Rachel Reeves says Britain's future lies in the European Union

Former Chancellor Rachel Reeves has said Britain's future lies in the European Union. In a piece for the Sunday Times, she said Brexit had made the UK "poorer, weaker and less secure". It was her first major intervention since leaving the Treasury, the government department that runs the country's finances.

Ms Reeves said she believes Britain should rejoin the EU. She also said there is a debate to be had about the UK's future relationship with Europe.

Labour's 2024 election manifesto, the party's policy programme for that vote, ruled out three things: a return of free movement (the right to live and work in each other's countries), membership of the single market, and a customs union, which is a shared trading arrangement with the EU.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham has said any changes to the UK's relationship with the EU would need a mandate from voters at a general election. The next one is due by 2029.

Ms Reeves said she hoped an upcoming UK-EU summit would confirm a youth mobility scheme, an arrangement that lets young people live and work in the other party's country for a time. She said she pushed for the scheme while in office. She also said she hoped for progress towards UK entry into the Security Action for Europe (SAFE) scheme, which funds defence projects.

A defence pact agreed with the EU last May already allows UK-based defence companies to take part in projects funded by SAFE.

Full details of the Sunday Times piece and the BBC's coverage are available from those outlets.