In the UK, Brexit is becoming increasingly unpopular. According to a survey published by the YouGov institute last week, support for leaving the European Union has reached its lowest level across the Channel, with 56% of Britons believing it was a mistake.
Brexit remains an explosive issue in Britain, where Prime Minister Rishi Sunak had to deny media reports on Monday that the government wanted to ease conditions for leaving the EU. “Let me be unequivocal about this. Under my authority, the UK will not seek any relationship with Europe that is based on alignment with EU laws,” pro-Brexit pro Rishi Sunak told a conference earlier this morning. the CBI, the country’s main employer, adding that Brexit “already brings important benefits and opportunities for the country.”
The United Kingdom left the European Union in January 2021 after years of an intense political battle to fix the new relationship between the two entities. Sunday, the Sunday time he had claimed that “members of the government plan to put Britain on a path towards a Swiss-like relationship with the European Union”. An initiative that would be “destined to strengthen economic ties” with the EU. This information sparked an outcry among Brexit supporters. “The government must focus on what it has to do, instead of trying to reopen an already resolved debate on Europe,” said Conservative MP Iain Duncan Smith in the columns of the Sun.
Treason
“Don’t betray us with Brexit,” headlined the popular Daily Mail newspaper on Monday, a great defender of leaving the EU. Trying to calm the revolt, a conservative government spokesman had already denied such a project on Sunday, describing the article as “categorically false.” And on Monday morning, the Secretary of State for Immigration, Robert Jenrick, assured that the United Kingdom now had “a well-defined position” on its relations with Brussels, with the agreement concluded in 2019.
The UK has thus left the single market, although trade remains largely free of customs duties, has ended freedom of movement and no longer contributes financially to the EU. But last week, words from Finance Minister Jeremy Hunt, who said he wanted to see “the vast majority” of customs barriers between his country and the EU, had already raised questions about the government’s intentions.
Especially since he is currently negotiating fiercely with Brussels for a modification of the protocol on Northern Ireland to resolve the question of the status of the province, in the midst of a political impasse. This sequence “is interesting because it seems to show that Rishi Sunak and Jeremy Hunt (…) admit that the ATT (the trade and cooperation agreement signed between the EU and the United Kingdom) is bad for the economy. But the clamor and the denial show how difficult it will be for a Conservative government to admit “this,” said John Springford, a fellow at the Center for European Reform and an opponent of Brexit.
Immigration
This controversy occurs when the country is going through a major economic and financial crisis. Most economists and business leaders see Brexit as an aggravating factor in the crisis also caused by the war in Ukraine. The organization responsible for economic forecasts (OBR) estimated in particular last week that Brexit had had “a significant negative impact” on the country’s trade.
Since leaving the European Union, the United Kingdom has had to give up trade agreements and, in particular, has closed some with the EU and several European countries, but also with New Zealand and Australia. Talks are being held with India, Canada or the United States. In contrast to his rush-to-win predecessors, Rishi Sunak said last Thursday Britain should “take the time” to negotiate good deals.
British businessmen criticize the rigidity of the new immigration regulations, which prevent them from finding the workforce that companies need. The Executive, which has made control of migratory flows a Brexit priority, intends to favor the most qualified profiles.
Source: BFM TV
