Rafael Behr writes a trenchant statement about the weakness of Labour’s “Fix Brexit” policy. It’s titled, “The Brexit delusion is dead – so now Keir Starmer doesn’t need to pretend any more” with a tag line, “To rebuild relations with Europe in a dangerous world, the prime minister needs to win big arguments, not hide behind outdated red lines”.
He criticises the timidity of the manifesto, Starmer’s apolitical approach to dealing with Europe, and everything really, points out that cherry-picking can never succeed and that membership is the best answer even for the economic questions.
Today’s debate amongst Labour’s leadership, is whether its possible to pursue a sector-by-sector negotiation without compromising the red lines. It is not! Unless the UK gets on the train, the next tranche of EU reforms will make it harder for an incrementalist approach to succeed. Furthermore the EU are not going to give better terms to an ex-member than to current or acceding states. Also the five year review is due to start, there is no reason why the EU will want to put more on the table, and Behr’s eloquent statement, that the only model that truly works is membership is now obviously true, made more so by the changing geo-political circumstances. I would add, that until we begin to talk about the need for mutual social solidarity with the peoples of the European Union, again progress will be slow.
To me, this is a great article which you should read yourself, for those short of time, I have book marked the article in diigo, and made the following notes. The links are Behr’s, the italics mine.
.. the relationship can’t be settled because the EU is an evolving project in a world of flux. It responds to international crises, with consequences for the ex-member on its border. The options are more Brexit, or less, never a steady state.
Vladimir Putin’s territorial aggression, Donald Trump’s geopolitical vandalism and China’s emergence as a superpower nearing parity with the US combine to form an irresistible case for Britain to make common cause with Europe.
To facilitate a more intimate relationship, the government proposes legislation that will give ministers open-ended powers to adopt EU standards for various sectors of the economy. … Nigel Farage calls the proposed bill “a backdoor attempt to drag Britain back under EU control”.
- I say, the legislation and its flexibility are to be applauded, the ambition to take it further than the manifesto commitments is questionable.
The government insists there will be opt-outs and a scrutiny mechanism so that Britain’s economy won’t be a passive moon, orbiting planet Europe. How that will work in practice is hard to say because the plan for multisectoral economic alignment exists only in Whitehall imaginations. It isn’t yet a technical negotiation with the EU, except in the limited area of veterinary and agricultural goods.
The further Starmer tries to go in this direction, the harder he will collide with familiar Brexit obstacles. The European Commission will insist there can be no “cherry picking” from the single market; that non-member states wanting to enjoy the benefits of a European club can expect to pay subscription fees into European budgets; that the chancellor’s coveted prize of free movement for goods comes as a package with free movement of people.
… there is an elegant solution to that problem, but it exists beyond the bounds of conceivable scenarios for the current government. It involves British ministers and parliamentarians exercising significant leverage – including vetoes – over the rules and overall direction of the EU from seats in all of its governing institutions. It is the model called membership.
Paucity of ambition slows negotiations on the modest goals set in the 2024 manifesto.
Any deal on offer to a pro-European prime minister will include clauses insuring against backsliding by a Reform UK successor.
- I say, this is necessary.
It isn’t too late. Or at least there is less to fear, and not much left to lose, for an unpopular prime minister by talking about Brexit for what it is – not a deal to be revised or a condition to be managed but a tragic mistake to be corrected
Events have refuted every Eurosceptic myth. … Britain has trudged long enough through the bog of Johnson’s lies, against the headwinds of false Faragist promises. The strategic, economic and political facts are now dynamically aligned for a change of course.