Brexit Fallout: London Seeks EU Amid Economic Crisis

During a conference at the London School of Economics, Reeves assured that the British government is “willing” to lead the United Kingdom towards a “much closer” integration with the European Union. During an event organized by think tank Bruegel, Reeves described the current negotiations on youth mobility, food standards and energy policy as simply a “first phase”, noting that the “grand prize” for the British economy is the recovery of a preferential relationship with the community bloc. A decade later, at least part of the country’s political class realizes the enormous mistake of accepting Nigel Farage’s thesis of extremism and the opportunism of Boris Johnson.

Reeves’ words have served to make the political and media right of the islands raise their voices and highlight that they contrast with the position that the minister herself maintained just a few weeks ago at the Davos Forum, where she assured that the country could not “go back in time.” But the truth is that since Starmer won the election he has done timid progress to get closer to Brusselsalthough always looking askance at Farage and the conservatives. However, the economy is not taking flight, and Brexit, and all the bureaucracy and obstacles to trade with its main partner, greatly hamper growth.

In fact, this Thursday official data confirmed that the last ten years have been the worst in terms of growth of the last century. The gross domestic product (GDP) of the United Kingdom has grown at a rate of 1.1% throughout this decade. It would be the lowest since 0.8% in the 1920s.

From his platform at the prestigious London university, Reeves did not spare the situation from drama. “Economic gravity is a reality. We trade almost as much with the EU as with the rest of the world combined,” he said, admitting that no agreement with the US or India will be able to compensate for the loss of the European market. During the Brexit campaign, Johnson and Farage’s propaganda never tired of talking about the benefits of Brexit and “global Britain.”

Starmer weakness

Reeves’ turn may not be coincidental, some analysts say. And it comes after a catastrophic week for Keir Starmer, whose position has been greatly weakened for the Mandelson scandal and for one internal rebellion that on Monday was one step away from removing him from Downing Street. The day before, the crisis forced the resignation of Morgan McSweeney, his chief of staff and architect of the electoral victory, who staunchly defended keeping his distance from Brussels to stop the rise of the Reform Party, which now leads the voting intention polls.

Without McSweeney, then, the government could accentuate a more pro-European policy. Not in vain, ministers such as Wes Streeting (Health) or David Lammy (Justice) had previously broken ranks by suggesting the benefits of the customs union, an idea that now seems to gain weight despite the red lines of the Labor manifesto. Starmer, however, has opposed it, although during the toughest period of the Brexit struggles he was even in favor of a second referendum.

The opposition has not been slow to react. Shadow Treasury Secretary Mel Stride has accused the government of using Brexit as a “scapegoat” for its own economic mistakes, forgetting that under Conservative governments the economy was not only not growing, but was a complete disaster. For her part, Suella Braverman, a former conservative who joined Farage’s party just three weeks ago, has spoken directly of “the great betrayal of Brexit.” But the truth is that the divorce with the European Union has been a populist and xenophobic movement, which has failed miserably in economic terms and which has arrived at the worst geopolitical moment for the United Kingdom.

The problem for Labour, however, is that Farage’s electoral rise seems unstoppable and the local elections on May 7 in England, and national elections in Scotland and Wales, may confirm this. In this case, Downing Street would not dare to go further and would even stop the youth mobility project and the integration of food standards and energy policy.

The country – with an electoral roll that differs by five million people from that of 2016, and which would now not opt ​​for Brexit – is now paying for the enormous mistake of divorce with the EU and Labor is also paying for the fact that in all this time it has been unable to let the electorate know that the supposed benefits of ‘. Paradoxically, Farage’s xenophobia and populism continue to dominate the political scene of the islands, and society can largely buy it.