seven years after Brexit, Europe remains a major concern

The country voted for Brexit in 2016 and left the European Union in 2020. London will therefore not participate in the European elections this year, yet Europe remains essential.

“An elephant in the room”which translates into French as “an elephant in the room”. Europe today in English politics is an obvious problem that no one is talking about. The government, led by Rishi Sunak, a convinced Brexiteer, realizes daily that it must go through Europe: to fight against illegal immigration, to do business, for the tourism industry or even for military coalitions. If the British will not vote in the European elections, they are constantly watching what is happening on the other side of the Channel.

The United Kingdom will vote this year to renew the House of Commons, the precise date is not yet known. But after 13 years in power, the conservatives are largely losing out in all the polls. And in this national campaign, Europe will inevitably be a subject. Moreover, the conservatives, looking for faults in the opposing camp, accused Labor of wanting to return to Europe. Keir Starmer, the leader of the opposition, future Prime Minister if his party wins, clearly explained that this was out of the question. On the other hand, he wants to rewrite the exit agreement with the European Union and find points of convergence, where Boris Johnson played the proud role.

The current leader of the government, Rishi Sunak, campaigned for Brexit, but since he came to power on October 25, 2022, he has been looking for solutions, without banging his fist on the table. He signed, for example, the Northern Ireland agreement. A diplomatic imbroglio which polluted relations between Europe and the United Kingdom for months. He exchanges with France in a much less abrupt tone than his two predecessors on refugees who cross the Channel illegally, risking their lives. And in fact, there were fewer crossings this year.

Criticize Europe but not too much

The United Kingdom slammed the door, to everyone’s surprise, in 2016 and for six years, tension was at its maximum between London and Europe. Now, the tone has changed between London and Brussels. Since the end of the Johnson administration, there has been much less posturing. The United Kingdom has clearly entered the time of negotiations, point by point, sometimes on details as recently for young French people on school trips who no longer need a passport, the identity card is enough.

However, in the eyes of the population, there is no question of showing what could seem like the slightest weakness vis-à-vis Brussels: there is no question of calling into question the democratic vote of 2016. The political parties are already in the campaign and Europe will clearly be a sensitive subject. We will have to say bad things about it, but not too much, because at the end of the day, they all know that the well-being of the British depends on peaceful relations with the Continent.