Starmer hails EU deal as critics revive Brexit battles
Keir Starmer dramatically blew open the Brexit debate yesterday, hailing a ‘comprehensive’ new pact with the EU nearly 6 years after Boris Johnson’s government signed a Brexit deal.
Speaking at a UK-EU summit in central London, the Prime Minister heralded “a new era in our relationship” with the EU, while European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen branded the summit “a historic moment.”
Starmer said his renegotiation of the 2019 Brexit deal “delivers what the British public voted for” while also giving the UK “unprecedented access to the EU market.”
However, despite being welcomed by many business organisations the pact is set to reopen old wounds in Westminster.
Opposition leader Kemi Badenoch vowed to reverse the deal “at the first opportunity” while Reform UK leader Nigel Farage slammed Starmer’s bid to build “closer ties to an ever-diminishing political union.”
Fishing for a good deal?
As part of a deal to secure easier access to the European market for British goods, the UK granted generous concessions to the EU on fishing rights – extending EU access to British waters for a further 12 years.
The Conservatives accused Labour of “sacrificing” the UK fishing industry, though Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said the deal “removes the uncertainty” of an “annual haggling process,” and replaces it with “the consistency of a long one.”
Boris Johnson, who was dethroned by his MPs in 2022, said Starmer had made the UK a “non-voting member of a two-tier European Union.”
Much of the deal focused on the EU’s treatment of British food and agricultural exports to the bloc which will now face considerably less friction. The UK has agreed to adopt EU rules on such products under a process known as “dynamic alignment.”
While retailers have welcomed the move, it has led to accusations that the UK will now be governed by EU rules over which it has little or no say. Though the EU has agreed that the UK would be consulted on any rule changes, the European Court of Justice will remain the final arbiter of any dispute.
Starmer’s supporters
Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey welcomed what he described as “some positive first steps in rebuilding our relationship with Europe after years of a Conservative party that wrecked trust … with our closest allies,” though his party’s Treasury spokesperson, Daisy Cooper, said the deal did not go far enough.
Despite the political backlash, Starmer was bullish in hailing the summit’s outcomes as the latest in a string of trade and economic deals signed by his government.
“Other governments have talked and talked with great rhetoric about what they’re going to achieve, and achieved nothing.” Starmer said, highlighting the two trade deals with India and the US that preceded yesterday’s EU reset.
The agreement struck at the London summit will now be submitted to months of detailed negotiation in areas including a youth mobility scheme, defence tie-ups and regulatory standards, meaning that the arguments are likely to dominate UK politics for many months to come.