UK wants to hire EU negotiator to 'reset' relations

Starmer met European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen in October to push for a better trading relationship and greater co-operation on defence and security measures

The UK government is hiring a new negotiator to help deliver a “reset” of relations with Europe.

The job posting says the role will lead the government's relationship with the European Union and negotiations with the EU "on key UK interests", with mentions of trade, security and border policy.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has committed to a “reset” of relations between the UK and EU, and previously said he would seek a better deal on trade than the one negotiated by Boris Johnson in late 2020.

However, the prime minister has said that resetting does not mean reversing Brexit.

The new negotiator role is advertised as “a high-profile senior position that will receive significant public scrutiny and political attention” in the job posting published online by the Cabinet Office.

The Second Permanent Secretary for European Union and International Economic Affairs would act as a "sherpa" - "a senior and personal representative of the prime minister at international summits and engagements”.

The person would be required to oversee and lead policy development on trade, including the Windsor Framework, the Trade and Cooperation Agreement, the Entry and Exit Scheme - a new upcoming digital EU border scheme - and other border policy questions.

The salary range is £153,000 to £200,000.

A spokesperson for the Cabinet Office said: “As we reset our relationship with the EU, building closer trade and security links and encouraging more investment from around the world, this new role will oversee that work."

“Reporting to the minister for European Union relations, they will lead official-level discussions with the EU as we drive economic growth.”

Starmer has said he wants to strengthen relations with the EU.

In October, he made his first visit to Brussels since becoming prime minister, where he was welcomed warmly by EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

Starmer called for closer co-operation on defence and security, climate change, irregular migration, and on delivering economic growth to help make Brexit work in the UK’s interest, he said.

US President-elect Donald Trump’s senior economic advisor Stephen Moore told BBC Radio 4's Today programme last week that the UK "has to choose between the Europe economic model of more socialism and the US model which is more based on a free enterprise system."

He said the UK is "caught in the middle", but believed "Britain would be better off moving towards more of the American model of economic freedom and if that were the case, I think it would spur the Trump administration’s willingness to do the free trade agreement with the UK".