The Labour government has announced a major breakthrough between the UK and EU on a new post-Brexit trade deal which the government has said will lead to more jobs and economic growth for the country.
With Keir Starmer announcing a new EU deal, resetting our relationship with our largest trading partner, in a bid to undo the damage done by Brexit and boost economic growth and jobs, all the Tories and Reform can do is moan.
Despite the Labour government now striking three major trade deals, with India, the U.S. and EU, it seems that there isn’t a single trade deal which the Tories support, despite claiming for years that Brexit was all about our ability to strike our own trade deals.
The Labour government has announced a major breakthrough between the UK and EU on a new post-Brexit trade deal which the government has said will lead to more jobs and economic growth for the country.
Negotiators have secured a tentative agreement on defence and security, fisheries and youth mobility ahead of a EU-UK summit today, paving the way for British firms to participate in large EU defence contracts, EU officials said.
It is understood that fishing rights had proved to be a contentious issue once more in negotiations, with Brussels understood to have dropped demands to link the duration of an agreement over food and agricultural goods with fishing rights. Sky News reported that the EU wanted permanent access to UK waters for fishing, but they have agreed to access for 12 years.
In return, the agreement on easier checks for food, animal and other agricultural products, known as sanitary and phytosanitary goods (SPS), is indefinite. Other aspects of the negotiations included talks on access to EU defence funding for UK companies, the possibility of a mutual youth mobility scheme. The deal will give the UK a number of wins, not only on food exports but will also mean that Brits will no longer have to queue for long periods at EU airports and ports.
Former diplomat Sir Simon Fraser appeared on Sky News earlier today to discuss the deal and implored the media not to simply accept the arguments of Reform and the Tories but to challenge them, after both cried ‘betrayal’ over Brexit.
He said: “Striking these deals, is always in the end about getting a balanced package, in the round that everybody feels that they can live with.”
He then addressed the political reaction from Reform and the Conservatives and said: “I do hope that the media and others, will actually challenge this and say well fine, if you think this is negative, then tell us, what is your strategy for economic growth for this country that is going to help the people who voted for you?
“Do you want more trade with China? No. Of course you want more trade with the United States but Donald Trump has actually increased tariffs against the UK and is damaging our trade relationship there.
“What is the rational economic argument, in the interest of those people and therefore helping them creating jobs, and wellbeing that says you shouldn’t take steps to improve the economic relationship with your biggest trading partner in Europe?”
Basit Mahmood is editor of Left Foot Forward
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