Under Keir Starmer, the UK look like an inward-facing small economy rather than a medium-sized country ready to contribute to tackling the mounting geopolitical instability of our times. But Starmer's narrow growth aims will be overtaken by global challenges.
Yes in principle you're right. But could UK go into EU without another referendum? And what would stop a future tory government going for brexit again? The EU would want to see that the UK would stay in for decades, say 40 years,.not just five or ten. The way to do that would, I think, be PR, so you embed a labour, green, lib, snp etc majority all committed to EU. But where fptp can mean another Tory government or indeed if public opinion under pr suggested a Tory/Reform govt then EU won't want to know. I suppose if a second EU referendum was won 60:40 then perhaps a future tory government wouldn't be able to unwind that. So yes that's perhaps a scenario closer to what you're saying.
Kirsty, you say that the EU has its own problems at present ant that it would not welcome an application to rejoin from the UK at this time because of its poor support based in the British electorate. But surely an application from a UK with a newly elected, stable, left of centre of government, that is supportive of Ukraine, keen on tackling climate change and security cooperation, with a relatively large economy (in European terms) to boot, would be precisely the type of new member state that could help the EU tackle its problems by rebalancing things a bit. It would have to be approached with the right degree of humility and willingness to dialogue of course, but maybe this is precisely the right moment to open the discussion? Jamie Mackie
How I wish we could return to the old days when the Coal & Steel Community emerged to be followed by the Common Market and ultimately the EU. There was such euphoria and enthusiasm amongst people like Monnet, Schumann, Brandt. Starmer at least wants a better relationship with |Europe but is going about it very slowly. He needs to pull the whole country along with him.
Yes in principle you're right. But could UK go into EU without another referendum? And what would stop a future tory government going for brexit again? The EU would want to see that the UK would stay in for decades, say 40 years,.not just five or ten. The way to do that would, I think, be PR, so you embed a labour, green, lib, snp etc majority all committed to EU. But where fptp can mean another Tory government or indeed if public opinion under pr suggested a Tory/Reform govt then EU won't want to know. I suppose if a second EU referendum was won 60:40 then perhaps a future tory government wouldn't be able to unwind that. So yes that's perhaps a scenario closer to what you're saying.
Kirsty, you say that the EU has its own problems at present ant that it would not welcome an application to rejoin from the UK at this time because of its poor support based in the British electorate. But surely an application from a UK with a newly elected, stable, left of centre of government, that is supportive of Ukraine, keen on tackling climate change and security cooperation, with a relatively large economy (in European terms) to boot, would be precisely the type of new member state that could help the EU tackle its problems by rebalancing things a bit. It would have to be approached with the right degree of humility and willingness to dialogue of course, but maybe this is precisely the right moment to open the discussion? Jamie Mackie
How I wish we could return to the old days when the Coal & Steel Community emerged to be followed by the Common Market and ultimately the EU. There was such euphoria and enthusiasm amongst people like Monnet, Schumann, Brandt. Starmer at least wants a better relationship with |Europe but is going about it very slowly. He needs to pull the whole country along with him.