Starmer accused of having head in sand over cost of Brexit
Keir Starmer has been accused of having his 'head in the sand' over Brexit as figures show the UK is conclusively worse off five years after leaving the EU. The prime minister has been urged for a radical rethink of the Brexit reset to drive economic growth as he prepares to open his negotiations at a dinner with EU leaders on Monday. Writing in the The Independent, Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey today called for the government to drop its red line on an EU customs union — to strengthen our hand with Donald Trump. Following the inauguration he said the PM had to 'acknowledge that the circumstances have changed' as he also accused Labour and the Tories of a 'conspiracy of silence' over our relationship with Europe.
Already, Sir Keir has been criticised for a lack of ambition with his negotiations, apparently ruling out simple measures like creating a youth mobility scheme and setting up red lines of not rejoining the EU or its single market. And serious concerns have been raised that the Labour government has failed to properly acknowledge the impact of Brexit after a written parliamentary answer revealed Sir Keir has refused to carry out an audit on the economic damage of the withdrawal so far. Also writing in The Independent today, former Tory minister Dominic Grieve and ex-Green leader Caroline Lucas, the joint chairs of the European Movement UK, called on the prime minister to seek 'associate membership' for the UK in a bid to 'redefine its place within the continent'.
Grieve and Lucas warned: 'The European Union is evolving, and with the risks presented by Donald Trump - from an emboldened far right and trade wars to rolling back on climate commitments and undermining multilateralism - the urgency to accelerate this transformation has never been greater. Franco-German proposals to reform and expand the EU outline a flexible, multi-tiered structure, with 'concentric circles of integration' at its core. 'It envisions additional tiers for candidate countries, such as Ukraine and the Western Balkans, and offering 'associate membership' for partners, including, for now, the UK. This presents an opportunity for Britain to rebuild trust, foster closer cooperation, and redefine its place within the continent.'
The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) has also called on the government to use the planned EU reset to help drive economic growth, warning there is 'no time to lose'. William Bain, head of trade policy at the BCC, said: 'Firms are being held back by a complex web of red tape and regulatory burdens. This is ramping up costs, so improving our trading relationship with the EU could provide the impetus to growth needed to transform the dour outlook many are facing.' Meanwhile, Sir Keir's government has been accused of 'negligence' after it refused to estimate the official cost of Brexit to the UK economy. Nearly five years after Britain's exit from the European Union, critics said ministers were putting their 'head in the sand' over the damaged caused by the loss of the UK's biggest market.
And they accused Sir Keir of lacking confidence in his flagship Brexit reset with other EU countries, following claims it has so far achieved little. There have been suggestions that Brexit could be costing the British economy an astonishing £100 billion a year. But the Treasury has refused to audit the overall cost. Asked if the government would estimate the impact of the UK's exit from the EU, shadow chief secretary to the Treasury Darren Jones said: 'No. The Government is focussed on resetting the relationship with the EU, which will support economic growth, the central mission of the government.' Former deputy prime minister Lord Heseltine said: 'The government may be reluctant to do an assessment because it would force them to reappraise our position and to hasten our return to membership of the European community.' Stephen Gethins, the SNP MP who asked the question, said Brexit was 'one of the biggest shocks to have hit the UK economy... it is extraordinarily negligent not to understand how those changes are affecting our economy.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Middle East Eye
4 hours ago
- Middle East Eye
US sanctions more ICC judges, including French citizen, over Israel criticism
The United States on Wednesday imposed sanctions on four more International Criminal Court judges or prosecutors, including from allies France and Canada, in a new effort to hobble the tribunal over Israel's genocide in Gaza. "The Court is a national security threat that has been an instrument for lawfare against the United States and our close ally Israel," Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement, using a term popular with President Donald Trump's supporters. Rubio said that the four people targeted from the tribunal based in The Hague had sought to investigate or prosecute nationals from the United States or Israel "without the consent of either nation." The four include Judge Nicolas Guillou of France, who is presiding over a case in which an arrest warrant was issued for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. France on Wednesday expressed its "dismay" over the sanctions on its citizen, which would bar him from transacting in US dollars and traveling to the US. The sanctions, if enforced could lead to secondary sactions on EU banks. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed the move.
