Revealed: PM's ambitious plan for stronger EU ties

Exclusive Starmer thinks people have moved on from Brexit and should look forward, not back

- Pippa Crerar Oslo Lisa O'Carroll

The UK has "ambitious" plans to secure a closer trading partnership with the EU, Keir Starmer has said, as he argued the British public had moved on from Brexit.

Before a landmark UK-EU summit, the prime minister urged people to "look forward, not back" as the country embarked on the next stage of its relationship with the bloc.

At the end of a week in which he has struck trade deals with the US and India, he indicated the UK would align with the EU on food standards and work more closely on law enforcement; he also said he would support a controlled youth mobility scheme.

The government is beginning a major political offensive to explain the benefits of closer ties with the EU, amid some anxiety within Labour over how Reform UK will respond.

Frustrations are emerging in the EU over what is seen as a cautious approach to its request for a reset in relations, in part because of the electoral threat from Nigel Farage's party.

In an interview on HMS St Albans during a visit to Norway, Starmer told the Guardian: "I'm ambitious about what we can achieve there. I want a closer relationship on security, on defence, on trade and on the economy. The mindset is important and this is, I think, a shared approach. Let's look forward, not back. Let's recognise we're living in a different world. We're in a new era on security and defence. Equally, we're in a new era on trade and the economy now.

"What President Trump is doing through his tariffs is for a purpose, and we need to recognise that the way we lower barriers with like-minded partners really matters."