The Constitution Unit

Constitution Unit Conference 2026: UK–EU relations ten years after the referendum

Episode Summary

Ten years after the referendum, what is the current state of UK–EU relations? What has changed since Labour took office? And what further changes might be coming?

Episode Notes

This opening panel is held 10 years to the day since the 2016 ‘Brexit’ referendum result was announced. As was predicted at the time, neither the referendum nor the UK’s eventual departure from the EU in 2020 definitively settled the UK–EU relationship, which has continued to evolve. Recent discussions have focused particularly on the Labour government’s efforts to achieve closer cooperation with the EU, and its plans for more ongoing alignment with EU rules. Particular challenges also remain in Northern Ireland. So, ten years after the referendum, what is the current state of UK–EU relations? What has changed since Labour took office? And what further changes might be coming?  

Speakers:

• Professor Katy Hayward – Professor of Political Sociology at Queen’s University Belfast
• Professor Anand Menon – Director of the UK in a Changing Europe and Professor of European Politics and Foreign Affairs at King’s College London
• Lord (Jock) Stirrup – Crossbench peer and chair of the House of Lords European Affairs Committee

Chair: Lisa James – Senior Research Fellow, Constitution Unit