Britain and the EU Haunted by Old Divisions on the Road to a New Deal

In the blistering heat outside Winston Churchill’s ancestral home last summer, it began to dawn on Keir Starmer that his plan to reset Britain’s relationship with the European Union would be easier said than done.

The new prime minister was hosting European leaders at Blenheim Palace when a private conversation with Pedro Sanchez, in a barely-air-conditioned tent, set the tone. The Spanish premier hailed his fellow progressive’s election victory and asked what he could do to help. Starmer wanted to end years of acrimony since the Brexit vote by seeking deeper cooperation on a range of policies, chief among them a pact on defense and security. Sanchez nodded, then named his price: a youth mobility deal and an easier route for Spanish contract workers to come to the UK, according to people familiar with the matter.