In an article, on Best for Britain’s sub stack, Joshua Edwicker reviews the personnel responsible for EU relations in Burnham’s new cabinet. On first glance it would appear that this team is more likely to support closer relationships with the EU without putting roadblocks in the way and will at least have more ambition, although he doesn’t talk about Shabana Mahmood staying at the Home Office.
My fear is that relationships with the EU we’ll take a back seat in the priorities of the Burnham administration. New policy needs to start from the fact that the “Reset” has failed, yet most of the PLP don’t realise it. Not a single initiative announced in May 25 has been closed. It would be too easy for this team to continue to try for incremental changes to the trading rules with the EU.
The EU will survive without the UK and it is changing up, most significantly for the UK via its Industrial Accelerator Act (IAA).
People, mainly convinced Brexiters, have been saying the EU has changed too much, it hasn’t yet, but it will, The IAA is likely to increase the UK’s barriers to entry EU markets, harm the UK economy, and thus the living standards of the UK people.
We must put more on the table and act with speed. I believe that membership of the EEA, is a minimum first step and that the European Movement’s 5 asks are minimal demands.