The UK government privately pitched Brussels on a single market for goods with the EU — a significantly more ambitious proposal than anything that has been publicly floated. Cabinet Office official Michael Ellam presented the idea during recent visits to Brussels. The EU was reportedly unenthusiastic, and the idea has not been taken forward. That it was floated at all suggests the government is testing appetite for deeper reintegration ahead of the UK-EU summit scheduled for next week, and the fact it leaked — almost certainly from the EU side — will complicate Starmer’s domestic positioning considerably.

On the domestic political front, Rachel Reeves is actively lobbying to keep her job as chancellor even if Starmer is replaced. Her supporters are making the rounds with Labour MPs, arguing she is the only credible candidate to hold the line on fiscal stability under a new leader. Reports suggest Andy Burnham, if he were to become PM, might prefer Ed Miliband. The open manoeuvring is notable — it suggests the people around Reeves believe a leadership change is a real near-term possibility, not a hypothetical.

The Trump administration is moving to require foreign nationals already living in the US to leave the country and apply for green cards from abroad, rather than adjusting status domestically. This is a material tightening of permanent residency rules and has direct implications for US-based businesses that sponsor skilled workers. Expect this to accelerate the trend of multinationals routing talent through Canada or the UK rather than the US.

The US-Iran nuclear talks remain stuck. Tehran says major gaps persist, and Pakistan’s army chief has arrived in Tehran as a mediator — which tells you something about how far outside normal diplomatic channels this process has drifted. Tulsi Gabbard’s departure from the administration, per The Economist, has further weakened whatever anti-escalation faction existed around Trump. The combination is worth watching for anyone with exposure to energy prices.

On tech, the FT has a substantive piece on governments racing to militarise computing infrastructure, framing data centres as the new determinant of strategic capability. Separately, SpaceX flew Starship V3 for the first time — mostly successful, though the booster was lost on return. For anyone tracking the commercial launch market or Starlink’s expansion trajectory, V3 is the vehicle that underpins most of SpaceX’s near-term ambitions.

The UK-EU summit takes place on Monday 25th May.

Sources

Al Jazeera, BBC News, TechCrunch, Guardian, FT, Ars Technica, The Economist, Politico — 2026-05-23