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Britain Limps Back to the EU Fold

Prime Minister Keir Starmer gives a press conference at the European Political Community (EPC) Summit bringing together world leaders at Blenheim Palace. Picture by Tim Hammond / No 10 Downing Street

Britain is back in the EU fold to tackle its key issues of safeguarding borders, security, and economic growth. The caravan will march on despite the heckles from the Reform Party, Nigel Farage, and a section of Tories … writes Anasudhin Azeez

Here is bad news for the Brexiteers. Whether you like it or not, Britain is limping back to its roots to become part of the greater European family. The recent European Political Community meeting at Blenheim Palace indicates the new Labour government’s intention to be part of the European family rather than stay isolated as “Little Britain” to address two key issues threatening its existence: security and immigration. With Donald Trump swinging the US electorate to regain the White House, it’s a valid reason for Europe to consider self-reliance on security.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer took the initiative to host the fourth meeting of the European Political Community at Blenheim Palace, a place steeped in the memories of Sir Winston Churchill, a controversial figure for the children of the empire but an inspiration for Europhiles. The meeting of the European Union leaders and representatives from the wider European Community is bad news for hardcore Brexiteers like Nigel Farage and Rishi Sunak. However, they fail to recognise the ground realities regarding the broader issues of security and immigration plaguing the United Kingdom.

The meeting was held at the Palace in a cordial atmosphere. They discussed the economy, security, and immigration. However, the elephant in the room was President Trump and his resurgent MAGA campaign. Trump is now supported by charismatic Yale graduate J.D. Vance. The meeting discussed a scenario: if America suddenly tires of helping defend Europe and Russia strikes, then what? If Trump wins, it will be a 12-year reign of Trumpism. Vance is Trump’s heir apparent, and a sitting president has many advantages to retain power, provided he does not falter on security and the economy.

Vance embodies a badge of the true American story that will resonate with Rust Belt voters. He believes the American elites betrayed communities like his. International trade, he says, is one of the culprits: American jobs being shipped to China while fentanyl is shipped back to America. Communities sent their children to die in Iraq and Afghanistan. He sees aid to Ukraine and NATO membership in the context of such exploitation: American taxpayers being bled to fight foreign wars or subsidize European military underspending. He led the campaign in the US Congress to halt the $61 billion Ukraine aid package. Although it failed, it caused fateful delays, allowing Russia to capture Avdiivka and force Ukrainian troops to retreat miles from the Donetsk region.

Trump accuses Zelensky of fleecing Americans. Vance accuses Europe of fleecing US taxpayers’ money to safeguard their backyards. Vance is practically a Mini-Me of Trump.

The changed equations in the US are prompting Europe to rethink its defence strategies. Only the United Kingdom and France can lead the Europeans in defending themselves; they are the only serious military powers in Europe. Here is an opportunity for Starmer to shape Europe’s post-Brexit defense policy. But is it a good idea to do this through the EU?

Britain wants to reset its relationship with the EU and wider Europe, as well as address international and global issues. Eighty years on from the D-Day landings and the Liberation of France, the leaders remembered the immense common sacrifices both countries have made to defend their shared values and protect their societies. As fellow members of the G7, G20, NATO, and permanent members of the UN Security Council, the UK and France continue to work together to provide global leadership in an era of renewed geopolitical instability.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer meets French President Emmanuel Macron for the Anglo French Summit at Blenheim Palace. Picture by Simon Dawson / No 10 Downing Street

They are now committed to continuing to invest in the European Political Community format to bring together Europe’s democracies and contribute to regional stability and security through political dialogue and concrete cooperation.

“We cannot let the challenges of the recent past define our relationships of the future,” said Starmer before the summit. “That is why European security will be at the forefront of this government’s foreign and defence priorities, and why I am focused on seizing this moment to renew our relationship with Europe.

“The European Political Community will fire the starting gun on this government’s new approach to Europe, one that will not just benefit us now, but for generations to come, from dismantling the people-smuggling webs trafficking people across Europe to standing up to Putin’s barbaric actions in Ukraine and destabilizing activity across Europe.”

