The United Kingdom is further away from rejoining the European Union every single day, an expert has claimed.
Speaking at Labour Movement for Europe’s fringe event in Liverpool, Anand Menon argued Brussels’ ever-evolving framework makes the UK less likely to rejoin the EU.
He also exposed some hard truths for Brexiteers and warned Labour will need to grapple with huge costs to the UK economy as a result of leaving the Brussels bloc.
During his intervention at the heavily pro-EU event, Menon highlighted the ways in which rejoiners face an uphill struggle despite opinion polls pointing to a disaffection with Brexit.
‘Further away from rejoining!’ Expert delivers Remainers hard Brexit truths as Labour looks to ‘reset’ relations with EUPAHe said: “Let’s not pretend that Single Market membership doesn’t come with costs because it does.
“There is a democratic cost of being a rule-taker, a democratic cost that Norway can live with because the Norwegian economy is essentially fish and oil and they’re essentially excluded from the terms of their EU membership.
“For an economy like ours, having other people setting the rules governing our economy is politically problematic and also economically problematic because it consigns us to live under rules that are set for economies other than our own.”
Menon added: “Lots of people go around saying, ‘look at the polls’. Absolutely right, the polls on Brexit are changing fundamentally. Not least because of democratic churn where Leave voters, for one reason or another, are no longer responding to polls. Whereas, young people are coming into the electorate.
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Anand Menon is director of the UK in a Changing Europe think tank
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“The demographics are changing and the public opinion is changing. But if you ask if you’d like a rerun of the period of 2016 to 2019 people gasp with horror. There’s a big gap between people saying in principle if I could click my fingers this would be a nice thing and people who want to do it again.
“The final thing is the longer rejoining takes the harder it gets. In the eight years since our referendum, the EU has changed fundamentally and in many ways has changed fundamentally in ways we do not like. The longer we are out, the longer we are not around the table stopping that happening.”
The UK voted by 52 per cent to 48 per cent to quit the EU in 2016.
Recent opinion polls have suggested a significant shift, with YouGov handing rejoin a 13-point lead.
Nick Thomas-Symonds
PA
The shift towards the pro-EU case is also economic and Menon highlighted the ways Brexit has damaged the UK’s economy.
He said: “The first fact we know about Brexit is that it is costing the British economy. It’s costing the British economy in weird ways because services are doing alright, while goods are getting absolutely clobbered.
“But there’s absolutely no doubt whatsoever that Brexit is having a negative impact on the British economy and one early test about how serious this Government is about having an honest debate is when Rachel Reeves gives her Budget speech in just a few weeks time.”
Europe Minister Nick Thomas-Symonds was keen to stress Labour’s determination to “reset” relations with the Brussels bloc.
“Central to Britain standing tall on the international stage is resetting our relationship with the European Union,” he told attendees at the fringe event.
He added: “More than any single measure, more than any single policy, what we are determined to do is to rebuild a relationship of trust and cooperation with our European partners.”