The sweet sound of ‘Brexit betrayal’

“Has this government any idea of how to do negotiations?” That was the question posed on April 8 by a member of the House of Lords, alarmed by a right wing website’s claims of an imminent “major Brexit betrayal” by Keir Starmer.

The peer was furious after Guido Fawkes reported that Starmer’s Brexit reset deal, to be finalised at the UK/European Union summit on May 19, would include agreements on fishing rights and a youth mobility scheme. These have long been regarded as Brussels red lines, and therefore stumbling blocks to British ambitions of easing the red tape strangling businesses since we officially left the EU.

“All these are things the EU wants and we should be getting something in return for,” our hero moaned. It was a take that missed two important things.

First, that we obviously ARE getting something in return – inclusion in a lucrative and important trade and security pact with EU nations, and also an agreement on alignment with EU SPS (Sanitary and Phytosanitary) standards that will ease the burden on business. 

And second, because the person asking “has this government any idea of how to do negotiations?” was none other than David Frost, the man who negotiated the botched Boris Johnson Brexit trade deal that piled those burdens on business in the first place, helping to collapse trade with the EU. 

This skilled negotiator also managed to break promises made on Northern Ireland, shun membership of the Horizon science programme worth tens of millions to UK researchers, shaft musicians and other performers keen to tour in Europe and ignore the massively valuable financial services sector altogether.

Being called bad at negotiations by David Frost is like being called useless by Kemi Badenoch, slimy by Richard Tice, frog-faced by Nigel Farage. It is like Liz Truss criticising Starmer for losing control, or eight-time dad Johnson offering Starmer his thoughts on successful parenting, or Donald Trump telling everyone else they know nothing about tariffs (all three of which have actually happened this week).

Frost’s criticism is likely to make Starmer nervous ahead of the reset deal. Instead, the prime minister should wear it like a badge of honour and get on with fixing some of the mess Frost and Johnson made.