Ministers are hiring a new EU negotiator as British PM Keir Starmer seeks to reshape the UK’s relationship with Europe, The Guardian reports.
The post, which will cost at least £153,000 a year and be advertised by the Cabinet Office, will act as a spokesperson on all matters relating to the UK’s relationship with the bloc.
The role is described as “principal adviser to the Prime Minister and Minister for European Union Relations [Nick Thomas-Symonds] on matters relating to the relationship with the EU and the implementation of the “EU reset,” as well as international economic issues.”
The candidate will also represent the Prime Minister in the negotiations. The Trade and Co-operation Agreement – the bedrock of UK-EU relations after Brexit – will be the subject of renewal negotiations in 2025.
The representative is likely to be responsible for overseeing those negotiations and will receive a salary of between £153,000 and £200,000.
Starmer has vowed to turn the page on the UK’s relationship with the EU. Since taking office, he has visited German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Berlin and met French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris. He also hosted 50 leaders from across the continent at the European Policy Community meeting at Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire.
Speaking last month, Starmer acknowledged that resetting relations would be difficult but said it would “turn the page on the old way of negotiating” in favour of a more “constructive” approach.
The Conservative Party said the hiring of a new EU negotiator shows the Prime Minister is trying to “undermine Brexit and our status as a sovereign nation with his plan to bring the country back into the EU.”
Shadow Foreign Secretary Priti Patel, said:
“The Conservative party will not stand by and allow the will of the British people to be reversed while Labour arrogantly capitulates to the EU.”
A Labour Party source said:
“This is truly desperate stuff from the Conservatives. There will be no return to the EU, customs union, single market or freedom of movement. We are focused on acting in the national interest – tackling barriers to trade, improving cooperation on smashing the criminal people-smuggling gangs and working closely with our allies to stand up to Putin’s aggression. We won’t take Britain back to the Tory days of chaos and division.”
The Cabinet Office has been contacted for comment.
