The clock is ticking for the UK Government to reforge closer economic ties with Europe as a pivotal EU-UK summit approaches.
SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn says the country cannot afford more dithering and delay.
He warned that “small steps won’t cut it” and said now is the time for bold action to reverse the deepening damage of Brexit.
Flynn is calling on the Labour UK Government to commit to rejoining the Single Market and Customs Union.
He said this would not only boost the economy but also strengthen national security amid global uncertainty.
As the United States grows less reliable under a possible second Trump presidency, Flynn argues that Europe is where the UK must turn.
He cited figures from the Office for Budget Responsibility showing that Brexit has slashed UK trade by 15%.
That, he says, is not a statistic but a warning sign of long-term economic decline.
Flynn said Labour’s current plans, which involve minimal technical alignment with EU food and environmental standards, are simply not enough.
He dismissed suggestions that small-scale regulatory agreements will deliver the economic transformation the UK urgently needs.
Instead, he insisted that a full return to the Single Market and Customs Union would unlock growth and stability.
Flynn pointed to Donald Trump’s previous imposition of damaging tariffs on UK goods as evidence that relying on the US is a risk.
He also criticised the US’s direction of travel on foreign aid and its wavering support for Ukraine.
Flynn said if Labour is truly serious about ending economic stagnation, then it must face up to the reality of Brexit’s consequences.
He argued that Brexit combined with austerity has left the UK economy in a state of “terminal decline.”
According to Flynn, the dead hand of the UK Treasury under Chancellor Rachel Reeves has only made things worse.
He urged Sir Keir Starmer to match his rhetoric with action and stop pandering to outdated political calculations.
Flynn described the upcoming EU-UK summit, just one month away, as the ideal opportunity to act decisively.
He challenged the Labour leader to pull the lever of economic growth by rejoining the Single Market.
Failing to do so, he said, would prove Labour is not ready to meet the scale of the economic crisis ahead.
Politics, he concluded, is about choices—and it’s time for the UK Government to choose Europe.
