A counted Prime Minister Starmer's crisis speech: Moving Britain into the "heart of Europe"
The embattled British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is increasingly seeking a rapprochement with the EU following the election debacle for his Labour Party.
11.05.2026, 11:09
11.05.2026, 12:23
SDA
His government will be defined by bringing Britain back into the heart of Europe, Starmer will say in a crisis speech this morning, according to a government spokesman. "So that we become stronger economically, in trade and in defense."
The right-wing populist Reform UK party with Brexit campaigner Nigel Farage and the Conservatives, which triumphed on super election day on Thursday, are defined by destroying the connection to Europe. The Prime Minister will speak of "major challenges". "Incremental changes" will not be enough, he will say.
Starmer: These are "not ordinary times"
Labour lost over 1,400 seats on local councils in the local elections in England. In the general election in Wales, Labour's stronghold for decades, the party slipped to third place behind the independence party Plaid Cymru and Reform UK. In his speech, Starmer will admit to having to find a better answer than after the 2024 election victory: "Because these are not ordinary times."
Starmer had already been following the gradual rapprochement with the European Union in recent months. Further measures are to be agreed at a summit between the British and EU leaders this summer. The British government has so far ruled out a full return to the customs union.
