On April 24, 2026, a familiar name returned to the center of Britain’s ongoing debate about its place in Europe. Philip Rycroft, the former permanent secretary at the Department for Exiting the European Union—the very office that engineered Britain’s historic split from the EU—has called for a national conversation about the possibility of reversing Brexit. His intervention, published in The Times and echoed across several media outlets, has reignited a debate that many political leaders hoped would quietly fade away.
Rycroft’s argument is as direct as it is sobering. The promises that underpinned the Leave campaign—sovereignty, economic revival, and tighter immigration control—have, in his view, failed to materialize. "Most economic analysis suggests that we have taken a significant hit to GDP as a result of leaving the single market," Rycroft wrote, according to The Independent. He didn’t mince words about the economic outlook, noting that "no one can credibly claim that we have marched to the sunny uplands of sustained economic growth as a consequence of Brexit."
The numbers back him up. Recent polling, cited by Rycroft and conducted by YouGov for the campaign group Best for Britain, shows that only 29% of the UK population is satisfied with the current relationship with the EU, while a clear majority—53%—now favor rejoining. This marks a dramatic shift in public sentiment, with support for rejoining especially strong among Labour, Liberal Democrat, and Green supporters (83%, 84%, and 82% respectively, according to el-Balad). Even among Conservative voters, 39% back the idea of rejoining, and 18% of Reform voters are on board.
Rycroft’s critique extends beyond the economic ledger. He points out that the post-Brexit surge in migration has undermined the Leave campaign’s pledge to reclaim control over Britain’s borders. The data is telling: 63% of recent poll respondents now support a return to freedom of movement, a policy once painted as a threat to national sovereignty. "We are seemingly no nearer achieving an immigration policy that commands general consent," Rycroft observed, highlighting the disconnect between political promises and lived reality.
But perhaps the most pressing part of Rycroft’s argument is geopolitical. He warns that the "chill winds" of global instability—marked by ongoing conflict on the European mainland and a more inward-looking America—have made unity with European neighbors more vital than ever for the UK’s security. "Chill winds don’t just blow through the international trading order. The postwar certainties that underpinned our security as a nation are visibly crumbling. With a hot war on the European mainland perpetrated by a revanchist Russia and an increasingly disengaged America, it is beyond peradventure that we must look to solidarity with our friends and neighbours in Europe to secure our defences," Rycroft said, as quoted by Infonasional.
His call for a "clear-headed appraisal" of Britain’s best interests is not, he admits, a quick fix. Rejoining the EU would be a "long and windy" road, requiring intricate negotiations and significant compromise. The political obstacles are formidable. Labour leader Keir Starmer has so far refused to cross the "red lines" of rejoining the single market or customs union, insisting that while closer ties with the EU are desirable, full membership remains off the table. "If it’s in our national interest … then we should consider that, we should go that far," Starmer said, according to Infonasional. Meanwhile, other senior figures within Labour are reportedly pressing for a policy review ahead of the next general election, wary of losing progressive voters to the Liberal Democrats and Greens.
Polling expert John Curtice, speaking at a recent Westminster event, criticized what he called Labour’s "strategy of silence" on Brexit. He warned that Labour could lose more by allowing progressive voters to drift away than by avoiding conflict with pro-Brexit parties. As Curtice put it, Labour has lost about one in ten voters to Reform, but one in four to the Liberal Democrats and Greens. This electoral arithmetic, he argued, makes the party’s current caution a risky gamble.
The debate is not confined to Westminster. In Scotland, where 62% of voters backed remaining in the EU in 2016, Brexit has become a key part of the broader constitutional argument. Nationalist and pro-European parties have seized on the issue, presenting it as evidence of ongoing damage and a reason to reconsider Scotland’s place in the UK.
Meanwhile, everyday consequences of Brexit continue to ripple across the country and continent. At a recent European Parliament hearing, officials raised concerns about the status of EU citizens in the UK and British nationals living in the EU. Particular attention was given to children born to EU citizens in the UK who lack settled status, potentially facing high healthcare charges and barriers to employment. "The UK approach has significant consequences for newborn children, resulting in very high healthcare charges," noted a senior official from the European Commission’s Post-Withdrawal Agreement Unit.
Charities supporting those affected by Brexit are under strain. Organizations like Settled, which assist EU citizens in the UK, report a surge in requests for help even as government funding dwindles. For the estimated 1.2 million Britons living in the EU, much of the support work is done by volunteers. "We are all here as volunteers," said Fiona Godfrey and Jane Golding, principals of British in Europe. They ended their testimony with a plea: "We would call on the British government also to fund the work that is needed to be done, for the support of British citizens living in the EU, because that has not been forthcoming."
Amid these practical and political challenges, Rycroft’s intervention has prompted a broader discussion about the risks of what Tom Brufatto of Best for Britain calls a "halfway house" approach. Labour’s current strategy—aligning with but not joining the single market—may avoid reopening old wounds but leaves Britain without a say in the rules that shape its trade and regulation. Since Brexit in 2020, the UK has diverged on 76 rules and regulations, particularly affecting farm exports, underscoring the complexities of regulatory divergence.
Former Labour leader Neil Kinnock was blunt about the long-term trajectory. He argued that Brexit had inflicted "enormous damage" on the UK and predicted that Labour would one day campaign to rejoin the EU, even if he wouldn’t live to see it. Anand Menon, director of UK in a Changing Europe, pointed to inherent contradictions in Labour’s current vision, suggesting that the Brexit question is no longer settled by the 2016 referendum but by the growing gap between party positions and voter sentiment.
For now, Rycroft’s call for a patient, reasoned debate is likely to gain traction as the UK faces economic headwinds and a shifting global order. Whether his appeal will lead to concrete political action—or simply add another chapter to Britain’s long and winding European story—remains to be seen.