What if David Cameron had been offered EU ‘associate membership’ in 2016?

It can’t be coincidence that led Olaf Scholz and Emmanuel Macron to unveil their proposals for a new class of associate membership of the EU while Keir Starmer was visiting the latter in Paris. In the Labour leader, they are presumably hoping they will find a receptive ear. With a UK election due next year and Starmer the most likely victor, Britain might yet be caught again in the EU’s tractor beam before it has really had a chance to establish itself on an independent basis.

But if the German and French leaders think they are being helpful to Starmer they may end up disappointed. Ever since he became Labour leader in the aftermath of Brexit, he has been trying to make prospective voters forget about his campaigning for Remain and then a second referendum. Now, he says there is no case for rejoining. His new ambition – and one of the main purposes for his away day to Paris – is to build what he describes as a more positive relationship between the EU and an independent Britain.