Ealing Central and Acton MP Dr Rupa Huq has welcomed Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s EU reset deal, hailing the breakthrough as a long-overdue shift in post-Brexit relations.
Appearing outside Parliament last week (May 20 2025), the Labour MP engaged in a debate with Stanley Johnson and Annunziata Rees-Mogg, dissecting the agreement for television cameras.
Dr Huq said: “It seems ironic I was the only one of the trio not related to Brexiteer political royalty that got us into this mess given it was Jacob Rees Mogg’s sister and Boris’ dad I was sparring with.”
She added: “I insisted despite the crowing of my two fellow panellists, that with shorter queues at the passport gates and cheaper prices at the supermarkets this is a good deal… what’s not to like?”
Inside the Commons, Dr Huq took the matter Prime Minister, asking Mr Starmer when more detail would be available on the youth experience scheme – part of the deal aimed at reopening work, study and travel opportunities for young people across Europe.
She said: “It is brilliant that the Brexit logjam that has cast a long shadow over this House for so many years has been smashed by this Prime Minister. Could he indicate when we might hear a bit more about the youth experience scheme that has been so yearned for and so welcomed by the universities and the English language teaching sector, and also by my staff, team and son, who were born too late to have a say in any of the mess that the Tories left behind?”
In response the Prime Minister stated: “We will develop the plan on the youth experience scheme with our partners. We have instructed our teams to move on all fronts as quickly as we can.”
Dr Huq, whose Ealing Central and Acton constituency voted 72% to remain in Europe, said the deal was “a solid start” and a welcome contrast to the “Tories’ stubborn refusal to address their glaring mistakes.”
