The Conservatives spent 14 years pretending Brexit was going brilliantly while every economic indicator said otherwise. Small businesses are drowning in customs paperwork. Export volumes are down. The City has lost business to Frankfurt and Amsterdam. None of this is disputed by anyone who actually looks at the data.
Starmer has inherited this mess and yes, he is moving cautiously, but the direction of travel needs to be clear: a customs union first, then regulatory alignment, and eventually a conversation about full membership when the politics allow it.
I run a business that exports to Europe. Before Brexit it took me one form. Now it takes eleven. That is not sovereignty. That is bureaucracy dressed up in a flag. Every month we wait costs British businesses money and costs British workers jobs.
Discussion (1)
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Mock the policy. Not the person. Community principles →
Which is maybe why the customs union is the right starting point. Everyone is too tired for another referendum. Just quietly re-engineer the plumbing and nobody has to admit anything.