# Rejoin EU
**Rejoin EU** (formally REJOIN EU PARTY LTD, company number 12112908) is a political party registered in Great Britain whose stated purpose is the United Kingdom's return to full membership of the European Union[1](https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/12112908) • [2](https://therejoineuparty.com/about/). Its self-description is blunt: "We want the UK to rejoin the EU. That's it, nothing more and nothing less."[2](https://therejoineuparty.com/about/) The party was founded in 2020, after the UK's withdrawal from the EU, by people who had concluded in 2019 that "we needed a political force prepared to take the UK back towards Europe."[2](https://therejoineuparty.com/about/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2020[2](https://therejoineuparty.com/about/) |
| Single policy aim | UK rejoining the EU, via Article 49 application or a staged path through single market and Customs Union membership[3](https://therejoineuparty.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/rejoin-eu-manifesto.pdf) |
| Registered | Electoral Commission party registration PP11423, with logo showing the party name surrounded by stars[4](https://search.electoralcommission.org.uk/api/pdf/Registrations/PP11423) |
| Notable result | Around 100,000 votes in the 2021 London mayoral election; deposit returned at the May 2024 London Assembly elections[2](https://therejoineuparty.com/about/) • [5](https://therejoineuparty.com/history/) |
| First elected office | A councillor elected in Oxfordshire in summer 2022[2](https://therejoineuparty.com/about/) |
| Funding model | Volunteer-powered, with monthly supporter tiers of £2.35, £5.20, and £16.99[2](https://therejoineuparty.com/about/) • [5](https://therejoineuparty.com/history/) |
| Electoral tactic | Using first-past-the-post to take votes from the two best-placed candidates and so pressure larger parties[6](https://therejoineuparty.com/policy-briefings/) |
## Foundation and campaigning record
The party dates its origin to 2019, when its founders judged that no existing force was prepared to take the UK back toward Europe; it was founded in 2020 and first tested its message in local elections in December 2020[2](https://therejoineuparty.com/about/). Its timeline of campaigns is dense: the Chesham & Amersham and Batley & Spen by-elections in 2021, the London mayoral and assembly elections in May 2021, North Shropshire and Old Bexley and Sidcup in December 2021, London borough elections and the Chester and Stretford & Urmston by-elections in 2022, the Golders Green by-election in February 2023, a "Labour – Stop Ignoring Brexit" campaign in April 2023, Uxbridge in July 2023, the July 2024 general election, the Runcorn & Helsby by-election in May 2025, and [North London](https://www.edgepedia.org/north-london) by-elections in March 2025[5](https://therejoineuparty.com/history/).
The party's first electoral victory came in summer 2022 with the election of a councillor in [Oxfordshire](https://www.edgepedia.org/oxfordshire)[2](https://therejoineuparty.com/about/). In the May [2021 London mayoral election](https://www.edgepedia.org/2021-london-mayoral-election) it counted roughly 100,000 votes for Rejoin, and at the May 2024 [London Assembly](https://www.edgepedia.org/london-assembly) elections it had its deposit returned, which it describes as a strong performance[2](https://therejoineuparty.com/about/) • [5](https://therejoineuparty.com/history/). The party states it is powered by volunteers rather than paid staff, and it solicits small recurring donations[2](https://therejoineuparty.com/about/).
## Registered status and identity marks
The party is registered with the Electoral Commission under number PP11423; its registered emblem shows a small thumbnail of the full logo reading "The Rejoin EU Party" surrounded by stars[4](https://search.electoralcommission.org.uk/api/pdf/Registrations/PP11423). Not every application has succeeded: on 07 August the Commission rejected an application for the description "Rejoin EU: The European Party" for all of Great Britain on the ground that it was likely to confuse with an already registered party[7](https://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/political-registration-and-regulation/political-party-registration/party-registration-decisions).
## Policy positions
The 2024 manifesto opens by calling Brexit "a serious and grievous mistake" and proposes restoring "the rights, freedoms, and prosperity" of EU membership, either through a staged process of single market and Customs Union membership or a direct application for renewed membership under Article 49 of the EU Treaty[3](https://therejoineuparty.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/rejoin-eu-manifesto.pdf).
Its five headline objectives are: immediate dialogue with the European Commission on the conditions and timing of renewed membership; swift restoration of free movement as part of interim single market membership; suspension of any further divergence from EU regulations; restoration of Customs Union membership; and closer interim ties with Brussels, including membership of Erasmus+[3](https://therejoineuparty.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/rejoin-eu-manifesto.pdf).