Britain is back in the EU fold to tackle its key issues of safeguarding borders, security, and economic growth. The caravan will march on despite the heckles from the Reform Party, Nigel Farage, and a section of Tories.

ALSO READ: Starmer vows Ukraine support in low-key first PMQs

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Starmer says UK can improve on ‘botched’ Brexit deal

Starmer, who said he has a mandate to do politics differently, met with Scottish First Minister John Swinney in an effort to turn disagreement into cooperation…reports Asian Lite News

Prime Minister Keir Starmer is seeking to reset relations at home and abroad. During a visit to Edinburgh, that he billed as an immediate reset with the regional governments of Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales, Starmer said he would also seek to improve the UK’s botched trade deal with the European Union.

“I do think that we can get a much better deal than the botched deal that (former Prime Minister) Boris Johnson saddled the UK with, he said in reference to the pact negotiated after Brexit.

Starmer said there were many discussions ahead to strengthen trading, research and defense ties with the EU. But he said those talks had begun as his top diplomat made his first visit abroad to Germany, Poland and Sweden.

With two of Starmer’s ministers in Europe ahead of a NATO meeting next week, the premier made a point of visiting the leaders of the regional governments in the UK following his party’s landslide victory last week.

Starmer, who said he has a mandate to do politics differently, met with Scottish First Minister John Swinney in an effort to turn disagreement into cooperation.

We will serve every single person in Scotland, Starmer told a group of enthusiastic supporters. Performance, self-interest: they’re the politics of the past. The politics of this Labour government of 2024 is about public service, restoring standards of making sure that we always, always have in our mind’s eye the people who elected us into government.

While each of the devolved nations in the UK elects members to the House of Commons in London, they also have their own regional parliaments.

Starmer’s Labour Party trounced Swinney’s Scottish National Party for seats in Parliament. But the SNP, which has pushed for Scottish independence, still holds a majority at Holyrood, the Scottish parliament.

Swinney said after meeting the prime minister that he believed there’s an opportunity to work together to make a difference for the Scottish people.

The trip to build better working relations across the U.K. comes as Starmer’s government faces a mountain of problems.

The Labour government inherited a wobbly economy that left Britons struggling to pay bills after global economic woes and fiscal missteps. It also faces a public disenchanted after 14 years of chaotic Conservative rule and fiscal austerity that hollowed out public services, including the revered National Health Service, which Starmer has declared broken.

Starmer said he wants to transfer power from the bureaucratic halls of government in London to leaders who know what’s best for their communities.

After his two-day tour, he’ll return to England, where he plans to meet with regional mayors, saying he would engage with politicians regardless of their party.

There’s no monopoly on good ideas, he said I’m not a tribal political.

Starmer continued to speak with other world leaders, having separate calls with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

He spoke with both about his priorities for a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip, the return of hostages to Israel, and an increase in humanitarian aid, a spokesperson said.

He told Abbas that the recognition of a Palestinian state as part of a peace process was the undeniable right of Palestinians and told Netanyahu it was important to ensure the long-term conditions for a two-state solution, including ensuring financial means for Abbas’ Palestinian Authority to operate effectively.

Labour’s initial refusal to call for a ceasefire last year is blamed for costing it support and some seats in Thursday’s election.

In advance of Starmer’s attendance Tuesday at a NATO meeting in Washington, Foreign Secretary David Lammy reiterated an unshakeable commitment to the alliance during his first trip abroad.

Lammy said that the UK government would tighten relations with the European Union and remains ironclad in its support for Ukraine.

European security will be this government’s foreign and defence priority,” Lammy said in Poland. Russia’s barbaric invasion has made clear the need for us to do more to strengthen our own defences.

However, Lammy reiterated Starmer’s pledge not to rejoin the EU single market after British voters in 2016 voted to break from the political and economic union.

Let us put the Brexit years behind us,” Lammy told The Observer. We are not going to rejoin the single market and the customs union but there is much that we can do together.

Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said Sunday on Sky News that the UK should look for ways to improve trade with the EU and that removing some trade barriers was sensible.

But he said the Labour government was not open to the free movement of people that was required as a member of the union.

Meanwhile, Defence Secretary John Healey met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Odesa and said the UK would provide a new package of support to Ukraine, including more artillery guns and nearly 100 Brimstone missiles.

