With Starmer busily unravelling Brexit, shuttling back and forth to Brussels to meet with EU leaders and inviting Macron, Scholz and others to Chequers, Brexiteers are watching developments carefully. Their anxiety has not been helped by the Tory approach, published over the weekend…
Kemi has adopted ‘five tests’ as her Brexit position: As any veteran of Brexit negotiations will say, the only position that matters right now as far as the EU is concerned is whether or not Starmer’s deal would be accepted in the UK. Kemi’s tests certainly leave that open…
5 years ago we delivered the biggest democratic mandate in British history.
Now Keir Starmer, who campaigned for a second referendum, is trying to take us backwards.
So we’re setting him 5 tests he must meet in any future deal with the EU 👇 pic.twitter.com/XrNUCRtBeU
— Conservatives (@Conservatives) February 2, 2025
The Tories cannot block any renegotiation in parliamentary terms after the Sunak wipeout. But along with the media heft of Reform, they are in a position to influence Starmer’s diplomatic negotiation by saying they would reject his deal outright. Except, they’ve done the opposite…
A slew of Brexit veterans got in touch with Guido to express concerns about particular ‘tests’ – ‘no backsliding on free movement’ does not explicitly rule out the EU mobility scheme. ‘No compromise on the primacy of NATO’ leaves plenty of room for other EU defence initiatives. “The EU will see this as a signal it can just do what it likes and it will not be opposed in Britain,” said one leading Brexiteer. Although ERG numbers are now heavily depleted in Parliament, will they wake up?
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.”