PM flies away from trouble: With local ballots just days away, Starmer jets off to European summit as Labour members push for Britain to rejoin EU

Keir Starmer fled the local election campaign trail for a 4,500-mile round trip to the Armenian capital Yerevan for a meeting aimed at bringing Britain closer to the European Union.

The Prime Minister, branded “Keir Never Here” by critics for his love of foreign trips, had hoped to engage in discussions on Ukraine as well as holding talks on deepening ties with the EU.

It is drawing up plans for a major push to comply with EU rules with a shift to the left to head off a leadership challenge following this week’s local elections, which are expected to be disastrous for Labour.

The Prime Minister has vowed to bring Britain ‘much closer’ to Brussels as Labor members push him to rejoin the EU. Sir Keir signaled his move over the weekend with a series of interventions in which he stepped up his anti-Brexit rhetoric.

In Yerevan, he will attend the meeting of the European Political Community (EPC), which consists of EU member states and neighboring countries but has no decision-making authority.

The Prime Minister, who is strongly opposed to Brexit, tried to defuse the issue by promising at the last election that he would not reconsider the result of the 2016 referendum.

However, in a statement to the BBC at the weekend, he said he now believes Britain should be “much closer” to the EU.

Writing in the Observer newspaper, he claimed that strengthening the economy ‘means deepening our economic relationship with the EU’.

Sir Keir Starmer (right) during a bilateral meeting with President Volodymyr Zelensky (left) ahead of the European Political Community summit in Yerevan, Armenia, on May 3, 2026

He added: ‘The world has changed since 2016. And today Brexit looks quite different. It has damaged our economy and I have no doubt where the national interest lies. ‘Britain must be at the heart of a stronger Europe for defence, security, energy and our economy.’

In another statement of intent, Sir Keir said the UK would contribute to the EU’s £78bn loan plans for Ukraine. Sources have previously suggested the UK’s share could be around £2bn.

At the meeting, the Prime Minister promised to intensify work on a new defense agreement with the EU.

‘When the UK and the European Union work together we all see the benefits,’ he said. ‘And we need to go further and faster in defense to keep people safe in these volatile times.

‘That’s why we’re entering into negotiations with the EU to ensure Ukraine receives the equipment it needs to defend its freedom, while encouraging opportunities for British industry to do its full part.’

Any effort for closer alignment would require Britain to comply with EU rules over which it no longer has a say.

Whitehall sources admit that the price of greater access to the single market is likely to involve contributions of billions of pounds a year to the EU budget to pay for ‘social cohesion’ projects such as new bridges in poorer EU countries.

The Prime Minister’s comments come after a new poll among Labor Party members revealed overwhelming support for rejoining the EU despite the outcome of the Brexit referendum.

A Survation poll for website LabourList found activists back Britain rejoining the bloc from which it left a decade ago by a margin of 87 per cent to 9 per cent.

The poll found that although the margin of support had fallen to 53 to 30, Labor members would support rejoining the EU even if it meant scrapping the pound and joining the euro.

The Prime Minister hoped to hold talks on deepening ties with the EU and participating in discussions on Ukraine. Picture: British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky

Labour’s Mayor of London, Sir Sadiq Khan, said in March that Labor must challenge its manifesto promise to rejoin the EU at the next election and that it was ‘inevitable’.

New polling has found Labor members support the idea of ​​a manifesto pledge by a margin of 65 to 24.

Shadow Foreign Secretary Dame Priti Patel has warned Britain will pay a heavy price if Sir Keir rejoins the EU to thwart Labor’s rebellion. He told the Daily Mail: ‘Starmer is trying to de-select Brexit at every opportunity he can.

‘The Conservatives have launched five tests to stop Labor pulling Britain back into the EU’s orbit; This includes preventing Labor from handing over taxpayers’ money to European institutions without a deadline and democratic mandate. Every negotiation Starmer enters ends in a bad deal for Britain.

‘This follows his damaging attempt to give away the Chagos Islands for £35 billion, and just last week he handed over half a billion pounds to the French.

‘This weak Prime Minister goes to the negotiating table at every opportunity and comes home empty-handed, deceiving hard-pressed taxpayers because of his appalling lack of judgement.’

But the Prime Minister’s allies believe that getting closer to Brussels could be a trump card in his strategy to prevent a leadership coup.

Rivals including Andy Burnham, Wes Streeting and Angela Rayner are expected to use any leadership contest to push for closer ties with the EU, in line with the views of party members.

Sir Keir believes he can take the issue on himself and is currently planning a major summit with European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen next month, where he is expected to push for a deal that goes well beyond the commitment Labor made in its modest ‘renewal’ manifesto focused on food and agriculture.