Healey also said he would make sure the remaining military commitments to Ukraine by the previous government would be delivered within 100 days.

ALSO READ-UK to seek joint declaration with EU on security pact

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Labour aims for closer EU ties without reopening Brexit wounds

Starmer’s reward is polls that now predict him sweeping into Downing Street as prime minister at the end of this week, possibly with a historic majority. But if he does get there, he won’t be able to keep Brexit out of the news for long…reports Asian Lite News

For a decade, leaving the European Union was the question that dominated British politics. These days it barely comes up. Which is clearly how Labour Party leader Keir Starmer likes it.

He has worked diligently to win back the support of working class voters, millions of whom were lured away five years ago by Conservative Boris Johnson’s promise to “get Brexit done,” when Labour campaigned to leave a path open to stay in the EU.

Starmer’s reward is polls that now predict him sweeping into Downing Street as prime minister at the end of this week, possibly with a historic majority. But if he does get there, he won’t be able to keep Brexit out of the news for long.

His mandate will be to spur economic growth. Businesses say that would require lifting some of the barriers that Britain’s exit from the EU has left in the path of their trade. And that, in turn, is likely to mean reopening contentious negotiations with Brussels.

Britain finally left the EU in January 2020 under Johnson. In its determination to turn the page on Brexit, Labour has ruled out rejoining the EU single market or customs union. But it says it is still possible to remove trade barriers with the 27-nation bloc, to help companies, particularly smaller ones, which have struggled with higher costs and paperwork.

Labour does not want to “reopen the wounds of the past,” said Jonathan Reynolds, the Labour lawmaker who is in line to become business secretary in a Starmer cabinet.

“Clearly, we need to get a better deal, and there are real improvements we could achieve,” he said at an event on Thursday hosted by the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), the business lobby group which has said parties should stop “treading on eggshells” over EU ties.

A survey by accountancy firm Menzies showed that 1 in 3 British businesses want to reopen the Brexit deal reached under Johnson, and 1 in 5 want a new government to rejoin the single market, with 20 percent citing barriers as a result of Brexit as a factor limiting international expansion.

One early pledge from Labour is to seek a veterinary agreement with the EU that would reduce border checks on animal products, a hindrance for British farmers and importers. It also wants the mutual recognition of certain professional qualifications, and easier access for artists on tour.

Labour has presented these as comparitively simple gains it can make without reopening the Brexit agreement reached under Johnson.

But even such small steps would require tough choices, said an EU source, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss hypothetical future negotiations.

A veterinary agreement would require Britain to submit to resolving disputes through the European Court of Justice (ECJ) the EU source said. That is anathema to Brexit campaigners who consider it an infringement of British sovereignty.

“Working with a like-minded partner, friend and ally is what everybody wants,” said the EU source. “But the idea of having the same benefits you get as a member of the club becomes a little bit trickier.”

Anand Menon, a politics professor and director of the UK in a Changing Europe think tank, said Labour might be misjudging how enthusiastic the EU would be about renegotiating after years of clashing with British governments.

The bloc already has a lot on its plate, he said. And while Britain may want to improve technical issues on areas like food, Brussels would want to talk about mobility — making it easier for people to live and work in Britain, especially young people.

“I think we’ll have a massive change in style, and a bit of tinkering in substance,” Menon said.

The Conservatives say Labour’s policies would “unravel Brexit,” including by making Britain again subject to rulings from the ECJ.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in a debate this week accused Labour of planning to accept a return to free movement of people under its plans to strike a better Brexit deal with the EU. Starmer said he would reject any deal with the EU that increases immigration.

Labour’s Reynolds said he wanted to improve the trade situation while offering benefits to the bloc: “It’s not necessarily easy, but there’s a negotiation, there’s a process I can see delivering those things.”

