The Guardian's editorial argues that the architects of Brexit know it has failed, and this presents Prime Minister Andy Burnham with an opportunity to set a bolder new agenda for UK-EU relations. The editorial points to opinion polls showing that a majority of the public is dissatisfied with the outcome of Brexit, and that there is clear support for closer ties with the European Union in areas such as trade, defence, and health policy.
Farage's Silence on Brexit Achievement
The editorial notes that Nigel Farage, the leader of Reform UK, is rarely heard celebrating the completion of Brexit, despite being forever associated with the demand for emancipation from Brussels. At his party's annual conference last week, Brexit barely earned a mention in speeches. The simple reason, according to the editorial, is that none of the promises made about the benefits of life outside the EU have been fulfilled. Leaving made the country poorer, and voters know it.
Public Opinion on Brexit
A survey published this week by the thinktank British Future found that 57% of respondents judged Brexit to be “more a failure than a success”, while only 21% took the opposite view. The survey also found clear majorities in favour of closer ties with the EU when it comes to trade, defence, and even health policy. Additionally, 57% support a youth-mobility scheme for 18- to 30-year-olds, which would restore some of the opportunities to live and work abroad that were curtailed by departure from the EU.
However, the editorial cautions that these attitudes should not be confused with an appetite for a complete reversal of Brexit, still less a referendum to make it happen. Memories of a divisive campaign and exit process are a powerful deterrent against relitigating the question all over again.
Burnham's Opportunity and Constraints
The editorial states that the balance of public opinion is skewed against the enterprise that defined Mr Farage's political ascent and was enacted with fervour by the Conservative party. The ideological parents of Brexit are understandably embarrassed by their progeny. This presents Andy Burnham with an opportunity. The prime minister has said he wants to be “bolder” in pursuing a closer EU relationship, and he has permission from the electorate to do just that.
Mr Burnham inherited a European “reset” from his predecessor, but it was advancing slowly. The scope of potential agreement was also limited by Labour’s 2024 election manifesto, ruling out single market and customs union membership. Mr Burnham inherits that mandate too, and has indicated his intention to adhere to it. A UK-EU summit to advance cooperation in a range of areas – trade in agricultural goods, energy, defence and security, youth mobility – was due in July. Sir Keir’s departure led to a postponement, and it has not yet been rescheduled. Technical negotiations have continued under the new government, but there is not much sense of political urgency coming from either side. That must change.
Strategic Imperative for Closer Cooperation
The editorial argues that a new prime minister’s in-tray is always busy, and the EU is a slow-moving apparatus. There are few incentives to grant favours to the UK when the terms of the existing Brexit deal are skewed in Brussels’ favour. Without infusions of political will from No 10, inertia will prevail.
Meanwhile, the case for closer UK-EU cooperation gets ever more compelling with each act of vandalism perpetrated by Donald Trump against the transatlantic alliance and international trading system. This strategic imperative is something the public can understand and that ideological Brexiters refuse to see. If Mr Burnham has the imagination and courage to outline an ambitious new model of UK-EU relations, he will have the majority of British voters on his side.
