Labour Brexit red lines co-author calls for their retirement by next election

Ward said the main reason for abandoning the red lines is that the UK could no longer rely on the Americans, a geopolitical shift he said merited a reappraisal of Britain's diplomatic relationships. He said Starmer had twice had to scramble alliances together, on Ukraine and on the Strait of Hormuz. He wrote that it would be brave in the extreme to pin the UK's future security on the outcome of US elections.

Ward said rejoining the EU or single market would have economic benefits but that supporters should make a different argument, warning that pinning the case on old arguments risks the same result. He said he had never understood the argument for rejoining the single market without full EU membership, and called for public debate on formal rejoin or associate membership like Canada.

Ward said the reset deal should get over the line at next month's UK-EU summit, delivering cheaper prices for businesses, a youth mobility scheme or the return of Erasmus+. At a Brexit reset meeting on 20 November in Brussels, the UK will sign new agreements on agriculture and food, emissions trading and a youth mobility scheme. Burnham will attend the European Political Community summit in Dublin on Thursday and meet European leaders on the sidelines. The prime minister is expected to give a speech after the summit on options for the future relationship.