ALSO READ-Hungary’s Orbn to take EU reins as tensions build

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Sunak claims Starmer could put Brexit in peril

London, Oct 25 (ANI): British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak waves as he arrives to deliver a press statement at 10 Downing Street, in London on Tuesday. He was appointed as new UK's PM by King Charles III at Buckingham Palace. (ANI Photo)

Home Secretary Cleverly has claimed Labour will “open the door to 100,000 illegal migrants” which a Labour spokesperson has labelled as desperate lies…reports Asian Lite News

Rishi Sunak has made a series of claims about rival Keir Starmer and his intentions if Labour get into government – claiming he “would recommit us to free movement of EU citizens, taking thousands more illegal migrants and binding our businesses again in Brussels red tape”.

“Keir Starmer has never believed we can succeed as a sovereign country and has tried to overturn the result time and time again,” he said. “Now he has committed to years more wrangling the EU and abandoning all our hard-won freedoms like the ability to strike more trade deals and cut more red tape.

Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch has claimed Starmer and Labour “have never believed in Britain’s ability to forge its own path”.

“Instead of using the opportunities, Starmer wants to renegotiate the Brexit deal, taking us back to square one of being a rule-taker from Brussels,” she added.

“Only the Conservatives will continue to take the bold action required to build a secure, independent future for our country.”

Starmer last month told he plans to seek “a better [Brexit] deal than the one that we’ve got” if elected in next month’s general election. “I don’t think many people look at that deal and think it’s working very well,” he said of the current trade arrangements. “We were promised an oven-ready deal and we got something that was, frankly, half-baked.”

The Labour manifesto makes one mention of Brexit. It reads: “With Labour, Britain will stay outside of the EU. But to seize the opportunities ahead, we must make Brexit work. We will reset the relationship and seek to deepen ties with our European friends, neighbours and allies,” it continues. “That does not mean reopening the divisions of the past. There will be no return to the single market, the customs union, or freedom of movement. Instead, Labour will work to improve the UK’s trade and investment relationship with the EU, by tearing down unnecessary barriers to trade.”

Meanwhile, Home Secretary James Cleverly has claimed Labour will “open the door to 100,000 illegal migrants” in a piece for the Sunday Telegraph – which a Labour spokesperson has already labelled “desperate lies from a party that has totally failed to control our borders or manage the asylum system”.

And in The Times, Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove has said in a new interview: “I think one of the biggest question marks over Labour is what they would do in terms of relations with the EU because it is on the record that Starmer did everything he could to frustrate a Brexit deal and to secure a second referendum.

“I was in the room with him when we were trying to negotiate an agreement between Labour and the Conservatives under Theresa [May] to secure a Brexit deal.”

Meanwhile, as polls continue to predict Labour are heading for a comfortable majority, their national campaign co-ordinator has reminded the public: “Change will only happen if you vote for it.”

Labour’s national campaign coordinator Pat McFadden wrote in the Observer: “There is a danger that the debate in this election becomes consumed by polls and specifically by the idea that the outcome is somehow pre-determined… No way is this election a done deal.

“The headlines about the clutch of MRP polls disguise a huge level of uncertainty.”

Sunak predicted to lose seat

Meanwhile, two polls have found the Labour party was set to win a record-breaking number of seats and the incumbent Conservatives due for a historic drubbing in July’s general election.

With voters heading to the polls in just over two weeks time, the latest pair of nationwide surveys by YouGov and Savanta/Electoral Calculus, showed Labour set to win either 425 or 516 out of 650 seats.

Either of the results would be the current opposition party’s best-ever return of MPs in a general election.

Meanwhile, the twin polls showed support for the Tories, in power since 2010, plummeting to unprecedented lows, with one estimating they would win just 53 seats.

The Savanta and Electoral Calculus survey for the Daily Telegraph newspaper predicted Rishi Sunak would become the first sitting U.K. prime minister ever to lose their seat at a general election.

The poll, which forecasts three-quarters of Sunak’s cabinet also losing their seats, would hand Labour a majority of 382, more than double the advantage enjoyed by ex-prime minister Tony Blair in 1997.

It also showed the centrist Liberal Democrats just three seats behind the Conservatives on 50, and the Scottish National Party losing dozens of seats north of the English border.

That was a drop of 32 on its prediction from two weeks ago, reflecting how badly the Conservatives’ election campaign is perceived to have gone.

The 108 seats the Tories are predicted to win in the poll would still be their lowest number in the party’s near 200-year history of contesting U.K. elections.

