Good things may come to those who wait, but when it comes to repairing the Brexit settlement Britain was left with by Boris Johnson, the waiting has come at a heavy cost. Prices are higher, trade is weaker and our influence diminished. That is why Keir Starmer’s promise to bring forward legislation this year to improve the UK’s deal with the EU is the clearest signal yet that the era of warm words without delivery may finally be coming to an end.
Since the fanfare of last May’s UK-EU summit, progress has been glacial. The commitments trailed at the time were not abstract diplomatic wins but practical fixes people could feel. A deal on food standards and animal welfare, known as an SPS agreement, could ease pressure on supermarket prices. An energy trading agreement could lower bills by allowing the UK and EU to cooperate more efficiently in increasingly volatile markets. Yet months later, neither is in place.