On specific areas, the manifesto and manifesto page state that the party:
- backs a "constructive approach" toward joining the euro to stabilize sterling, citing post-Brexit currency volatility[3](https://therejoineuparty.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/rejoin-eu-manifesto.pdf);
- frames freedom of movement as a labor-mobility measure, noting that EU workers stay an average of 5 years and therefore do not structurally increase the UK population[3](https://therejoineuparty.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/rejoin-eu-manifesto.pdf);
- would restore participation in the [European Health Insurance Card](https://www.edgepedia.org/european-health-insurance-card) scheme, EU scientific research programs such as Horizon, and the [European Medicines Agency](https://www.edgepedia.org/european-medicines-agency)[3](https://therejoineuparty.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/rejoin-eu-manifesto.pdf) • [8](https://therejoineuparty.com/manifesto-2024/);
- seeks renewed access to EU intelligence and police databases, the [European Arrest Warrant](https://www.edgepedia.org/european-arrest-warrant), the Dublin arrangement, and the EU border agency Frontex[3](https://therejoineuparty.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/rejoin-eu-manifesto.pdf) • [8](https://therejoineuparty.com/manifesto-2024/);
- supports domestic constitutional reform, including replacing first-past-the-post with proportional representation, House of Lords reform, and a written constitution[3](https://therejoineuparty.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/rejoin-eu-manifesto.pdf);
- backs carbon-market alignment with the EU, noting that UK carbon prices per tonne fell 14.7% since 2021 while European prices rose almost 65%, and warning of the EU's planned Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism[3](https://therejoineuparty.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/rejoin-eu-manifesto.pdf).
The party also argues for a more democratic and integrated EU, supporting transnational constituencies for [European Parliament](https://www.edgepedia.org/european-parliament) elections, a strengthened Spitzenkandidaten system, and legislative initiative for the Parliament[3](https://therejoineuparty.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/rejoin-eu-manifesto.pdf).
## The wider rejoin debate
Rejoin EU operates in a political environment where no large party offers its goal. [Keir Starmer](https://www.edgepedia.org/keir-starmer)'s Labour government remains bound by its predecessor's pledge not to rejoin the EU's frictionless single market or its customs union, although a UK-EU summit in Brussels was set for November 20 as a step toward strengthening ties[9](https://apnews.com/article/3804ec3d1fe161cce6b9870853df5ab4). Among opposition parties, the Conservatives and [Reform UK](https://www.edgepedia.org/reform-uk) oppose EU membership, the Liberal Democrats support joining the single market and a customs union, and the Green Party, the [Scottish National Party](https://www.edgepedia.org/scottish-national-party), and Plaid Cymru support rejoining[10](https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cdp-2025-0067/).
[Public opinion](https://www.edgepedia.org/public-opinion) has moved since 2016. An Ipsos survey found 52% of people in the UK would like to rejoin the EU while 33% oppose it, a degree of "Bregret" about the 2016 choice, though observers note that rejoining would still be a long road back to a wary EU[11](https://apnews.com/article/e9c14876e5e9a51fb57ba6d67e30582f). The party's electoral strategy leans on this gap: it argues that under the first-past-the-post system, votes for a small party like Rejoin EU can pressure the larger parties by influencing outcomes in closely contested seats[6](https://therejoineuparty.com/policy-briefings/).
## References
1. [REJOIN EU PARTY LTD overview, Companies House](https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/12112908)
2. [About us, The Rejoin EU Party](https://therejoineuparty.com/about/)
3. [The Rejoin EU Party Manifesto (PDF)](https://therejoineuparty.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/rejoin-eu-manifesto.pdf)
4. [Party registration PP11423, Electoral Commission](https://search.electoralcommission.org.uk/api/pdf/Registrations/PP11423)
5. [History, The Rejoin EU Party](https://therejoineuparty.com/history/)
6. [Policy briefings, The Rejoin EU Party](https://therejoineuparty.com/policy-briefings/)
7. [Party registration decisions, Electoral Commission](https://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/political-registration-and-regulation/political-party-registration/party-registration-decisions)
8. [Manifesto 2024, The Rejoin EU Party](https://therejoineuparty.com/manifesto-2024/)
9. [Burnham says Russian meddling in Europe shows need for closer UK-EU ties as he seeks a Brexit reset, AP News](https://apnews.com/article/3804ec3d1fe161cce6b9870853df5ab4)
10. [Debate on the UK applying to join the European Union, House of Commons Library](https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cdp-2025-0067/)
11. [How Brexit broke British politics, AP News](https://apnews.com/article/e9c14876e5e9a51fb57ba6d67e30582f)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Society and history › Politics and government › Political systems and ideas › Political parties and party families › Liberal-democratic parties › Liberal parties of Europe › Minor and regional European liberal parties*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license