Relations with the EU

What positions have MPs and peers taken on the UK's relationship with the European Union over the past twelve months?

A briefing written by AI (Claude) from the Hansard records cited below, prepared 28 October 2026 from records up to 27 October 2026. Check the sources before relying on it.

In brief

Government ministers ruled out a return to the Single Market or Customs Union while pursuing narrower agreements, as when Nick Thomas-Symonds said "there will be no return to the Single Market, Customs Union, or freedom of movement" [Source 2].
Liberal Democrat MPs and peers pressed for a customs union and single market membership, as when Lord Newby said Liberal Democrat policy is "to rejoin both the customs union and the single market, with the ultimate goal of rejoining the EU" [Source 15].
Conservatives opposed a customs union, as when Baroness Finn said "There are only two coherent options: full membership of the European Union or an independent United Kingdom outside its customs union." [Source 3]
The Senedd and Northern Ireland Assembly heard mostly pro-closer-ties arguments, with dissent from a Welsh Conservative, as when Eóin Tennyson told the Assembly "A UK-EU customs union is the surest and most significant step that the Government could take to boost growth" [Source 32].

Government ministers - firm red lines, incremental deals

Ministers rejected a return to the single market or customs union, as when Dan Tomlinson said "We are not planning to make an assessment as there will be no return to the Customs Union or the Single Market." [Source 4]

Lucy Rigby said the Government "is considering options for a closer relationship with the EU" and that impacts would be presented "in the usual way when they are brought forward" [Source 1].
Nick Thomas-Symonds pointed to negotiating "a food and drink agreement, an electricity agreement and linking our Emissions Trading Schemes" [Source 2].

Liberal Democrats - customs union and single market now

Liberal Democrats argued the economic case, as when Al Pinkerton said "a better deal with Europe could generate £25 billion extra per year for the Treasury" [Source 8].

Calum Miller asked whether the Government is "conducting their own impact assessment into the benefits of joining the single market and a customs union" [Source 7].
Lord Newby said a customs union would be "more straightforward to negotiate" [Source 15] than single market membership.

Conservatives - opposed to a customs union

Conservatives objected on trade policy and certainty, as when Lord Lamont said "Our ability to do independent trade deals would end." [Source 16]

Simon Hoare, who voted Remain, opposed Pinkerton's Bill because "the European Union does not want it" [Source 17].
Julia Lopez, for the opposition frontbench, asked "Will the Secretary of State tell businesses what the Prime Minister's preferred option is?" [Source 10]

Labour backbenchers and Plaid Cymru - go further

Some Labour backbenchers wanted a deeper deal than the Government's, as when Gareth Thomas said securing greater access to the single market "would be far more beneficial than mere customs union membership" [Source 19].

Stella Creasy said "a customs union alone will not cut it" [Source 20].
Plaid Cymru's Liz Saville-Roberts asked "When will he admit that the only solution to the chaos imposed by Brexit is to rejoin the customs union and the single market" [Source 22].

Devolved parliaments - mostly favourable, one dissent

Devolved members said these are matters for their own debates and not UK Parliament views. In the Senedd, Welsh Labour's Rebecca Evans said a bespoke customs union deal "would, inevitably, take a significant amount of time", so priorities are the EU reset work [Source 26]. Conservative Gareth Davies said "rejoining the customs union would be incredibly foolish" [Source 29]. In the Northern Ireland Assembly, Sinn Féin's Declan Kearney said "Setting a date for a referendum on constitutional change" [Source 31] was the key route back into the EU.

About the evidence: The material runs from October 2025 to October 2026, with no division records. Peers' contributions come mainly from one Lords debate on 29 January 2026. Each group rests on a handful of speakers. The Senedd and Northern Ireland Assembly decide many subjects for their own nations, and the Scottish Parliament contribution was too brief to characterise.

Relations with the EU

Sources