Reeves got the big guns out last night for her Mansion House speech, in which she claimed that “we must reset our relationship” to repair “structural challenges, including those which have come from Brexit.” Andrew Bailey came along to support that analysis. Even the FT said that’s a “highly unusual” move…
The Bank of England Governor said the UK should “welcome opportunities to rebuild relations” with the bloc because “the changing trading relationship with the EU has weighed on the level of potential supply.” In a thinly veiled attack on Trump, Bailey said the “picture is now clouded by the impact of geopolitical shocks and the broader fragmentation of the world economy.” Which means we should take shelter with a stagnant continental economy…
Reeves has already shaved off the UK’s comparatively lower costs of doing business while the Home Office sets up a dedicated “Europe Hub” to get closer to the continent. On the US the Chancellor said “there is so much potential for us to deepen our economic relationship.” The US might be more minded to open up to Britain if it wasn’t in the process of running back to a rival bloc…
Tom Baldwin, author of Starmer’s hagiography, spoke to Times Radio:
Tom Baldwin: “I think he’d like to do something. He’s very dutiful and driven by service. That’s why he came into politics. I think that’s characterised his time as prime minister. He hasn’t always sought popularity or been good at being popular. But I think he has some of the necessary qualities that we actually do want in a prime minister. That resilience, that relentlessness, that ability to carry the weight and the job really does weigh very heavily on people and he carries that weight very, very well.”
Jo Coburn: “NATO Secretary-General?”
Tom Baldwin: “I think that’s something that he would be interested in. I think it probably requires Andy Burnham’s government to support him in that and these are some of the questions which Andy Burnham has to resolve quite quickly.”