For Brexit is not our Trump

Politics 2 Minutes

I don’t really want to have a go at Will Hutton in particular, but his is the most recent article I’ve seen to make the same mistake as many UK commenters I have seen. After much celebrating of Biden’s inauguration and a look forward to what this means for the US and the rest of the world, he attempts to draw parallels between Trump and Brexit, claiming:

Instead of the opposition conniving in the belief that the best that can be done is to improve the terms of the “deal” over many years ahead, the political task is to assemble a similarly broad coalition to Biden’s and oppose Brexit in the same terms.

There are two problems with this assertion. There first is the obvious one, that he is not comparing like for like. Electing a government is not the same as signing — or abandoning — an international treaty. Elections are regular occurrences, treaties… not so much.

Personally, I think Brexit is a stupid idea, implemented stupidly by a very stupid government. But it has happened. All the opposition in the world won’t change the fact that Britain left the EU in January 2020 and the transition period came to an end on December 31st and normal trade rules now apply to the UK’s dealings with the EU.

Secondly, and more significantly, is the parochial attitude of much of the British press on display here. What would successfully opposing Brexit look like at this stage? It’s all well and good convincing a majority of the electorate that Brexit is a bad idea, but then what? I presume the UK would want to re-apply to join the EU.

And after having spent four years wasting their time dealing with a belligerently incompetent UK government, does anyone really think that the EU governments will respond with anything other than hollow laughter?

Brexit is done but the trade agreement is an ongoing negotiation. The best Britain can hope for now is for the country to agree to align itself with the single market with the aim of rejoining it and the customs union at some point in the not too distant future.

There is no point in trying to flog a dead horse. If you really want to rejoin the EU, your best bet is to move to Scotland.

Published by Paul

Reader of books, watcher of films, player of games. British father of three, now living in Belgium and making a living from building interfaces.

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7 thoughts on “For Brexit is not our Trump”

  4. I prefer a little more blind optimism, tempered with a realistic timescale. The UK has suffered huge economic damage in these first 5 weeks of the sunlit uplands. I give it 10 years before we are crying out to rejoin. Brexit will be the thing which ultimately undoes Brexit. In 2030 we trust.

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    1. It wouldn’t surprise me if there was a big movement in the UK to rejoin the EU. The problem is that any application to rejoin has to be accepted by the EU members. I do think that any such application is likely to be vetoed and that this will remain the case for the foreseeable future.

      Rejoining the Single Market and Customs Union are much more achievable aims and doing so will address many (not all, obviously) of the most major problems caused by Brexit.

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