Sunak is widely seen as having run a lacklustre and error-strewn campaign, including facing near-universal criticism earlier this month for leaving early from D-Day commemoration events in France.

ALSO READ-Sunak to push for ‘decisive’ support for Ukraine at G7  

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Blow to Sunak as Brexit champ Farage announces candidacy

Farage said he had had a change of heart as “I can’t let down those millions of people” who had supported him throughout previous elections and referendums…reports Asian Lite News

Nigel Farage on Monday said he would stand as a candidate for the anti-immigration Reform UK party in Britain’s general election next month, after initially ruling out running.

“I have changed my mind… I am going to stand,” Farage, 60, told a news conference. He will seek election on July 4 in the fiercely pro-Brexit seat of Clacton, southeast England.

Farage said he had had a change of heart as “I can’t let down those millions of people” who had supported him throughout previous elections and referendums.

The move piles more pressure on Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, whose languishing Conservatives can ill afford to lose votes on its right.

Reform is currently polling at around 11 percent, which if replicated at the ballot box could split the right-wing vote, potentially depriving the Conservatives of key seats needed to win re-election.

“I genuinely believe we can get more votes than the Conservative party. They are on the brink of total collapse,” said the arch-eurosceptic.

But Farage promised that Reform, which he founded and has now become leader, will also take votes from the main opposition Labour party, although conceded that they will win the election.

“What I’m really calling for, and what I intend to lead is a political revolt. A turning of our backs on the political status quo,” he added.

“Nothing in this country works any more. We are in decline.”

Farage has failed in his seven previous attempts at becoming an MP in the UK parliament but was a member of the European Parliament in Brussels for UKIP and Reform UK’s forerunner the Brexit Party.

ALSO READ-Sunak pledges immigration visa caps

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Post-Brexit border arrangements to cost $6 bn  

The first phase of Britain’s so called new Border Target Operating Model, requiring additional certification, came into force on Jan. 31…reports Asian Lite News

The British government estimates it will spend at least 4.7 billion pounds ($6 billion) on implementing post Brexit border arrangements, after repeated delays in setting new rules, parliament’s spending watchdog said on Monday.

Britain voted to leave the European Union in 2016 but, such was the scale of the task to untangle supply chains and erect customs borders, that it is only this year setting new rules.

The first phase of Britain’s so called new Border Target Operating Model, requiring additional certification, came into force on Jan. 31.

A second phase started on April 30, introducing physical checks at ports. A third phase, requiring safety and security declarations is slated for Oct. 31.

The National Audit Office (NAO) said the 4.7 billion pounds figure is the amount the government forecasts it will spend on the 13 most significant programmes to manage the passage of goods across the border post Brexit and improve performance over the lifetime of the programmes.

The government delayed the implementation of full controls five times since the end of the EU exit transition period on Dec. 31 2020.

This caused uncertainty for businesses, extra costs for government and ports and increased the biosecurity risk to the UK, the NAO said.

“The repeated delays in introducing import controls, and difficulties forecasting requirements, have resulted in government expenditure on infrastructure and staff that were ultimately not needed,” it said.

“Late announcements about policy and uncertainty about the implementation of controls have also reduced the ability of businesses and ports to prepare for changes.” The NAO noted that while post EU exit border processes have operated “relatively smoothly”, businesses trading goods between the UK and the EU have faced additional costs and administrative burdens.

The watchdog was also critical of the government’s 2025 UK Border Strategy, which was published in 2020, saying it “lacks a clear timetable and an integrated cross-government delivery plan, with individual departments leading different aspects of implementation.”

The government also needed “a more realistic approach” to digital transformation, the NAO said.

ALSO READ-Farmers protest post-Brexit rules and trade deals

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Farmers protest post-Brexit rules and trade deals

Organisers of the protest have also slammed labelling that allows products to bear a Union flag when they have not been grown or reared in the country…reports Asian Lite News

Farmers in the UK protested against pro-Brexit rules and trade deals on Monday, claiming they are threatening their livelihoods and food security.

To the sound of car horns, Save British Farming and Fairness for Farmers drove tractors in slow-motion through south London towards Parliament Square, where supporters awaited.

