Starmer's EU Reset Gamble Could Cost Him Power as Reform and Greens Split Labour Vote

Britain's vote to leave the European Union a decade ago continues to shape its politics deeply. Last week's local elections exposed a sharp split in Prime Minister Keir Starmer's Labour Party, with younger pro-EU voters switching to the Green Party while socially conservative working-class voters in Wales, Scotland, and northern England moved to Nigel Farage's Reform Party, costing Labour councils in Sunderland, St Helens, and Barnsley. Starmer is now promising a "new direction" at a July EU summit, targeting deals to remove some border checks on food products, participation in the EU electricity market, and relief from the EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism. He also proposed a youth mobility scheme for studying and working in Europe. However, he ruled out rejoining the single market, customs union, or restoring freedom of movement, leaving both pro-EU and Brexit-supporting voters unsatisfied.