“There is no case for rejoining. What I want to see now is not just Brexit done in the sense that we’re technically out of the EU, I want to make it work.”
Sir Keir Starmer MP, BBC Radio Newcastle interview, 14 February 2022.
Acceptance is growing that Brexit is a source of considerable harm to the UK, writes Prof Andrew Blick. Even among supporters of leaving who remain committed to their cause, there is recognition of serious problems connected to this project. The most malign outcomes to have manifested themselves include[1]:
- The loss for the UK population of the numerous rights and advantages that came with European citizenship;
- Compromising of the international credibility and external influence of the UK, and increasing isolation from long-term allies;
- Domestic political disruption and the rise of populist tendencies at UK governmental level;
- Destabilisation in the UK constitution;
- Increased tension and uncertainty for Northern Ireland and the Peace Process;
- The introduction of barriers to trade in goods and services with the EU, including increased regulatory burdens for business;
- Contributing to or restricting the ability of the UK to respond to various economic challenges such as inflation and labour shortages;
- Challenges for the UK financial; creative; research; agricultural; fishing and other sectors;
It is hard to conceive of a more damaging single decision taken in the UK or any other comparable state. These harms, moreover, are not one-off events, but cumulative in nature. While Brexit persists, they will continue to grow. More difficulties can be expected to join them – for instance, more barriers to the operation of the UK financial sector; and the impact of the delayed full controls on imports from the EU, if and when they are imposed.
Relations with the EU and its member states, and perhaps the United States are set to deteriorate further as a consequence of the approach being taken to the Northern Ireland Protocol. Such a turn of events would entail more political damage, and possibly economic harm, were a trade dispute to develop. Furthermore, significant tangible benefits that might offset these detriments are lacking. Some claims – about vaccines and enhanced autonomy in foreign policy – are misleading; while others – involving, for instance, imperial measurements – are simply risible.
Key arguments offered on the losing side of the 23 June 2016 European Union referendum, then, have proved correct. Yet while significant portions of the public at present see Brexit as not providing desirable outcomes, the idea of the UK rejoining is not yet an option on the mainstream political agenda. It should be. Those who supported remaining should see what has transpired since 2016 as confirming that their judgement was sound – and maintain or resume their support for the UK being a part of the EU.
Rejoin critics
There are various criticisms which advocacy of rejoining is likely to meet, including from former remainers. They include that it is an extreme position; that it is backward-looking; that it will revive the damaging political instability of the post-referendum period; that it is unrealistic in domestic political terms; that it is a proposition unacceptable to the EU; and that to reverse the outcome of the vote of 2016 would be undemocratic.
Opponents of a rejoin programme offer a series of broadly incompatible courses of action, for example that we should focus on maximising the supposed potential advantages of Brexit; or that we should align more closely with the EU in some respects. They might – if from a former remain background – suggest that rejoining could be possible at some indeterminate point in the future, but that we should wait until circumstances become more propitious, perhaps with some gentle nudging to assist such a development.
But rejoining is the only satisfactory means of addressing the manifest problems caused by Brexit. The attainment of this goal presents a substantial challenge, as one might expect of an important task. But failing to pursue it is not a means of avoiding problems, which mount around us as Brexit continues to play out. Claims that re-entry into the EU is not a practical option are in a sense self-fulfilling. A key obstacle to this objective is that those who might seek to achieve it are dissuaded by the perception that such a programme is doomed to fail. Recognising that such predictions need not be correct is a means of overcoming them.
There may not be a precise map or timetable for the rejoining of the EU. But it is clear that the process can only begin once people openly acknowledge the necessity of this objective, and urge others to combine with them. When faced with growing harm, the time to commence reversing the action that has caused it is now.
Notes
[1] Supporters of leaving would presumably not acknowledge all of these problems.
In 2022, the Federal Trust launched a new project: Brexit Can Be Undone. This article, first published by the Trust, forms part of that project, for which it is currently fundraising. Please click here to support this project.
Andrew Blick is Professor of Politics and Contemporary History, and Head of Department of Political Economy at King’s College London. He is a Senior Research Fellow at the Federal Trust.
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