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Keir Starmer's 'EU reset' isn't a Brexit betrayal or a game-changing trade deal - it's somewhere in between
19 May 2025, 19:27 | Updated: 20 May 2025, 08:59
The Brexit deal Sir Keir Starmer unveiled today isn't a betrayal - and it's not a bumper bonanza trade agreement which will send the economy gangbusters either.
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The truth, as ever in politics, is somewhere in between.
But that's Brexit, that's Sir Keir's typically pragmatic way of working, and of course, that's politics.
Today's agreement will see fewer checks for businesses and food, more opportunities for travel and mobility, defence partnerships, and more intelligence sharing - that's all to be hugely welcomed.
Furthermore, the EU considers the worst Brexit wars to be very much behind us, which is welcome news for anyone who remembers the hellish period in British politics that is 2016 - 2019.
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As ever, the devil will be in the detail, and there are still a lot of questions remaining about what's to come.
How much money will we pay for this agreement? Unclear.
When will the deal on access to EU-gates start? Probably not in time for this summer, and it'll mean EU states have to individually agree.
Will there be a cap on the so-called Youth Experience Scheme? The deal on this is only just starting to be discussed, and is clearly a long way off.
While any boost to the economy is welcome, no matter how small, experts think it's only likely to be worth around £9billion a year by 2040.
That's just a fraction of the trade lost by our withdrawal.
Starmer hails ‘common sense’ EU deal as Brexiteers condemn ‘surrender’
As ITV's Robert Peston succinctly put this afternoon, this deal risks Sir Keir Starmer facing the worst of all worlds.
Aligning with EU rules and standards, but for not much gain, will risk upsetting people on both sides of his party and the country.
Common rules may well be the bat which the Tories choose to reopen the Brexit wars come the next election.
A 12-year agreement on fishing standing still is a far longer deal than any of us were expecting.
Sticking to the current quotas will anger British fishermen, though it's just a small part of the electorate they represent.
The PM's hoping that extra access to EU markets and fewer checks will balance out these grumbles.
And the Prime Minister, with a yearly EU-UK summit on the cards for the next four years, may have a string of good news and consumer-friendly announcements to trumpet in the 2029 election campaign.
The Tories and Reform must remember how little desire there is amongst most of the public to reopen the Brexit wars again, and how there is an appetite for improving the hand we have.
Better access, more collaboration, cheaper prices - if Sir Keir can pull any of these off, a good chunk of the British public will give this agreement a cautiously warm welcome.
