoenas Former Jill Biden Aide Amid Investigation into Alleged Concealment of President Biden's Cognitive Health
King Charles Plans Significant Role for Prince Harry in Coronation
Two Chinese Nationals Arrested for Espionage Activities Against U.S. Navy
Amazon Reaches Major Automation Milestone with Over One Million Robots
Extreme Heat Wave Sweeps Across Europe, Hitting Record Temperatures
Meta Announces Formation of Ambitious AI Unit, Meta Superintelligence Labs
Robots Compete in Football Tournament in China Amid Injuries
Trump Administration Considers Withdrawal of Funding for Hospitals Providing Gender Treatment to Minors
×