Starmer's EU reset fails to secure one thing British public wants
Sir Keir Starmer claims his Brexit reset deal will be 'good for our borders'.
But it won't even let him send back Channel migrants to France, which is the one thing the public would expect from a Prime Minister cosplaying at being tough on immigration to counter the rise of Reform UK.
Britain has not been able to return illegal immigrants to an EU country since Brexit took practical effect in January 2021 and the UK left the bloc's Dublin regulations.
The reset does not include a UK-EU migrant-returns deal, or even the promise to discuss one in the future. It was not even part of these talks with our nearest neighbours.
'I have been following these talks for the last two months and that was never on the table,' said an EU diplomat.
Sir Keir has got vague language promising to work together on fighting illegal immigration and to boost cooperation with Europol in a 'document of common understanding', which will be published at Monday's UK-EU summit.
'This is very declaratory. It is about the direction of travel rather than something concrete' said a second EU diplomat, 'and there is nothing in it about a UK-EU migrant-return deal.'
Labour certainly wants an EU migrant-return deal. Before the general election, it reportedly was willing to take in resettled refugees from the EU to get one before walking that back after public outcry.
Emmanuel Macron, the French president, said a deal has to be struck at European level before France will accept any returned small-boat migrants from the UK.
Germany and Belgium have also turned down British overtures for bilateral return deals, instead insisting negotiations must be done with Brussels.
The European Commission refused to negotiate a replacement deal for Dublin in the original Brexit negotiations. Despite all the warm talk of new beginnings, nothing has changed.
An EU-wide deal needs the unanimous backing of all 27 member states. Greece and Italy don't want to take back migrants. Hungary's anti-migrant government has ruled out the British deal.
The Prime Minister decided not to ask for something he didn't think he'd get, which is unambitious. It would be difficult, but difficult agreements can be struck with friends and allies, if you aren't more interested in clinching a quick deal to go with agreements struck with India and Donald Trump.
Sir Keir has got a defence pact, which is symbolic in terms of Russia and Ukraine, and could one day help boost defence spending.
A Swiss-style veterinary deal will bring an estimated boost of 0.1 per cent in GDP by facilitating trade in agrifood by the UK aligning with EU laws on plant and animal health.
He also has the promise of more negotiations over closer relations with the EU.
In return, he will turn Britain into an EU rule-taker, make it easier for young Europeans to live and work here, and give away long-term access to British fishing waters.
Sir Keir's goals for these new Brexit negotiations have been achievable, modest and costly in terms of concessions such as alignment that Brussels will bank for future talks.
The number of illegal immigrants on all the main routes into the EU dropped by 27 per cent in the first four months of 2025, reaching nearly 47,000, according to the Frontex border agency.
It said the number of attempted Channel crossings rose by 5 per cent year-on-year, reaching 18,100, it said.
Sir Keir spent the last week playing the hard man on immigration but with little success.
His conversion from Rwanda plan foe to promising offshore detention camps for failed asylum seekers is a transparent effort to head off the threat of a poll-topping Nigel Farage. The Reform leader is fresh from his unprecedented victory in the local elections that has Labour worried and many people now viewing his Brexit-backing party as the real opposition rather than the Tories.
That's why Sir Keir talks about pipe dreams of setting up camps in the western Balkans when he can't even get a migrant back across the Channel.
Red Wall Brexit voters already deserting Labour will look at his reset deal, see it's oversold, and ask, 'what's the point of that?'.
Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
14 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Murray hails ‘brilliant opportunities' of UK Government's industrial strategy
Scottish Secretary Ian Murray has hailed the 'brilliant opportunities' that could come out of the UK Government's industrial strategy. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer unveiled the document on Monday, pinpointing key industries believed to have the most potential for growth such as artificial intelligence, offshore wind and batteries for electric vehicles. The 160-page document put Scotland 'at the heart of the UK's energy transition', as well as talking up commitments to a £750 million supercomputer in Edinburgh and £200 million in development funding for the Acorn carbon capture and storage facility in Aberdeenshire. The Prime Minister also announced a cut to electricity bills for industrial businesses, £30 million for the video games sector – with a number of high profile developers based in Scotland – and £30 million for research and development for each of the devolved nations. Delighted to be in Cockenzie, East Lothian for the launch of the UK Industrial Strategy today. Lots of brilliant opportunities for Scotland from the 8 growth sectors. Jobs, investment, regeneration and skills. — Ian Murray MP (@IanMurrayMP) June 23, 2025 In a post on X following a visit to the promote the strategy, the Scottish Secretary said: 'Delighted to be in Cockenzie, East Lothian, for the launch of the UK industrial strategy today. 'Lots of brilliant opportunities for Scotland from the eight growth sectors. 'Jobs, investment, regeneration and skills.' The strategy was also praised by Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar. 'Labour's industrial strategy delivers for Scotland – unlocking economic potential, raising wages, boosting living standards, and delivering the growth we need,' he said. Asked about his response to the UK Government's announcement on Monday, First Minister John Swinney touted his own Government's work on industry. 'Of course, we have in Scotland our own approach to industrial strategy, which involves working with our universities, with our economic development agencies to ensure that we attract investment and can support development within the economy,' he told the PA news agency. 'Last week, we saw that Scotland, for the 10th year in a row, was the most successful part of the United Kingdom for the attraction of inward investment other than London and the south east. 'So that's an indication that the Scottish Government's got its priorities correct, its focus correct on the attraction of investment, because we're contributing to make Scotland an incredibly successful investment location.'
Bloomberg
14 minutes ago
- Bloomberg
Spain and Rutte Locked in Defense Showdown on Eve of NATO Summit
By refusing to agree spending increases to appease US President Donald Trump, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez threatens to derail a NATO summit that Secretary General Mark Rutte needs to run smoothly for the sake of the military alliance's future survival. On the eve of the gathering in The Hague, things are going off the rails. European officials have expressed irritation at the spoiler role that Sanchez is playing when their number one task is to line up behind a pledge to raise defense spending to 5% of GDP. Rutte needs to keep Spain in line while preventing others like Slovakia from breaking ranks.
Washington Post
23 minutes ago
- Washington Post
Europe scrambles to revive diplomacy after the US strikes Iran's nuclear sites
LONDON — European nations worked Monday to keep diplomatic efforts to curb the Israel-Iran war alive as the two countries traded strikes following the United States' weekend attack on Iran's nuclear program. Calls for Tehran to enter talks with Washington appeared to fall on deaf ears as it reached out to ally Russia for support.
