The Institute for Public Policy Research wants the British government to set, in the medium term, a goal of rejoining the European Union. The Independent carried the summary at 19 October, midnight. The report is not a law and not an announced referendum. It says Russian aggression and Donald Trump’s unpredictability make full membership necessary for prosperity, security and democracy.

Harry Quilter-Pinner, IPPR’s executive director, writes that a string of one-off deals will not be enough. The destination, in the text, is membership. That does not mean, he says, a referendum tomorrow, but work to build consent at home and in Brussels. Laura Chappell asks to stop talking about the 2016 Brexit: today’s EU is a different body, more and more a security alliance.

IPPR and Persuasion UK polling, from June samples, gives, among those with a view, a 64-36 split for return. HuffPost cites 52% for joining and 29% for staying out, across the whole sample. Even among Labour voters looking at Reform, the Independent puts 54% for the EU. These are polls, not ballot boxes.

Prime minister Andy Burnham recently said an in-out referendum in the next manifesto was “possible” and that he also wants other ways of drawing closer. A government spokesperson said an ambitious, close relationship with the EU was being built, with chances for young people. That is not an accession bid lodged.

Neil Kinnock backed the call. Nick Boles and pro-European groups, European Movement UK and Best for Britain, welcomed the change of frame. IPPR asks, among other things, for a European defence alliance in which London would bring capabilities, including satellite communications. That is a think-tank list, not a treaty.

Britain left the EU in 2020, after the 2016 vote. Return would need negotiation, domestic consent and agreement from the 27. The report opens a destination. It does not close it.

Image: ChiralJon, EU flag at Westminster, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons; a banner, not the 19 October 2026 IPPR launch.

Sources consulted: UK must rejoin EU to combat growing threat from Russia and Trump, Burnham warned - The Independent; UK must seek EU membership to protect our prosperity, security and democracy - IPPR.