The close ally of Keir Starmer was delivering the prime minister’s reset with the European Union.
Jon Stone
As Cabinet Office minister, Thomas-Symonds also had responsibility for other policy areas including public inquiries and civil service reform.
His departure comes at a key time for negotiations between Britain and the EU.
Before Starmer’s resignation, a U.K.-EU summit had been scheduled for Wednesday July 22 to round off talks on issues like an agri-food agreement, youth mobility scheme, and emissions trading deal.
Starmer had also planned to use the meeting as a launchpad for a closer relationship with the bloc.
The meeting was postponed upon Starmer’s resignation and is now expected to be rescheduled for later this year — with a new minister in charge on the British side.
“I hope that you will continue the negotiations I have started for U.K. participation in the EU’s internal electricity market, and implement the key pillars of the Common Understanding: the food and drink agreement; the linking of the U.K. and EU Emissions Trading Systems; and the Youth Experience Scheme that will provide opportunities for young people to travel, work and study across Europe,” Thomas-Symonds wrote in his letter.
