Calls to rejoin the EU have been shut down as a petition to reverse Brexit passed a major milestone. Robert McMaster, a member of Berkshire for Europe, a local chapter of European Movement UK, created a petition to Parliament, which now has more than 100,000 signatures. He said: “10 years after the Brexit vote and 6 years since the UK left the EU, it has become clear that Brexit has failed and that the UK public no longer supports leaving the EU, with a clear majority wishing to return.

“Recent Government statements make it clear that it wishes the UK to have closer relations with the EU, but nothing comes close to being as beneficial for the UK as rejoining the EU as a full member where we will be able to take a full part and have a full say in its deliberations (even if the terms are not the same as last time, and we urgently need pro-EU groups to lead a proper debate on what that might mean).”

Reform UK MP, Robert Jenrick, told the Express: “Wes Streeting and his allies in the media want to hark back to the debates of the past because they have no ideas for the future.

“The British people have had enough of being ignored and overlooked. We’ve got huge problems in the country that need fixing – this is the last thing we need.”

After resigning from Sir Keir Starmer’s Cabinet, former Health Secretary, Wes Streeting, said on May 17 that he wanted Britain to rejoin the EU.

He said: “We ‌need a new special relationship with the EU, because Britain’s future lies with Europe, and one day, one day, ‌back in the European Union.”

YouGov reported on May 26 that support for rejoining the EU stood at 56%.

It stated: “The latest level of support for rejoining the European Union compares to 51% when we started asking this question format in January 2024.

“Among those who voted to leave the European Union in 2016, 22% now support rejoining.

“It is worth noting, however, that separate YouGov research has shown that the public are net opposed to rejoining the EU if the UK could not keep its previous opt-outs.”

Mr McMaster added: “This is the third petition to Apply to Rejoin the EU to the current Government, and the second to reach 100,000 signatures.

“The first led to a three-hour debate in Parliament in March last year where 42 MPs spoke for an average of four minutes each, 38 of whom criticised the Government’s stance, with only four supporting Brexit – the official Government spokesperson, a Conservative Minister and two Northern Ireland MPs. (No Reform MPs bothered to attend.)

“We hope this petition will lead to a second debate where another 40 MPs can tell the Government what they and their constituents think, and encourage signatories of the petition to write to MPs with their own stories and to ask them to attend. And that it will be followed by further petitions every six months (the lifetime of petitions on the Parliament website) with increasing numbers of signatures until the Government changes stance and applies to rejoin.”

In a recent interview with Bloomberg, broadcaster, David Dimbleby, who told the nation that Britain was “out” during the BBC’s referendum results programme in 2016, suggested that the UK will rejoin the EU in the future.

Brexit, he said, has had “no particular advantage”, and “people are very restless”.

He added that there “should certainly be” another referendum, and, if one were to take place, Britons would vote 52/48 in favour of going back into the bloc.

In response to the petition, the Government said: “The UK will not be rejoining the EU, but this Government has reset its relationship with the EU with a new strategic partnership: A deal that is good for UK bills, borders, jobs and growth.”