Keir Starmer’s major reset and pivot back to Europe has been the cornerstone of his foreign policy since he became PM. Multiple trips to Brussels, cosying up to EU leaders and generally getting back on the EU circuit was pitched to business leaders as Labour’s big plan…
But it’s all come to nothing as the EU has decided to exclude British defence companies from its new €150 billion defence fund. The new Security Action for Europe (SAFE) mechanism has published its terms and includes a ‘buy European’ clause banning arms purchases from the UK, US and other non-EU countries. The French are suspected of having secured the exclusion of the UK as a shot in an ongoing separate row over fishing rights (part of Starmer’s re-opened EU settlement). Despite Starmer’s Ukraine diplomacy, standing shoulder to shoulder with Macron, the French have totally shafted him…
A distraught Labour source told the newspapers: “Europe needs Britain’s defence industry a bit more than the French need a few extra fish. It is astonishing how puerile the French are behaving. They have not grasped the enormity of the moment.” Welcome to the real world…
The EU’s foreign affairs chief, Kaja Kallas, is in town today for a lunch meeting with David Lammy to discuss defence and Starmer’s so-called ‘coalition of the willing’. Ahead of their sit-down, the pair wrote a joint op-ed in Politico, titled “This moment of crisis demands closer UK-EU cooperation.” Citing the Ukraine conflict, they argue for an ‘upgrade’ in the EU-UK foreign policy and security relationship, insisting that “our shared values and interests make us natural strategic partners.” Though their piece goes beyond just security cooperation in response to Ukraine…
Lammy and Kallas also call for stronger UK-EU collaboration on human rights, climate change, and broader ‘global goals’:
“More broadly, stronger U.K.-EU cooperation must continue to support multilateralism and the rules-based international order enshrined in the United Nations Charter. We must join efforts with other international partners in the pursuit of global goals, including addressing the challenges of climate change, fostering international development and protecting human rights…The EU and the U.K. are also engaged in bringing stability and prosperity to other parts of the world.”
Labour’s push for deeper ties with Brussels isn’t just about defence – it’s expanding on all fronts…
Labour is quietly pushing through the surreptitiously-named ‘Product Regulation and Metrology Bill’ – a framework bill light on detail but heavy on sweeping ministerial powers – that’s now at its report stage in the Lords. And opens the door for the UK to be swept back into EU standards and regulations…
The bill would allow the UK to align unilaterally with EU rules on product safety and environmental standards, bypassing Parliament through statutory instruments rather than primary legislation, meaning MPs won’t get a proper say, and won’t be able to amend or scrutinise any product regulations adopted. The bill is just 12 pages long, compared to the 191-page Employment Rights Bill…
Shadow business secretary Andrew Griffith told Guido:
“This is a Trojan Horse EU Surrender Bill, giving Ministers unchecked power to drag us back into the European Union. This Government seems to be determined to give away our sovereignty in what is turning into an unashamedly anti-British tirade.”
The bill even includes a clause that could scrap the pint in favour of smaller glasses to align with EU-style metric measures. Starmer continues on his path to bring the UK back to Brussels…
Starmer’s 92 EU surrender staff have been busy working on their path to steer Britain back to Brussels, with The Times reporting Labour plans to sign the UK up to an “Australian-style” Youth Mobility Scheme with the EU – reopening the door to free movement. Despite repeated assurances from the government that Britain wouldn’t join, Labour is preparing to let tens of thousands of 18-30-year-olds from the EU live and work here. Which obviously comes with concessions…
As Guido has said, this deal comes with a huge price tag. UK negotiators have reportedly caved to EU demands on food safety alignment and carbon “cap and trade” allowances – all under the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice. Cue more Brussels red tape and tighter restrictions on key innovations such as genetic modification in agriculture something Defra secretary Steve Reed gave the green light on just months ago. The EU is also pushing hard for a cave-in on fishing rights. Shadow home secretary Chris Philp tells Guido:
“This would be a complete capitulation. Submitting to the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice and accepting EU regulations, while having no say whatsoever over those regulations, makes no sense. We should continue using our freedoms outside the EU to strike new trade deals and lighten regulatory burdens on industry, not adopt stifling EU regulations that stymie growth. We would also have no control whatsoever over how these regulations change in the future. And knowing the EU, these would likely only get more and more restrictive on business over time. This will be the final nail in the coffin for any hope of growth under Labour.”
Labour’s road to rejoin is well underway…
UPDATE: Matthew Lesh, Public Policy Fellow at the Institute of Economic Affairs said:
“Realigning EU standards would represent the worst of both worlds. Not only would Britain be forced to follow often cumbersome, disproportionate and excessively cautionary EU rules, but we would also get practically no say in their formulation and evolution. This alignment could severely restrict the UK’s ability to negotiate new trade agreements, notably with the United States, and might jeopardise existing deals with nations like Australia and New Zealand. We would have to undo changes to gene editing rules made by the last government, that have the potential to increase crop yields, reduce environmental impacts and get down prices for consumers. Then there would be the lost opportunities going forward to make Britian a hub for other food innovations, like cultivated meat.”
Last year, Guido exposed Starmer’s creation of an EU surrender unit, buried deep within the powerful Cabinet Office. A dedicated team of civil servants, handpicked to push Labour’s “reset” with Brussels, is working tirelessly to drag Britain back into the bloc. Now, Guido can reveal just how Labour Rejoin’s mission is costing the taxpayer…
A staggering 92 civil servants are feverishly working to forge closer ties with the EU—at an eye-watering salary cost of between £5,071,010 to £5,493,261. This includes: One Director General raking in £208,000, One Director pocketing £108,000 and Five Deputy Directors, each cashing in £80,000. For that you could:
Instead, taxpayers are footing a whopping bill for Starmer’s EU love affair. This is just the beginning of the cost of Starmer’s Brexit betrayal…
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….
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.”