Post by Deleted on Nov 3, 2022 13:49:36 GMT
"Having Brexited, what policies do we follow?" That has always been my question. As for Sunak, I guess it is choice between Realpolitik versus Party and Personal Politics. Should he be pragmatic and cultivate a closer relationship with the EU to save the economy or should he be an ideologue and continue with the policies set by BJ and so reinforce his party's brand of Brexit?
www.theneweuropean.co.uk/the-prime-ministers-choice-save-the-economy-or-save-brexit/
Excerpts:
The prime minister’s choice: Save the economy or save Brexit
PETER MANDELSON
New Labour’s architect says only rebuilding bridges with the EU will solve what Sunak calls Britain’s ‘profound economic challenge’
...Britain needs a government providing stability and competence, a restoration of standards and integrity in public life and a strong forward programme that gives Britain a sense of direction and purpose. In particular, we need to set our economy on a course of growth, sustainability and fairer distribution.
...We are now lagging at the bottom of the league table of G7 advanced economies in growth, productivity, investment and real wages.
It is true that we haven’t recovered fully since the banking crisis in 2008 and there are structural weaknesses in the UK... These weaknesses lie in low levels of industrial and technological investment, poor skill attainment, the laborious system of planning approvals, weak infrastructure and public services and acute regional imbalances.
We have been knocked further by the pandemic and now the war in Ukraine. But what is unique in setting Britain apart from our competitors are the mounting effects of Brexit, which have been hard to quantify given everything else going on but which are becoming clearer in lost trade, higher prices and labour shortages.
Brexit is the elephant in the room which few want to talk about.
For Sunak this is particularly hard because Brexit remains the abiding faultline in his party – not over whether to Brexit but, having Brexited, what policies we follow next. ...
Those who wanted a hard Brexit won the day under Boris Johnson. Then Liz Truss wanted something even less functional by ripping up the trade arrangements we had agreed for Northern Ireland.
The fundamental question for Sunak is, does he continue this process of de-alignment and non-cooperation with Europe, or does he start rebuilding trust and a new relationship with our former partners in the EU, starting with the Northern Ireland Protocol?
...This is a big test of leadership: he has to put the nation’s need to work with the EU to solve common problems before the desire of many in his party to seek confrontation with Europe at every turn. So far the prime minister has given no clear indication of what approach he is going to take.
Sunak voted for Brexit and might be sympathetic to this policy outcome, but he has also demonstrated that he recognises economic reality and hard choices.
This is the essence of the conflict bedevilling the Conservative Party, which Sunak must bury or be the next Conservative leader to be buried by it.
He is not going to be able to confront the challenges facing Britain without first taking on and defeating those who won’t face up to the reality of our post-Brexit economic and trade choices and the importance of building a stable relationship with the EU.
It is not going to be possible to lift UK trade and growth without forming a better relationship with Europe’s vast single market and customs union in view of the frictions and barriers created by the original negotiation. UK trade in goods with Europe has become simply too cumbersome, too costly, too bureaucratic and too slow, and is becoming a major drag on our growth rate.
Regulatory barriers now stand in the way of much services trade. Businesses are moving from Britain to the EU. Business investment is growing in the rest of Europe, but it is plateauing in the UK.
Growth forecasts for Britain in coming years indicate no improvement. We will not have the living standards we would otherwise enjoy. Spending on public services will be further squeezed. We will not be able to afford to defend ourselves as we would like. We will therefore not have the same influence in the world. This is not Project Fear; it is reality, and any government will have to come to terms with it.
www.theneweuropean.co.uk/the-prime-ministers-choice-save-the-economy-or-save-brexit/
Excerpts:
The prime minister’s choice: Save the economy or save Brexit
PETER MANDELSON
New Labour’s architect says only rebuilding bridges with the EU will solve what Sunak calls Britain’s ‘profound economic challenge’
...Britain needs a government providing stability and competence, a restoration of standards and integrity in public life and a strong forward programme that gives Britain a sense of direction and purpose. In particular, we need to set our economy on a course of growth, sustainability and fairer distribution.
...We are now lagging at the bottom of the league table of G7 advanced economies in growth, productivity, investment and real wages.
It is true that we haven’t recovered fully since the banking crisis in 2008 and there are structural weaknesses in the UK... These weaknesses lie in low levels of industrial and technological investment, poor skill attainment, the laborious system of planning approvals, weak infrastructure and public services and acute regional imbalances.
We have been knocked further by the pandemic and now the war in Ukraine. But what is unique in setting Britain apart from our competitors are the mounting effects of Brexit, which have been hard to quantify given everything else going on but which are becoming clearer in lost trade, higher prices and labour shortages.
Brexit is the elephant in the room which few want to talk about.
For Sunak this is particularly hard because Brexit remains the abiding faultline in his party – not over whether to Brexit but, having Brexited, what policies we follow next. ...
Those who wanted a hard Brexit won the day under Boris Johnson. Then Liz Truss wanted something even less functional by ripping up the trade arrangements we had agreed for Northern Ireland.
The fundamental question for Sunak is, does he continue this process of de-alignment and non-cooperation with Europe, or does he start rebuilding trust and a new relationship with our former partners in the EU, starting with the Northern Ireland Protocol?
...This is a big test of leadership: he has to put the nation’s need to work with the EU to solve common problems before the desire of many in his party to seek confrontation with Europe at every turn. So far the prime minister has given no clear indication of what approach he is going to take.
Sunak voted for Brexit and might be sympathetic to this policy outcome, but he has also demonstrated that he recognises economic reality and hard choices.
This is the essence of the conflict bedevilling the Conservative Party, which Sunak must bury or be the next Conservative leader to be buried by it.
He is not going to be able to confront the challenges facing Britain without first taking on and defeating those who won’t face up to the reality of our post-Brexit economic and trade choices and the importance of building a stable relationship with the EU.
It is not going to be possible to lift UK trade and growth without forming a better relationship with Europe’s vast single market and customs union in view of the frictions and barriers created by the original negotiation. UK trade in goods with Europe has become simply too cumbersome, too costly, too bureaucratic and too slow, and is becoming a major drag on our growth rate.
Regulatory barriers now stand in the way of much services trade. Businesses are moving from Britain to the EU. Business investment is growing in the rest of Europe, but it is plateauing in the UK.
Growth forecasts for Britain in coming years indicate no improvement. We will not have the living standards we would otherwise enjoy. Spending on public services will be further squeezed. We will not be able to afford to defend ourselves as we would like. We will therefore not have the same influence in the world. This is not Project Fear; it is reality, and any government will have to come to terms with it.
