The UK government and European Union officials finally began the long road back to a sensible and mutually beneficial relationship this week, after almost a decade of wrangling, following the Brits decision to Brexit back in 2016.
To remind you, Brexit was going to deliver more money to the NHS, better control of immigration, and hundreds of trade deals with countries around the world – including the USA.
The reality is that no additional cash has been found for the health service, other than funds that would have been invested anyway, immigration has hit record levels, and you can count on the fingers of two hands the trade deals we have been able to sign off – and there is still no trade deal with the USA – and there is unlikely to be one in the foreseeable future. (Starmer and Trumps VE Day love-in was announcing a Tarriff deal).
In addition, Brexit has delivered a 4% drop in UK GDP, costing the economy literally billions of pounds a year, we have suffered huge skills shortages in key industry sectors, notably construction and hospitality, and the UK has gone from being seen as one of the most stable political countries in the world to a total basket case (six prime ministers since the referendum).
Against that backdrop, a UK/EU reset was not just desirable, it was absolutely essential. And on Monday, some small steps were taken to begin to repair the huge damage that has been done to our country on the back of us removing ourselves from the biggest trading bloc on the planet.
The big wins were access to the European funds and loans for defence spending, as Europe begins to react to a much more unstable and unsafe geopolitical environment; some moves to improve the import/export of food and agricultural goods; more convenient arrangements at passport control (unlikely until 2026, but still good news); and the big one – the restoration of pet passports!
Talks appear to be progressing on a youth experience scheme, which will allow EU nationals under the age of 30 to come into the UK to work for a limited time – with young Brits able to enjoy similar access to the EU.
The big betrayal by Keir Starmer – at least according to Kemi Badenoch, Nigel Farage, and the Daily Mail- was the destruction of our fishing industry. In fact, the announcement this week simply extends the agreement that was signed off by Boris Johnson in 2020. Indeed, the new accord will make it far easier for UK fishermen to export their product to its biggest market, the EU.
Before the UK/EU Summit on Monday – remarkably the first such meeting since Brexit was confirmed – there was little expectation that the two parties would reach agreement on much at all. So, this is better than anticipated, and much credit should go to think tank Best for Britain which has worked tirelessly to persuade both sides of the obvious advantages to more dynamic realignment on a host of issues.
That this Summit will now be an annual event suggests that we are finally in a space where mature discussion and debate can regularly take place, and hopefully this latest set of announcements are just the start of much more to come.
If the government is serious about economic growth, then it will know that this limited, if welcome, deal, only just touches the sides.
