Can MPs Back TUC, Be Braver Than Ministers on Way Forward in Europe?

This Monday (17 March) British MPs will travel to Brussels to discuss with opposite numbers from the European Parliament the next stages in the evolving UK-EU political relationship.

This year sees the fifth anniversary of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement, the formal mechanism negotiated by Boris Johnson that turned the vote by 37 per cent of British citizens who expressed a desire to leave the EU but without stipulating what exactly they wanted in its place into a very hard Brexit.

This has led to a slowdown in growth, inward investment, scores of thousands of small firms stopping exporting to the continent, young British artists prevented from playing in summer festivals, or older Brits retiring to the sun-kissed coastal region of Mediterranean Europe. The report by the National Institute of Economic and Social Rsearch recently reported that since Brexit productivity in the UK was 30 per cent behind equivalent firms in Germany, 20 per cent behind French firms. The loss of economic energy thanks to Brexit has cut down sharply UK national revenue forcing the Labour chancellor, Rachel Reeves to impose cuts and raise revenue with unpopular taxes like the hike in National Insurance employers must pay.

Since the Brexit plebiscite there have been 3 general elections and 5 prime ministers all adopting policies often radically different from their predecessors. Yet changing some policy on isolation from Europe even after all the evidence it has not worked, and all opinion polls show the public think it’s a wrong turning for Britain seems to be beyond the current policy thinking of ministers.

Of course no-one is calling for an immediate full rejoin, a return to the status ante quo of a decade ago. But there are many options like Norway or Switzerland who cooperate with the EU far more than the Government seems able to envisage or even Turkey which is in a Customs Union with the EU which benefits both sides without requiring freedom of movement.

Sir Keir Starmer has emerged as one of the leaders of the European response to the crisis over Ukraine following Donald Trump’s election. Unlike President Macron the Labour prime minister has total command of his nation’s parliament. Germany is waiting to see the full outlines of the coalition agreement between the centre-right CDU and centre-left SPD and Greens to allow spending on the defence of Europe against Putin’s aggression.

The proposed deal also involves a massive boost in infrastructure spending and a big hike in the minimum wage to 20 euros compared to the UK’s 13.5 Euros.

The Labour government had made the first priority of its “reset” (a word that does not translate easily into French or German) with the Europe on defence and security. Independently of the Ukraine-Trump-Putin crisis, the UK security and military relationship with Europe was and remains NATO focused. There is no EU Army, nor EU generals, and welcome as the decision of Starmer and EU leaders to allow government to borrow to build up arms expenditure may be the choice of arms will remain under firm national control in all EU member states.

So far there is no clarity on the UK government’s willingness to meet the EU half-way on increasing access for goods and services, youth mobility, the Erasmus programme under which 15,000 British students got to study at European universities and upgrade the woeful level of speaking foreign languages. Mutual recognition of professional qualifications, or having common rules for food products or chemicals crossing borders still seem too much for Whitehall to swallow.

The promised Brexit “freedoms” of greater trade or travel access to overseas nations beginning with the chimera of a free trade deal with the US seems further away than ever under President “Tariffs are Great” Trump.

When the 34 British parliamentarians many with considerable EU experience sit down under their chair, Labour’s Marsha de Cordova, MP for Battersea, with their opposite number MEPs, led by Sandro Gozi, the Anglophile, former Socialist Europe Minister in Italy now sitting as an MEP in President Macron’s liberal group in the Strasbourg parliament they know that neither Britain nor the EU are looking at a full rejoin .

The UK delegation also includes rightists like the former diplomat David (Lord) Frost who did the negotiations that resulted in the disastrous lose-lose 2020 withdrawal treaty or Lord Norman Lamont, 82, who moved to a fanatical anti-EU line after serving Margaret Thatcher and John Major as a pro-European minister.

The question is how many win-win agreements can be achieved to ameliorate the now undisputed negatives arising from Brexit? Stella Creasy MP, also on the UK delegation, heads the Labour Movement for Europe which has more Labour MPs as members than there are Tory MPs in the Commons. She has put forward sensible practical ideas for measures that can help reduce the Tory imposed isolationist Brexit which damages Britain.

The Trades Union Congress is perfectly well aware of the problem of ‘red wall’ working class voters. Yet its general secretary, Paul Nowak, is showing clearer leadership than Whitehall. British trade unions recently called for Erasmus to extend to apprenticeships for young workers not destined for universities or to see mutual agreements on Emission Trading Schemes (ETS) due to come into force shortly.

If not the surreal position will arise of a British firm paying an ETS levy under UK rules for a part imported from Europe and then an EU ETS levy when the finished product is exported to Europe. It is just common sense to unify the two ETS payment systems.

As confidence grows that the EU and Britain can shape a win-win relationship the fears stoked up be the discredited Johnson-Farage cabal that any grown-up cooperation with Europe is the end of British sovereignty or identity will with luck subside and Britain can move on to a new relationship of partnership and cooperation with European member states.

Denis MacShane was the UK’s Minister of Europe under Tony Blair and wrote in 2014 “Brexit: Why Britain Will Leave Europe” (IB Tauris)