The National
4 hours ago
- The National
Fed minutes: Inflation outweighs employment concerns in divided decision
Federal Reserve officials were concerned in July about the effect that tariffs would have on inflation and unemployment, although minutes released from the meeting showed on Wednesday that a large majority found it too soon to begin cutting interest rates. The minutes underscored the division within the central bank, which voted to maintain its target interest rate range at 4.25 to 4.50 per cent despite two Fed officials voting to reduce the rate. The UAE Central Bank, which follows the Fed's decisions due to the dollar peg, also maintained rates after the announcement on July 30. The July meeting minutes showed 'almost all' Fed officials supported the decision. US President Donald Trump's tariff agenda has weighed heavily on the Fed this year. Officials entered last month's meeting debating whether tariffs would have a greater impact on inflation, which still remains above the Fed's 2 per cent target, or on its employment mandate. The minutes appeared to suggested that Fed governors Christopher Waller and Michelle Bowman – two Trump appointments reported to be in consideration as the next Fed chief – were alone in their dissent. 'A majority of participants judged the upside risk to inflation as the greater of these two risks, while several participants viewed the two risks as roughly balanced, and a couple of participants considered downside risk to employment the more salient risk,' the minutes read. Fed chairman Jerome Powell delivered a hawkish sentiment when speaking to reporters after the decision, suggesting that the Fed could continue to delay cutting rates as it awaited further clarity on how tariffs would affect inflation. 'When we have risks to both goals, and one of them is farther away from goal than the other, and that's inflation, that means policy should be tight, because tight policy is what brings inflation down,' Mr Powell said at the time. A dismal jobs report released two days after the meeting drastically changed the rate-cut calculus expected to play out later this year. The report showed that not only had employers added fewer jobs than expected in July, but significant downwards revisions from previous months pointed to signs of a weakening labour market. Adding to the mixed messages the Fed has received, underlying inflation data has also come in hotter than expected since July. The report from the Bureau of Labour and Statistics showed that prices for imported items such as household furnishing, apparel and recreational goods all increased last month, while medical care services and airfare prices were also higher than previous. Wholesale inflation data also saw its biggest increase in three years in July, in another sign that companies are raising their prices to offset higher costs. Those reports have done little to dent expectations of a September rate cut, however. About 83 per cent of traders believe the Fed will resuming cutting rates next month, according to the CME Group's FedWatch tool, before reducing policy again in December. 'The labour market will be the swing factor on whether the Fed cuts interest rates in September or not,' Oxford Economics chief US economist Ryan Sweet wrote to clients. The minutes come at a crucial time for Mr Powell, who is due to deliver a keynote address at the annual Jackson Hole symposium in Wyoming on Friday. Mr Powell will deliver the highly anticipated speech under pressure on several fronts from Mr Trump, the two dissenting Fed governors and the looming arrival of a key Trump ally to the Federal Reserve board. Friday's address during the annual gathering, attended by central bankers from around the world, is expected to include Mr Powell's short-term and long-term views on monetary policy. Earlier on Wednesday, Mr Trump opened a new line of attack on the US central bank, calling for the resignation of Fed governor Lisa Cook after one of his allies accused her of mortgage fraud. Ms Cook's term as Fed governor expires in 2038. Together they, along with a rotating group of regional fed bank presidents, make up the Federal Open Market Committee that sets its interest rates. The move follows a pattern of attempts by Mr Trump to exert control of the Fed, whose independence is generally considered sacrosanct among economists and policymakers
Zawya
5 hours ago
- Zawya
Trump calls on Fed Governor Cook to resign
U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday called on Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook to resign, intensifying his effort to gain influence over the central bank on the basis of allegations made by one of his allies about mortgages Cook holds in Michigan and Georgia. U.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte alleged in a post on X earlier on Wednesday that Cook had designated a condo in Atlanta as her primary residence after taking a loan on her home in Michigan, which she also declared as a primary residence. Loans for a primary residence can carry easier terms than for second homes or investment properties. Pulte said the loans date to mid-2021, before Cook was appointed to the Fed by former President Joe Biden and confirmed by the Senate the following year. She is a native of Georgia and at the time was an economics professor at Michigan State University. Pulte asked Attorney General Pam Bondi to investigate, and Trump quickly amplified the allegation. The Justice Department was taking the matter very seriously, a department official told Reuters. Spokespersons for the Fed and for Cook did not immediately respond to a request for comment. "Cook must resign, now!!!" Trump wrote in a post on his social media platform, his latest remarks aimed at reshaping the make-up of the U.S. central bank, a body designed to set benchmark interest rates independent of White House influence. Cook is one of three Biden appointees to the Fed whose terms extend beyond Trump's time in office, complicating the president's efforts to get more control by appointing a majority of its seven-member board. Currently two of the Fed's remaining six board members were appointed by Trump, Governor Christopher Waller and Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman. Trump has repeatedly blasted Fed Chair Jerome Powell over benchmark rates that he wants sharply reduced, calling for his resignation while acknowledging that the Fed's unique status in U.S. governance prevents him from firing Fed board members over monetary policy disputes. Trump can name a new chair when Powell's term ends in May, but claiming a majority on the board may take more time. Powell could continue serving as a governor until 2028, near the end of Trump's term, should he buck convention and continue sitting on the board under a new chair. Until Powell's departure, Trump at this point has only one other seat to fill, vacated recently by the surprise resignation of former Governor Adriana Kugler. Earlier this month Trump nominated Council of Economic Advisers Chairman Stephen Miran to serve out the rest of her term. (Reporting by Susan Heavey and Howard Schneider; Additional reporting by Dan Burns and Sarah N. Lynch; Editing by Andrea Ricci)