Displaying signs that read “no farmers, no food, no future”, the protesters called on the government to end trade deals they say allow imports of food produced to standards that would be illegal in the UK and undercut local farmers.

“They’re not telling the truth,” said the founder of Save British Farming Liz Webster when asked by a BBC News reporter what she would say to claims by the government it backs farmers. 

“They negotiated trade deals which literally see us slaughtered,” she continued. “They’re the worst trade deals in the world.”

“We have been totally and utterly let down by this government,” Webster added. “We are demanding change.”

The UK’s exit from the EU has significantly affected its agriculture. Taking the country outside the bloc’s free trade zone and web of rules has left farmers grappling with bureaucratic headaches, exporting difficulties and labour shortages.

Many British farmers supported Brexit, opposing the EU’s much-criticised Common Agricultural Policy.  Many now say post-Brexit trade deals between the UK and countries like Australia and New Zealand have opened the door to cheap imports they cannot compete with.

Organisers of the protest have also slammed labelling that allows products to bear a Union flag when they have not been grown or reared in the country. 

Mass farmers’ protests have gripped countries across the EU. Farmers in Poland, France and Germany have demonstrated against what claim is cumbersome bureaucracy, Brussels’ environmental policies and unfair foreign competition.  They claim they are being driven to bankruptcy, like the British.

Public opinion in the UK on Brexit has soured, according to several polls.  A recent poll by Opinium found a clear majority of the British public now believes withdrawing from the European Union in 2020 was bad for the country’s economy.

The survey of more than 2,000 UK voters also revealed strikingly low numbers of people believe Brexit has benefited them or the country.

ALSO READ-UK begins post-Brexit trade talks with Turkey

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UK begins post-Brexit trade talks with Turkey

Kemi Badenoch, the UK trade secretary, said Turkey was an “important economic and strategic partner” and that a trade deal could help boost exports of British services…reports Asian Lite News

The UK and Turkey have started talks about a post-Brexit free trade agreement targeting the service sector of the economy.

The UK government said there were “huge opportunities” for British businesses in exporting to Turkey, as one of the fastest-growing economies in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development group of nations, with trade between the two countries worth £26bn in 2022.

Ministers had announced in July last year their intention to hold trade talks with Turkey, and last November began months of consultation with businesses and trade groups over the UK’s priorities for an agreement.

The government said UK businesses including Deloitte, Diageo and Vodafone had helped to shape negotiation objectives through a public call for input, before the first round of detailed discussions scheduled for the summer.

The talks come at a delicate moment in ties between Turkey and western governments after the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who holds warmer relations with Russia than other Nato member states, held up the progress of Sweden’s membership until his government granted its backing in January.

Kemi Badenoch, the UK trade secretary, said Turkey was an “important economic and strategic partner” and that a trade deal could help boost exports of British services.

Badenoch launched the talks in London on Thursday alongside her Turkish counterpart, Ömer Bolat.

A deal could also give British consumers improved choice and better access to imported Turkish goods such as nuts, bulgar wheat and tomatoes, the government said.

Britain already has a trade deal with Turkey, which was rolled over after Brexit in a continuity agreement to minimise disruption. Before leaving the EU, the UK benefited from trading with Turkey through an EU-Turkey customs union.

Turkey had launched membership talks with the EU in 2005, but the accession process and efforts to expand its customs deal have since stalled amid concerns in EU capitals over the gradual erosion of democracy under Erdoğan.

While Turkey’s economy has grown at a rapid pace over Erdoğan’s 20 years in power, it has also been rocked by successive crises, including bouts of galloping inflation and crashes in the Turkish lira triggered by the president’s unorthodox stance on economic policy.

The UK government said Turkey presented significant opportunities for British businesses, including in transport, engineering, financial services, manufacturing and tech, driven in part by the country’s decarbonisation efforts and significant investment in rail.

It said the deal would focus on the UK’s strengths in services, which make up 80% of GDP, while highlighting that in 2020 there were 57,000 UK jobs supported by exports to Turkey, of which 68% were in services.

“An upgraded deal will give the UK’s world-leading services sector a competitive edge in this growing market and has the potential to support jobs across the UK,” Badenoch said.

