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The European Union is preparing for the possibility of Nigel Farage becoming Prime Minister, the Irish Taoiseach has appeared to admit, as Brussels simultaneously piles pressure on Sir Keir Starmer to water down his Brexit red lines ahead of a crunch summit later this month.

Speaking to Irish broadcaster RTE, Micheál Martin said: "Every scenario has to be planned for and has to be taken on board, and again, that would be a matter of the first instance for the United Kingdom, for the people of the United Kingdom."

He added: "If Nigel Farage becomes prime minister, Ireland will engage, but obviously his policies are completely at variance with ours in terms of the European Union."

The remarks landed at a moment when Mr Farage's political fortunes are at their strongest in years, polling ahead of his rivals for more than 12 months as he rides a wave of local election successes accumulated on May 7th.

The Taoiseach defended the beleaguered Prime Minister in the same interview, describing Sir Keir as a "good leader" and praising him for "restoring the relationship with the European Union." In a thinly veiled swipe at Mr Farage, Mr Martin added: "Brexit damaged Britain, many people in Britain may not want to accept that, but it did."

It had previously been reported that Brussels was considering enforcing a so-called "Farage clause", a mechanism designed to prevent the Reform UK leader from tearing up any deals that bind Britain to EU directives, should he reach Downing Street.

The EU is also bearing down on Labour to abandon its "red lines", principally its commitments to remain outside the single market and customs union, ahead of the forthcoming Brexit reset summit, reports GB News.

Centrist French MEP Sandro Gozi said: "The world has changed since those red lines were drawn." A senior EU official told Politico: "How revolutionary can it be without revisiting their red lines? The Labour Government isn't doing this and if they hype up the message of revolutionary change with the EU then everyone will be disappointed and they'll say 'Brussels is punishing us'."

There is also speculation that the EU may be deliberately holding back, waiting to see whether a new Labour leader more willing to move closer to Brussels, emerges from the turmoil currently engulfing the party. The Prime Minister is under mounting pressure, with upwards of 90 Labour MPs having gone public with calls for his resignation. Mr Streeting has since put himself forward as a candidate in the contest that now appears all but inevitable.

Mr Streeting, who campaigned for a second Brexit referendum following the 2016 vote, used his leadership declaration to set out an explicitly pro-EU vision. He called for "a new special relationship with the EU," adding: "The biggest economic opportunity we have is on our doorstep. We need a new special relationship with the EU, because Britain's future lies with Europe and one day, one day, back in the European Union."

Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham, who is seeking to return to the House of Commons via the Makerfield by-election on 18 June, has also struck a pro-European tone. At last year's Labour Party conference, he told delegates: "I believe in the unions of all kinds. The Union of the UK. The European Union and the benefits it brought this country."

However, Mr Burnham appeared to temper that position when pressed on the campaign trail in Makerfield, a constituency that voted decisively for Brexit in 2016. "I've said in the long-term there is a case for that, but I'm not advocating that in this byelection," he said.