EU row breaks out at top of Labour as Nandy challenges Streeting’s remarks
Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy has described Wes Streeting's call for the UK to rejoin the EU as 'odd,' emphasizing that the government is focused on pragmatically repairing Brexit's damage. Nandy, a Remain supporter, said revisiting EU membership risks reopening settled debates. The comments come amid rising attention on the UK's EU relationship during the upcoming Makerfield byelection and potential Labour leadership contest.
- ▪Lisa Nandy criticized Wes Streeting's call for the UK to rejoin the EU, calling it 'odd' and untimely.
- ▪Nandy stated she believes Brexit was a mistake but supports repairing its effects without reigniting divisive debates.
- ▪Wes Streeting, who resigned from the cabinet, argued that the UK's future lies in rejoining the European Union for economic and security reasons.
- ▪Andy Burnham said rejoining the EU is not a focus for his byelection campaign, though he sees a long-term case for it.
- ▪Josh Simons linked rising costs of utilities to privatization, suggesting nationalization could be part of Labour's appeal to voters.
Opening excerpt (first ~120 words) tap to expand
Lisa Nandy said the government was ‘trying to repair in a pragmatic way’ the damage done by Brexit. Photograph: Jonathan Brady/PAView image in fullscreenLisa Nandy said the government was ‘trying to repair in a pragmatic way’ the damage done by Brexit. Photograph: Jonathan Brady/PALabourCulture secretary says Streeting’s call for UK to rejoin EU is ‘odd’Lisa Nandy told the BBC she did not understand ‘sudden focus on Europe’ from Labour leadership hopeful UK politics live – latest updates Kiran Stacey Policy editorSun 17 May 2026 06.51 EDTLast modified on Sun 17 May 2026 06.52 EDTSharePrefer the Guardian on GoogleThe UK culture secretary has dismissed calls for Britain to re-enter the European Union as “odd”, a day after her former cabinet colleague Wes Streeting said the country’s future…
Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at World news | The Guardian.
Discussion
0 commentsMore from World news | The Guardian