ALSO READ-UK govt to ban foreign states from owning newspapers

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Brexit Costs UK Economy £140 Billion

The average Briton was nearly 2,000 pounds worse off in 2023, while the average Londoner was nearly 3,400 pounds worse off last year as a result of Brexit, the report showed…reports Asian Lite News

The UK economy is nearly 140 billion British pounds ($178.7 billion), or six per cent, smaller than it would have been because of Brexit, Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said.

The country’s departure from the EU has also cost London’s economy more than 30 billion pounds, Khan added on Thursday during a speech in the City of London, quoting a report by Cambridge Econometrics commissioned by City Hall.

“Brexit is simply not a peripheral concern that we can leave in the past — it’s a key contributor to the cost-of-living crisis right now and it’s resulting in lost opportunities, lost business and lost income at a time when people and companies can least afford it,” the London Mayor said, according to an official statement as quoted by Xinhua news agency report.

The average Briton was nearly 2,000 pounds worse off in 2023, while the average Londoner was nearly 3,400 pounds worse off last year as a result of Brexit, the report showed.

The economic damage is only going to get worse, it added, noting that more than 300 billion pounds is set to be wiped off the value of the UK economy by 2035 if no action is taken. (1 British pound = $1.28)

ALSO READ-UK, Switzerland ink post-Brexit deal

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UK, Switzerland ink post-Brexit deal

Hunt was in Bern, Switzerland, to sign the agreement with his Swiss counterpart, Karin Keller-Sutter, who said it would “boost the international competitiveness” of both markets over the long term…reports Asian Lite News

The UK and Switzerland on Thursday signed a post-Brexit financial services deal designed to bring two of Europe’s largest banking centers closer together.

British Finance Minister Jeremy Hunt said that the “first-of-its-kind” deal was a win for post-Brexit Britain that “wouldn’t have been possible to sign” inside the European Union.

He added that the mutual recognition accord, dubbed the Bern Financial Services Agreement, would provide a “blueprint” for future deals with other countries.

“This is a new type of trade agreement that we can use as a model for future agreements that we have with other markets as well,” Hunt said during a news conference announcing the deal.

Hunt was in Bern, Switzerland, to sign the agreement with his Swiss counterpart, Karin Keller-Sutter, who said it would “boost the international competitiveness” of both markets over the long term.

The deal, which follows more than two years of negotiations, aims to streamline business ties between financial firms and wealthy individuals in the two markets, and improve cross-border access to a range of financial services sold by banks, insurers and asset managers.

It follows a so-called deference model, which allows firms to operate in the partner country while following just one set of regulations and without necessarily having to open a local base. As such, financial services providers and insurers will be able to offer certain cross-border activities in both Switzerland and the U.K.

The terms will also allow Swiss firms to serve wealthy individuals within the U.K., either locally or cross-border, replicating privileges currently available to British firms in Switzerland. Meanwhile, U.K. advisors will be permitted to “temporarily serve” wealthy clients locally in Switzerland without registering in the country.

Hunt described the plans as a “light-touch, progressive, future-leaning way of opening access,” which would provide a significant boost for the City of London. Hunt added that the deal could potentially be extended to include retail and sustainable finance in the future.

The deal will need to be approved by parliaments in both countries before entering into force next year. However, some commentators were optimistic that it would mark an improvement on the equivalence framework Britain had with Switzerland while in the European Union.

David Henig, U.K. director at independent think tank the European Centre for International Political Economy, said the deal was “broadly good news” which would leverage Britain’s heft in financial services.

It comes as Britain aims to reposition itself post-Brexit and Switzerland seeks to shake off the reputational hit to its financial services sector following the collapse of Credit Suisse in March.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak initially launched talks with Switzerland in 2020, when he was finance minister, claiming that the accord would demonstrate the countries’ shared vision of an “open, global and free” economy.

The current Conservative government in Britain has long positioned signing new trade deals as a key benefit of Brexit. In June, Britain signed a deal to join an 11-nation Asia-Pacific free trade bloc that includes Australia, Singapore, Japan and Canada, marking its third new trade deal since formally exiting the bloc on Jan. 31, 2020.

ALSO READ-UK, Switzerland ink deal to secure healthcare access