Calls for Labour to embrace a pro-EU platform are growing – and this time they’re coming from an unexpected place: the right-wing Telegraph.
During a debate on BBC Newsnight on Wednesday, Telegraph columnist Poppy Coburn said it was a “complete no-brainer” for Labour to run on a platform of rejoining the European Union, arguing the political benefits far outweigh the risks.
🔵 ‘The red wall voters are gone – Labour has nothing to lose’
Coburn argued that the voters Labour lost over Brexit – and who have now drifted toward Reform UK – are “long gone”, meaning Labour no longer needs to cater to them.
Instead, she said Labour should pursue the bloc’s pro-EU centre-left voters, many of whom are currently shifting toward the Greens and Liberal Democrats.
She said embracing a pro-EU stance would:
- “Galvanise the centre-left”
- “Radicalise progressive England”
- Target voters drifting away from Labour
- “Deeply upset Nigel Farage,” which she framed as a political advantage
📈 ‘It won’t fix growth – but it will energise Labour’s base’
Coburn admitted rejoining the EU would not magically transform the UK economy or solve its long-term productivity issues.
But she argued that politically, it would be a winning strategy – particularly in light of Reform UK’s surge and Labour’s polling volatility.
“You need to galvanise the left on one thing,” she said. “Going back into the European Union would really upset Nigel Farage. You get to paint him as someone who’s already been tried and failed.”
🇪🇺 Lewis Goodall agrees: closer EU ties are an electoral asset
Her comments were backed by Lewis Goodall from The News Agents, who said Labour could gain significant electoral rewards by shifting toward a closer relationship with Europe – especially with soft-Remain and pro-EU voters.
📰 Even the Telegraph now admits Brexit is a ‘disaster’
The remarks came just days after Coburn’s own newspaper, The Telegraph, ran a brutal editorial branding Brexit an “unmitigated economic disaster.”
The editorial marked a significant shift within conservative media, where outright criticism of Brexit had previously been taboo.
With Reform UK energising Eurosceptic voters and Labour trying to hold together a fractured coalition, calls for a bold pro-EU stance appear to be gaining traction from across the political spectrum.You
You may also like: Revealed: The 13 Tories Farage is secretly targeting next
Leave a Reply