London comes down to earth

Let no one think that the British are going to ask to rejoin the European Union.

Thomas Osborne
Thomas Osborne
21 November 2022 Monday 17:38
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London comes down to earth

Let no one think that the British are going to ask to rejoin the European Union. The Brexit victory was final and its consequences too. What has now changed is the general feeling on the islands that the break with Europe has not been as good a deal as many had thought. Surveys put the number of Britons who continue to believe so at 27%, compared to 63% who believe that Brexit has been a tremendous mistake.

After the controversial stages of David Cameron, Theresa May, Boris Johnson and Liz Truss, the British Conservatives hope that with the new Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, the country will enter into a new dynamic that is calmer, but above all practical, to resolve the serious problems left by the Brexit referendum. Especially the negotiation with Brussels on trade with Northern Ireland, which is still at a standstill. In this sense, this weekend the content of an official report that proposes that the United Kingdom could maintain a commercial relationship with the EU like the one that Switzerland has in the future has been leaked to the English press. This will make it possible to eliminate barriers to trade and overcome the obstacles that currently exist on the border of the two Irelands. The problem is that this agreement between the EU and Switzerland also establishes the free movement of people, something that is unaffordable for London.

The disclosure of this report caused deep unease in the conservative ranks, who described it as a "betrayal", but it is clear that something has to be done for the British economy to regain ground. As we explained this past Sunday in the Money supplement, the value of companies listed in Paris is already greater than that of London, for various reasons, but Brexit is the first of all.

Sunak has in his hands the possibility of trying to apply common sense to the negotiation with the EU without the arrogance that had characterized his predecessors. It is not a question of issuing ultimatums, nor of demanding compensation from Europe, but of going down to earth and looking for solutions that contribute to improving the British economy.