Monday, November 21, 2022

Most Britons Now Think Brexit Was a Bad Idea – The Government Just Hasn’t Caught Up Yet

THE GUARDIAN: Under pressure from the fundamentalists, No 10 quickly denied reports of a ‘Swiss-style’ deal with the EU. But the mood music against Brexit is an irreversible trend

A march to rejoin the EU in London in October. Photograph: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

The head of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) used his conference speech today to call for a tilt in immigration policy, to reflect the fact that the UK actively needs people to move here if we are ever to see a return to prosperity. There were rumours, meanwhile, of a “Swiss-style” deal between the UK and the EU, in which we would slowly reconverge with the single market, via harmonised regulations around food and agriculture.

The puzzle pieces are cohering into one picture: things are bad. Some people would like to continue arguing about root causes, arranging Brexit, Covid and the sheer fecklessness of modern Conservatism into an infinitely contestable hierarchy, but most people would just prefer things to be better. And the “how can things be better?” phase of the arc comes right before “any mistake that can be undone, let’s try to undo it”. » | Zoe Williams | Monday, November 21, 2022

Sunak tries to pacify Brexiters but keeps door open to closer EU ties: Prime minister stresses ‘enormous benefits and opportunities’ of Brexit before business leaders »

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We may not be heading for a Swiss-style Brexit deal, but Sunak must face reality: Most of Britain’s trade is with Europe, and Brexit has crippled it. There is a long way to go to resolve this fallout »