Labour’s path on the EU is going as expected. The FT reports this morning that the EU Relations Minister Nick Thomas-Symonds’ meetings with bloc officials have so far managed to produce a list of “tough” demands for the UK to follow. Crawling back to the EU comes with a price tag…

The commission accuses the UK of failing to implement the Windsor Framework properly and demands a huge increase in checks and stoppages for veterinary items and flora crossing the Irish Sea. The UK is also commanded to prevent EU citizens’ being forced to make a separate settled status application after living in the UK for five years. Meanwhile the bloc is continuing with its 4-year-old legal case against the UK for the way it carried out the transition period. So much for that Starmer good will…

Labour is making obsequious noises on their EU ‘reset’, like claiming that it is open to sending the Elgin Marbles to Athens, but the bloc obviously wants more. A free movement deal for young people, access to territorial fishing waters, and rejoining the Erasmus scheme are on the top of the list. Summits and nice statements were never going to cut the mustard…