What’s behind Starmer’s notable shift on closer ties to Europe?
The Prime Minister’s remarkable tilt at Britain’s post-Brexit ties with the European Union on Saturday was designed to send a message to business, Brussels and other European capitals as well as backbenchers.
Closer post-Brexit economic relations are now expected to be looked at as part of the annual bilateral negotiation process, rather than just a formal review of this year’s UK-EU deal.
This was Downing Street’s response to political questions about a more ambitious Brexit reset that would include rejoining the customs union with the EU.
Some Labor supporters, union leaders and cabinet ministers have joined the calls, which were crystallized by moves by the Liberal Democrats in Parliament last year that led to a non-binding vote.
Sir Keir Starmer gave a clear response to my colleague Laura Kuenssberg that this is not the priority at the moment; because it went against what he saw as one of last year’s achievements: the signing of best-in-class deals on trade with the US and India, with more to come in the Middle East.
It focuses on a “closer relationship” with the single market rather than a customs union, which does not mean canceling new trade agreements elsewhere.
“It would be better for us to look at the single market rather than the customs union to achieve greater harmonization,” Sir Keir said.
When the UK officially left the EU in January 2021, Boris Johnson’s deal emphasized the independence of British exporters from EU regulations rather than frictionless trade across Europe.
Sir Keir’s “Brexit reset” currently envisages realigning EU rules in three areas to help the free flow of trade: food and agricultural exports, electricity and emissions trading.
British Chamber of Commerce last month published a list Greater demands are being made from other sectors to help exporters deal with post-Brexit bureaucratic procedures that negatively impact trade in goods.
Its own survey reported that a majority of 989 business members agreed that the UK-EU trade deal was not helping sales growth.
A similar approach (compliance with single market rules) could be seen in some other areas in return for reducing post-Brexit hurdles in manufacturing, automotive, chemicals or, for example, VAT regulations.
European capitals were overwhelmed by the lack of ambition in last year’s reset, with the British rejecting some experts who floated the idea of a virtual readmission of British goods into the single market.
Details of regulations regarding electricity, food and agricultural standards have not yet been finalised. A plan for UK manufacturers to become part of the €150bn (£131bn) Security Action for Europe defense loan fund has stalled due to the size of the membership fee, following some objections from France. Canada also joined this plan.
The UK has reached a deal to rejoin the Erasmus university exchange and hold further talks on its youth employment scheme. This helped pave the way for further UK-EU negotiations.
The publication of the US National Security Strategy (NSS) last month also changed the context of Britain’s relations with Europe, some in the UK say.
The NSS said the United States would “promote resistance to Europe’s current course within European countries” and praised the “increasing influence of patriotic European parties.”
There is some recognition in Downing Street that even this rapidly changing world is changing again.
Domestically, Labor expects to be outpaced on Brexit not only by the Liberal Democrats but also by the Green Party, which is targeting Labour’s central London districts in May’s council elections.
The prime minister’s words yesterday stem from a combination of economics, politics and geopolitics, as Britain begins a year that will mark the 10th anniversary of the Brexit referendum.
