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Feb 12, 20225 min read

EM Brexit Watch 12 February


In this issue of Brexit Watch... 🗞️

  • This week

  • News

  • Opinion & Analysis

  • Think Tank Corner

  • Video of the week

  • Tweet of the week

  • Podcast of the week

  • Cultural PS

  • Local group event

  • We are hiring

This week 📰 This week’s biggest Brexit news is firmly in the ‘beyond satire’ category. Jacob Rees-Mogg is now Minister for Brexit Opportunities and Government Efficiency. EM UK’s response was very short, though probably still longer than Mr Rees-Mogg’s list of opportunities. Our posts on this were among our biggest ever social media successes.



Meanwhile, former top civil servant Jill Rutter demonstrated the Whitehall skill of saying pointed things politely: “The problem for Rees-Mogg here is that…..the rhetoric of benefits of Brexit comes much more easily to the government than actually crystallising them.” Many will fear that Mr Rees-Mogg’s idea of a Brexit opportunity might be lowering standards. They won’t be reassured by reports that Canada is pressuring UK to allow growth hormones for cattle, as a condition for joining the 11-nation Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). Nor by the revelation that in the US – the UK government is desperate for a US trade deal – levels of a toxic chemical are 5 000 (yes, five thousand) times higher than the EU considers safe.

Less than 24 hours after Mr Rees-Mogg’s appointment, the House of Commons’ cross-party Public Accounts Committee pointed to huge difficulties at the borders that Boris’s Brexit built. Worse is likely once travel picks up post-Covid restrictions and full border checks are introduced. PAC Chair Meg Hillier said: “the only detectable impact of Brexit so far is increased costs, paperwork and border delays.”

Key articles

Warning over border delays when checks kick in (BBC) Security concerns over post-Brexit customs checks in Kent (Kent Online) Half-term is coming up – those who would like to make it the end of term for Boris Johnson include Sir John Major, who launched his latest attack on Thursday (transcript and video here). Key articles Johnson broke law over No 10 parties, says ex-PM Sir John Major (BBC) And the inevitable backlash….'John who?' Furious senior Tories round on former PM (Daily Mail) Negotiations have resumed on the Northern Ireland Protocol, with Whitehall sources suggesting that the UK government is now again ramping up contingency planning for triggering Article 16. FT political editor George Parker and others questioned the wisdom of renewed sabre-rattling, given the situation in Europe. The EU has said triggering Article 16 would lead to suspension of the EU-UK trade agreement – which would mean even worse supply chain and cost of living problems for the UK.

Key article

Brexit: UK and EU set for fresh talks on NI Protocol (BBC) So, to sum up, plenty more evidence this week that Boris Johnson was dead right…… ….when, as the New European reports, he allegedly told spin doctor Guto Harri in 2018 that he had ‘f**cked up massively’ by backing Brexit.

Other stories you may not have seen A fascinating – and for us rather positive - blog by polling guru Sir John Curtice, making clear that Brexit is still a live issue. Sir John wrote it last week but it passed mostly below the media radar. The best news perhaps at the end: “nearly a half of voters (48%) think that there should be another referendum within ten years, while only 39% believe it should be delayed longer than that (if held at all).”

52% of voters now believe the UK should be in the EU. Even more (56% once ‘don’t knows’ are accounted for) think Brexit was a mistake. So part of EM’s job is to convince those who now wish Brexit hadn’t happened that it can be reversed.

Leave voters are beginning to change their minds. ‘Only’ 80% now say they would still vote to leave the EU, compared with 87% ten months ago. This trend may speed up as those ‘Brexit opportunities’ turn to dust.

Last word to Sir John Curtice: “it is unwise to assume that the debate is over.” We agree with Sir John.

The big news in the EU EU unveils multi-billion-euro chip production plan (Deutsche Welle – in English) This flagship EU initiative is an example of how post-Brexit, bigger economies – EU, US, China – could squeeze the UK out as they use their financial and trade muscle to secure vital products and investment. Chips are used in everything from smartphones to cars. EU to launch rare inquiry into Pegasus spyware scandal - after evidence government critics in Hungary and Poland were targeted (Guardian) Why the long table? Because….Macron refused Russian COVID test in Putin trip over DNA theft fears (Reuters) France to ease Covid-19 restrictions further, dropping indoor mask requirements(France 24 – in English) Meta warns it may shut Facebook in Europe but EU leaders say life would be 'very good' without it (Euronews)

Opinion & Analysis 🗣️ Jacob Rees-Mogg’s new job is a joke, but this farce is a fig-leaf for tragedy (Clár Ní Chonghaile - New European)

Think Tank Corner 🗣️ Typically excellent report from the Centre for European Reform, with a short ten point intro by Director Charles Grant, whose accuses the Brexiteer government of ‘maximising autonomy at the expense of influence’

Video of the week From BBC Question Time. Femi Oluwole sums it up: “Listen to the utterly PATHETIC response from George Eustice to the woman whose business has been crippled by Brexit”


Please do watch until the end for the sting in the tail…

Tweet of the week Two this week, on the same mind-boggling government appointment: Sue Perkins – former Bake Off presenter makes clear there’ll be no cake or eating it for Jacob Rees-Mogg. The FT’s Peter Foster lambasts Mr Rees-Mogg’s jingoistic article in The Sun. Podcast of the week

In Politico’s Westminster Insider, Jack Blanchard looks into the murky world of leadership challenges and asks what it’s like to topple a Prime Minister. Cultural PS Not all that cultural but – on the principle of know thine enemy – this week’s PS is Michael Crick’s biography of Nigel Farage. Andrew Rawnsley’s hostile – to Farage – review in The Observer is an enjoyable five minutes. Sample line from the book: “Egotism, arrogance, duplicity, dishonesty, hypocrisy, all are attributes Nigel Farage has in abundance, but so do many other successful politicians, not least our prime minister”. Local Group Event NE Surrey for Europe has monthly talks, including Polly Toynbee, on Tuesday 22 February at 19h15, on ‘The Lost Decade: Brexit and Austerity. Free, donations welcome, details and registration here. Next up on Thursday 3 March is EM’s very own Mike Galsworthy, on Scientists and Brexit.

We are hiring

HEAD OF GRASSROOTS ENGAGEMENT!

Still time to apply - until 14 February at 09h00 - to be EM UK’s Head of Grassroots Engagement. We are looking for someone who can improve the European Movement’s ‘offer’ to local group members and volunteers and put them at the heart of delivering our strategy to campaign step-by-step to rejoin the European Union. Details here.

CALLING ALL NUMBER CRUNCHERS! EM is looking for a temporary bookkeeper for head office for the next 3 months. This role is part time and can be done remotely or in our London office. If you have bookkeeping skills and could help us out, we really want to hear from you! E-mail: Recruitment@europeanmovement.co.uk for a chat with CEO Anna Bird about how you might be able to help. That's it for this week!

Let me know what you liked and what you didn’t, what you would like added/removed, etc. on mark.english@europeanmovement.co.uk Please note that the external sources quoted or linked to in this newsletter do not necessarily represent the view of the European Movement UK

Promoted by Hugo Mann on behalf of European Movement UK, c/o WeWork The Cursitor, 38 Chancery Lane, London, WC2A 1EN


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