Labour must learn to love Brexit
The reason people feel dissatisfied with Brexit is not that the UK has diverged from the EU but because it hasn't diverged enough. Leave voters were rejecting a political economy that concentrated wealth in London's financial and creative industries and sucked out meaningful employment from other parts of the country. It's globalisation that voters are fed up with.
Brexit was a constitutional 'revolution' in the old meaning of the word – a return to the original state of things. It returned to the government full control of industrial policy – trade, state aid, nationalisation, immigration, procurement, fishing, agriculture. Brexit brought back these powers along with an expectation of a much more active state; this was plain to the public but perhaps less so to the political class. That fundamentally different state was the real test of Brexit's success. Boris Johnson understood this better than most. Levelling up was absolutely the right strategy, but it didn't go nearly far enough.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
2 minutes ago
- The Independent
Starmer and Zelensky say Alaska talks present a ‘viable chance' for Ukraine
UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met in Downing Street on Thursday, affirming their 'strong resolve' to achieve a just and lasting peace in Ukraine. It comes ahead of a scheduled meeting between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday to discuss a potential ceasefire in Ukraine. Downing Street said both Sir Keir and Mr Zelensky agreed that the Alaska talks 'present a viable chance to make progress as long as [Mr] Putin takes action to prove he is serious about peace'. However, there are concerns that the US and Russia might attempt to decide the war's conclusion without Ukraine's direct participation. Mr Trump has warned of "severe consequences" if the Russian leader does not agree to peace, while Mr Putin has hinted at discussions on nuclear arms control.
Glasgow Times
an hour ago
- Glasgow Times
More than 100 migrants in one vessel thought to have bumped crossings to 27,799
Authorities intercepted a 10 metre-long craft with 106 people on board, trying to cross the English Channel. A Government spokesperson said it was 'pure chance' that the 'grossly overcrowded' soft-bottomed taxi boat survived for more than 15 hours at sea. Home Office figures show 325 migrants crossed between mainland Europe and Britain by small boat on Wednesday, in the same week that the number of arrivals since Labour won the election hit 50,000. 'We intercepted a 10m soft-bottomed vessel transporting 106 people across the Channel illegally,' the spokesperson said. 'It is a matter of pure chance that this grossly overcrowded taxi boat survived more than 15 hours at sea, and it again shows the complete disregard people smugglers have for whether people live or die. 'We will stop at nothing to dismantle the business models of those smuggling gangs and bring them to justice.' According to the Government, migrants have attempted the journey on similar sized vessels, including during three crossings since last October where between 96 and 98 people were detected on board. But a small boat carrying 112 migrants capsized in the sea in April 2024, resulting in the deaths of five people, including a seven-year-old girl. 'This latest incident also shows the importance of the agreement we have reached with the French authorities to review their maritime enforcement tactics, so that they are able for the first time to intercept boats in shallow waters and prevent taxi boats from parking offshore to collect large numbers of migrants unhindered,' the spokesperson added. (PA Graphics) Authorities have begun detaining migrants under the UK's 'one in, one out' deal with France this month. As part of the agreement, migrants who risk a small boat crossing face being taken to France, and the UK will take in an approved asylum seeker from the continent via a safe route. The Home Office spokesperson said: 'Through international intelligence sharing under our Border Security Command, enhanced enforcement operations in northern France, and tougher legislation in the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill, we are strengthening our ability to identify, disrupt and dismantle the gangs.' A total of 51,041 migrants have been detected crossing the Channel since Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer entered No 10 on July 5 last year.
Leader Live
an hour ago
- Leader Live
More than 100 migrants in one vessel thought to have bumped crossings to 27,799
Home Office figures show 325 migrants crossed the English Channel by small boat on Wednesday, in the same week that the number of arrivals since Labour won the election hit 50,000. The PA news agency understands that 106 people attempted the crossing between France and the Kent coast on a single boat. A total of 51,041 migrants have been detected crossing the Channel since Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer entered No 10 on July 5 last year. A former home secretary has said that the figure 'demonstrates the way over the last six or seven years that the criminal gangs have got an absolute foothold in the tragic trafficking of people across the Channel'. Baroness Jacqui Smith of Malvern, who is now an education and women and equalities minister, told BBC Breakfast on Monday: 'It is an unacceptable number of people.' Speaking on the Isle of Wight this week, Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch said: 'My team are now looking at what we can do in terms of detention centres, but stopping people from coming here in the first place – if they think they're going to be sent to Rwanda and not get here, get a free hotel, get benefits, then they won't come here.' Asked if her party could reduce the five-figure numbers to zero if it was in power, Mrs Badenoch said she thought 'it wouldn't happen straight away, but it would happen quickly'.
