Former Brexit negotiator now open to scrapping Labour’s EU red lines

LONDON — Architects of the U.K.’s post-Brexit “red lines” now back a rethink on the EU relations strictures at the next election. Nick Thomas-Symonds, who served as former Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s top negotiator with Brussels, said that Britain should be open to getting rid of the boundaries in the interest of economic growth.

The former Cabinet minister, who led “reset” talks with the EU until July, was one of the staunchest defenders of the red lines — which rule out rejoining the single market, the customs union and restoring freedom of movement. Labour campaigned and won the 2024 general election on those promises as it sought to move the Brexit conversation on after years of fractious debate.

Thomas-Symonds is the latest Starmer ally to express openness to dropping those restrictions in Labour’s manifesto at the next election (which must be held before the end of summer 2029). The comments further demonstrate the shift in opinion in the Labour Party, and its belief that public sentiment has moved with it.