Andy Burnham speaking just now in Berlin alongside German Chancellor Friedrich Merz:
“Obviously we meet today with a UK-EU summit looming towards the end of the year, and I am very committed to securing deeper cooperation as a result of this summit and seeing if we can bring the UK closer to Europe, particularly in the interests of of economic growth and also collaboration on irregular migration.
So we’ve had an excellent discussion today, and we will look to see if we can turn the, the summit into a good outcome for the EU, but also for the UK as well.”
Project Rejoin in full swing…
The sitting French finance minister Roland Lescure told the BBC this morning:
“British people decided, and that’s obviously their 100% right, and if they’re willing to come back, they will have to decide… But what I can tell them is: come back, anytime.”
France is in the throes of a supermassive debt crisis. Its bond yields are at the highest level in decades and the spread between French and German yields are at levels so alarming that onlookers fear a wider eurozone crisis is on the way. Good luck to the European Central Bank, which may need to start buying up bonds in large quantities…
The graph above is the spread between French and German 10-year bond yields. Good luck to France, which is enjoying watching schools get smashed up while public debt load nears 120% of GDP and no one can pass a €54 billion austerity package…
The euro has dropped 4% against the dollar since September. Despite the claims of some pro-Rejoin commentators Britain would be forced to sign up to euro accession in any rejoin situation. Burnham is off to meet struggling German Chancellor Friedrich Merz today to talk up ‘closer ties’ with the EU which could include informal talks on how the PM might force Britain back in. Out of the frying pan…
The EU has introduced more than 25,000 new regulations since Britain left. Have fun rejoining, Andy…
Catherine McBride, free market economist and trade & agriculture expert, supplied the statistic at a Prosperity Institute panel at Tory Conference (‘Protecting prosperity and sovereignty: Is the EU Reset rejoin by stealth?’). To name but three:
Brexit veteran Lord Matthew Elliott also pointed out that people in the Rejoin camp still have a rose-tinted view of a 1990s/2000s EU dominated by Christian Democrats and Social Democrats. Good luck coping with the new Europe – especially now Spain’s Pedro Sanchez is on the way out…
Live in Doncaster…
Burnham has made rejoining the EU a dividing line. The can of worms has been cracked open…
Various rejoin-supporting organisations have commissioned polls showing nominal support for the move. But scratch even slightly beyond the surface and it reverses…
Brits do not support the primary features of rejoining. To begin with, Britain would obviously lose its Thatcher rebate and net contributions would therefore likely sit at around £15 billion annually. Britain would most likely have to sign up to Schengen and full free movement. It would have to sign up irreversibly to joining the Euro at some point. The British public are no fans…
Nor are they fans of handing powers back to Brussels, a principle which they rejected even when the UK had preferential conditions before leaving. Look at the evidence:
Good luck fighting the realities of this one out Andy…
Burnham said:
Is the next election Keep Brexit Done?
Kemi Badenoch at the 1922-ConHome bash last night:
“I did praise [Burnham] for his stamina, it was amazing. All I had to do was sit back and lie there. I didn’t have to do anything at all…”