“The amendments are an attempt to ensure that we end up with a framework to deal with not just the goods we import and export but the services we trade in. The customs union amendment that we passed overwhelmingly a few weeks ago is only one half of the equation. The customs union deals only with goods. That is very important: it deals only with goods—tangible items such as cars, washing machines and televisions—where we have a £96 billion trade deficit.
The EEA deals with services—such as retail, tourism, transport, communications, financial services and aerospace, where we have a £14 billion trade surplus…without an EEA equivalent, it will damage our profitable export business and therefore the jobs and livelihoods of many thousands of people. It is for that reason we need to ensure that any continuation in the customs union must include continuation in the EEA or its equivalent…this is bigger than party politics. It is about people’s jobs. It is about the future of our economy.”
Questions about the motives of big Labour donor Lord Alli are swirling in SW1. The party’s line that he’s just a peer without any agenda, and that he doesn’t intervene politically apart from ‘being Labour’, took a hit when Guido exposed his arguments against the ousting of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad. Coupled with the fact he was sent to Iraq by Number 10 to meddle in the January 2005 elections, Labour’s defence line is quickly wearing thin…
Guido has dug through the archives and found more evidence of Alli intervening politically. Back in May 2018, then Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn urged his MPs to resist calls for a Norway-style Brexit deal. Lord Alli was far from happy, denouncing the move as “cowardice.” He made his case in the Lords for why the UK should remain in the European Economic Area (EEA) and the Customs Union:
Pre-election, back in April, Labour went hard on rejecting proposals for a youth mobility deal with the EU. Journalists were told the party had “no plans for a youth mobility scheme” and Labour officials even said a deal would be “synonymous with freedom of movement.” Offers from the EU were rebuffed on the grounds they crossed Brexit “red lines“. Two months into government Downing Street confirmed again: “We are not considering this at all.” Categorical…
Now hacks are informed that there is a “landing zone” for negotiations to implement youth mobility as part of a “three pillar” approach to the reset. The EU ‘ambassador’ to the UK said yesterday that “it raises questions and concerns and some people mix it up with migration-related issues or mobility-related issues, whereas it has nothing to do with any of that.” Is it called a “mobility” scheme by accident then?
The government line is now:
“At some point you have to say well we want this and we will agree to this but there is no point doing that too soon before you have got other concessions.”
Labour explains away its u-turn by claiming it had to pretend not to be interested to get better terms during negotiations. No doubt a happy coincidence that they could falsely reassure a Brexit-voting electorate at the same time…
Starmer’s back on his path to rejoin…or as he calls it, “reset the relationship”, with the EU today, visiting German Chancellor Scholz to discuss what the UK and EU will collaborate on in the future. It’s a long list: “market access, critical science, innovation and tech, clean energy, trade across the North Sea, supply chain resilience, energy security and green transition education, biodiversity, and the environment.” ‘Market access’ and ‘trade across the North Sea’ will be sounding the alarm bells for Brexiteers who were promised the UK would have its independence from the bloc…
Number 10 are sticking to the line that Starmer’s push for closer ties with the EU is all about “economic growth”, despite the UK outperforming many EU countries in that area – last quarter, the UK’s GDP grew by 0.6% compared to Germany’s 0.3%, the Union’s so-called powerhouse. Meanwhile, Starmer has been cautioned against cosying up to bloc by top economists, who’ve said this will actually drive down growth. EU sources have reportedly warned that if Starmer wants collaboration on these issues listed above, the UK will be obliged to align with European laws such as food safety and further regulations. No amount of press briefings that Starmer isn’t planning to rejoin will pull the wool over Guido’s eyes…
Foreign Secretary David Lammy, die-hard Remainer whose fervour eclipses even Starmer’s, is sure to relish his new role as an architect of closer EU ties. Though he might find it tricker to deal with US-UK relations considering his previous vehement anti-Trump views if he reclaims the White House. If co-conspirators hoped that his trusty new SpAds would keep his hardline views in check, they may be disappointed…
Ben Judah, formerly of Europe promoting think-tank Atlantic Council and journalist, has had some choice comments on President Trump over the years. During Trump’s 2016 campaign, he wrote that Trump’s supporters didn’t care about his more controversial background as “Outside DC, where the voters might struggle to place Ukraine on a map or tell the difference between Nafta and Nato… White America can’t always get what it wants”. He later wrote a damning diagnosis of his election in the Guardian:
“Trump’s election was a symptom of a foreign policy paradigm in terminal decline… Trump is, of course, not alone. From Benjamin Netanyahu to Vladimir Putin, rightwing leaders are practicing foreign politics to advance their personal interests”.
Meanwhile, SpAd Will Heilpern will no doubt be an echo-chamber for EU loving Lammy, who called for a People’s Vote on Brexit in order “to save the country from this hard-right Tory fantasy, which was built on xenophobia, lies and a law-breaking campaign”. No wonder he loved Remoaner Corbyn so much:
To be fair to Lammy, at least this time he allowed men into his team, something he famously refused to do as he was “determined to get a woman”. He clearly opted for the ‘surround yourself with yes-men’ approach…
The Times reported last night that Government ministers are considering a plan to allow Europeans under 30-years-old to live and work in the UK as part of Labour’s crusade to “reset” post-Brexit relations with Brussels. Meanwhile, net migration is still four times higher than in 2019, even without this proposed scheme in place. Whilst free movement for young people itself isn’t such a terrible idea, it’s just another sign of Labour’s intentions to cosy up to the EU. This could just be the beginning of further cross-border movement talks…
Labour have denied the reports, slippery stating they have “no plans” (yet?) to agree a youth mobility scheme, though government sources say something has to give on free movement if Labour are set on redrawing agreements on trade, defence and immigration. As Guido has said before, give and take means give and take…
Starmer might be plotting a ‘reset’ in UK-EU relations, but top economists are sounding the alarm, urging him to reject the siren calls to rejoin the EU, Single Market, or Customs Union. The real key to growth is in harnessing the benefits of Brexit: redefining regulations and strike better trade deals outside the bloc…
A report from the Centre for Policy Studies today notes that strengthening ties with Brussels is far from the solution to the UK’s growth challenges. Despite this, Starmer said he wants to negotiate an agri-food agreement with the EU to ease border checks, a move that would inevitably require alignment with EU rules, as well as abolishing the decades-old European Scrutiny Committee. Meanwhile, while the Euro area remains the main source of weakness in manufacturing as the UK surges, and UK’s GDP is expected to grow by 07.% in Q2, while the Eurozone only grew by 0.3%. If Labour is truly “pro-growth,” Starmer would be wise to remember the EU isn’t where he’ll find it…
Speaking at his speech on how to achieve “progressive capitalism” Wes Streeting fired a dig and Andy Burnham:
“Bond markets are not bond villains and fiscal rules matter.”
