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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
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Polly Toynbee

Is this tough US-EU trade deal a triumph for Brexit Britain? Only in leavers’ most delusional fantasies

Donald Trump shakes hands with Ursula von der Leyen.
President Donald Trump with the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, in Turnberry, Scotland, 27 July 2025. Photograph: Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters

Those who misled the country over Brexit are usually quieter these days. They do not hang their heads in shame, but change the subject whenever they can. They deflect with their new war-cry that Britain must also leave the European convention on human rights.

As the effects of their wicked Brexit folly worsen by the month, they rarely get a chance to whoop: “We were right!” So their glee was unrestrained when the great US global bully gave Britain a less hard beating with a 10% tariff on its goods, compared with the EU, which was walloped with 15%.

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