One can hope that the announcement of the British Government’s planned appointment of a new negotiator to help “reset” relations with Europe might be the beginning of the end of the ridiculous, myopic, regressive and stupid decision that was Brexit.
Let’s face it, Brexit was a powerplay by Boris Johnson and Nigel Farage to further their political careers, and to hell with the country. The fact that the strategy worked doesn’t mean it doesn’t qualify for the adjectives I used above. Even the two ringleaders of the Brexit movement have admitted publicly that they lied through their teeth in promoting the concept of Brexit.
The results have been detrimental to the United Kingdom – loss of trade, loss of inward investment, a brain-drain of professionals and a diminished status of London as a financial and trading center. It was a stupid idea, driven by the egos and ambitions of two men, and the British public fell for it. In a way, the current U.S. stance – a la Trump – of isolationism could learn a lot from what happened to the U.K. after Brexit.
As I have said before, very simply, if you don’t like what you seeing, you don’t pick up your ball and go home, you take a leadership role and do something about it.
Enough ranting!
Sir Kier Starmer, the U.K. Prime Minister met European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen in October to push for a better trading relationship, and greater co-operation on defence and security measures, and the appointment of the new negotiator is one result.
The job-posting says the role will lead the government’s relationship with the European Union and negotiations with the EU “on key U.K. interests”, with mentions of trade, security and border policy. For the moment, the Prime Minister is maintaining the position that this move does not mean he is abandoning Brexit, but the writing is finally on the wall – this is my wishful thinking, maybe, but the British people and government had to come to their senses eventually.
I am reminded of Winston Churchill’s commitment immediately after World War II when, despite six years of all-out war in Europe, he promoted and led the movement for a united Europe, and what became the EU and NATO. We could do with a few more visionary Winston Churchills today, instead of buffoons like Boris and Nigel.
The new negotiator role is advertised as “a high-profile senior position that will receive significant public scrutiny and political attention” in the job-posting published online by the Cabinet Office. The title of Second Permanent Secretary for European Union and International Economic Affairs would act as a “sherpa” – “a senior and personal representative of the prime minister at international summits and engagements”.
The person would be required to oversee and lead policy development on trade, including the Windsor Framework, the Trade and Cooperation Agreement, the Entry and Exit Scheme – a new upcoming digital EU border scheme – and other border policy questions.
A spokesperson for the Cabinet Office said: “As we reset our relationship with the EU, building closer trade and security links and encouraging more investment from around the world, this new role will oversee that work. Reporting to the minister for European Union relations, they will lead official-level discussions with the EU as we drive economic growth.”
It is ironic, but totally predictable, that the U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s senior economic advisor Stephen Moore said last week last week that the UK “has to choose between the Europe economic model of more socialism and the U.S. model which is more based on a free enterprise system.”
Apart from the fact that Moore’s statement is not reflective of what Donald Trump has said he wants to do – retreat from the world and impose heavy tariffs on imports, even from neighbors like Canada and Mexico, as well as China – it is an attempt to bring the U.K. under U.S. influence when its future seems more to the east than the west.
Incidentally, Trump seems to be unaware that increased tariffs will mean higher prices for consumers, which the American electorate put him in office to combat. Dumb, to put it mildly.
In conclusion, at least for the purposes of this blog, the move by the British Prime Minister, marks a realization that Britain is a part of Europe, and should be, both for its own sake and for that of the European Union and, perhaps, for the security of the Western world, given the frightening prospects of a new Trump presidency.
