In December, Guido revealed the creation of a new EU Surrender Unit within the Cabinet Office to boost Starmer’s rejoin mission and cement deeper ties with the bloc. Insiders say that the operation has already swelled to 100-strong, yet Labour remains tight-lipped on the exact headcount…
Guido understands Hermione Gough has been appointed as the new Director to “reset” relations, with the role now firmly lodged in the EU surrender unit of the Cabinet Office after its transfer from the FCDO. Gough’s a seasoned Europhile, and previously served as UK-EU Political Director at the UK Mission to the European Union during the Brexit wars from 2018 to 2020. She has also championed closer ties with Brussels, particularly with France. Back in 2018, she said in an interview:
“As well as wanting to have a really strong relationship with the EU in the future, we’re very focused on our bilateral cooperation with France. Security and defence are two very important areas of Franco-British cooperation. We have very close bilateral links under the Lancaster House Treaty which will absolutely continue in the future alongside what we hope will be a very strong partnership between the UK and the EU.“
Now she’s at the helm of Starmer’s surrender squad to secure Labour’s slow but unsubtle push to reverse Brexit….
Sarah Pochin at Reform Scotland’s manifesto launch event: “I really wanted to come on in a Reform tartan burka, but apparently I wasn’t allowed… One day let’s do one of these events not live-streamed. We’ll do all the naughty stuff…”