By Yossi Mekelberg

This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Brexit referendum and none of the promises made by those who supported leaving this unique arrangement have ever materialized. The UK is not more independent, because it was independent then; the economy is not doing better, but the opposite; public services have not enjoyed a bonanza as a result of not paying into the EU’s coffers; and immigration, which motivated many of the Brexiters, some more openly, others more tacitly, has only increased in recent years.

The case of resetting the relationship between the UK and the EU in the post-Brexit era reminded me of an Armenian proverb: “One fool threw a stone in the well, 40 wise people couldn’t get it out.” Hence, it is the task of the current wise people in government to rectify one of the most colossal acts of self-harm in British politics.

There is not a single member of the current Cabinet who did not support staying in the EU, including Prime Minister Keir Starmer. However, considering the paralysis the Brexit debacle caused, there is no appetite to reopen the question of returning as a full EU member. There is hardly any sign from the EU headquarters in Brussels, either, that European leaders have the energy to start such negotiations anytime soon.

Yet there is also recognition that burying the Brexit hatchet is in the interest of both Brussels and London — a view reinforced by the war in Ukraine, the Russian threat to Europe and the return of the unpredictable Donald Trump to the White House. Labour and its leader, Starmer, campaigned in the 2024 election on a platform of........

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