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Good morning. It’s Mared Gwyn, back penning this newsletter after a week in my native Wales during what was a pivotal week for UK politics.
The governing Labour party has been plunged into crisis after bruising defeats in the recent Scottish, Welsh and local elections, and a tussle for the party’s leadership – and the helm of the UK government – is now well and truly underway.
The former health secretary Wes Streeting, whom I understand from Labour sources has been plotting to challenge Starmer’s premiership since last year, has stepped down and is biding his time before formally triggering a leadership contest. The mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, is expected to join the race if he successfully regains his seat in the House of Commons when he fights a by-election in a Brexit-voting constituency in the coming weeks.
And this weekend, Brexit was thrust to the very centre of the contest, re-emerging to shape the political debate ten years after the UK voted to leave the European Union.
Streeting on Saturday described Brexit as a “catastrophic mistake” that had left the UK “less wealthy, less powerful and less in control”, calling for a “new special relationship with the EU” and – crucially – stating that Britain’s future lies “one day back in the European Union.”
This, after serving a Starmer-led government that has gone to great pains to seek a renewed relationship with the EU without rowing back on Brexit in any way, in a bid to keep legacy Labour voters enticed by Nigel Farage’s Reform UK on side.
Burnham said on Sunday there is a “case” for re-joining the European Union “in the long-term”, but said he would not be advocating for it when he campaigns in the up-coming by-election in a constituency where Reform UK swept the board in the recent local elections.
It’s a bold move from both challengers – one that’s already been slammed by opposition parties and questioned by Starmer loyalists. But it could rally the Labour membership (who will decide on the next leader), and also entice pro-EU, left-wing voters that have been leaving Labour en masse for the Greens. Polling data suggests they are more likely to return to Labour under a new leader than voters who have defected to Reform UK.
What was clear to me as I journeyed by train through England’s north-west on Saturday morning is that this is a country where the political fault lines that were laid bare by Brexit continue to run deep. The train, which was travelling to London, carried protesters attending both a pro-Palestinian march in the capital, and the Unite the Kingdom rally organised by far-right, anti-Islam activist Tommy Robinson.
It’s difficult to remember a moment when political polarisation was so visible and palpable in daily life.
Meanwhile here in Brussels, officials had been hopeful that an UK-EU summit slated for the coming weeks could yield a major breakthrough in the “reset” in the relationship, including a deal on agrifood exports.
While Starmer’s supporters insist it’s business as usual, the political chaos is casting major doubt over the government’s ability to deliver on the long-awaited trading reset.
In other news this morning: Spain’s conservative popular party (PP) has lost its majority after regional elections in the largest region of Andalucía on Sunday, and will likely rely on the support of the far-right Vox party to govern.
Meanwhile the socialists of Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez suffered a bruising defeat, in what was the last major vote before next year’s general election, and therefore considered a litmus test for Spain’s shifting political landscape.
It also comes amid growing controversy over allegations that Madrid misused European funds to cover national pension expenses. The government categorically denies the claims and points to an accounting technicality, with one Spanish official categorically telling our Europe Editor Maria Tadeo that “not a single euro” of European money was ever used to pay for national pensions. The EU executive in Brussels has also backed Spain amid the row.
But the allegations have already riled some frugal nations already sceptical of joint European debt, and the dispute could hamper calls led by the French and Spanish leaders to roll over Covid-era joint debt as the bloc aims to re-assert itself in a competitive global landscape. Catch more analysis on today’s episode of Europe Today.
Mass Ukrainian drone strikes kill at least four people in Russia
A massive Ukrainian drone attack on the weekend killed at least four people in Russia, including three in the Moscow area, in what was one of the largest and most widespread Ukrainian drone attacks since the start of Russia’s invasion.
“Our responses to Russia’s prolongation of the war and its attacks on our cities and communities are entirely justified,” Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Sunday, adding that his country was learning to “overcome” Russia’s air defences, even where it is deeply concentrated, such as in the capital of Moscow.
The Russian Ministry of Defence said local air defences intercepted 556 Ukrainian drones across the country from Saturday night into early Sunday morning, with a further 30 shot down later on Sunday. Nathan Rennolds has more.
Von der Leyen lauds ‘dynamic new era’ in EU-India relations as Modi visits Sweden
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has vowed to deliver an investment agreement with India to complement the EU-India trade deal inked back in January, after a meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Stockholm.
“This is the missing piece of the puzzle in our reinforced economic cooperation,” von der Leyen said, describing trade as “only half of the equation”.
“All in all, this dynamic new era in EU-India relations opens historic opportunities, and we are determined to seize them,” Von der Leyen added.
During the second leg of Modi’s European tour, he visited Sweden’s Gothenburg to meet von der Leyen, his Swedish counterpart Ulf Kristersson, as well as European and Indian business leaders.
Emma De Ruiterhas more.
More from our newsrooms
Drone strike sparks fire near UAE nuclear plant amid Iran ceasefire tension. The strike on the perimeter of the UAE’s Barakah nuclear power plant on Sunday piles further strain on an already fragile ceasefire linked to the Iran conflict. Aadel Haleemhas more.
Terrorism scenario excluded by investigators following car attack in Italy’s Modena. Italy’s Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi said the 31-year-old man who drove into a crowd in Modena on Saturday was not suspected of a terrorist act and was dealing with mental issues. Fortunato Pinto has the details.
We’re also keeping an eye on
- EU foreign ministers gather in Brussels to talk development.
- European Commissioners for Migration, Magnus Brunner, and for the Mediterranean, Dubravka Šuica, join a meeting of the ministers of the interior of the MED 9 countries in Rovinj, Croatia.
- European Parliament plenary kicks off in Strasbourg later this afternoon.
That’s it for today. Maria Tadeo and Vincenzo Genovese contributed to this newsletter.
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