Brexit Betrayal? Starmer's Team Quietly Caving to EU Judges

By HOAR Team 14 April, 2025 4 mins read 79 Views

I'm absolutely fuming. Just when we thought the Brexit saga might finally be settling down, here we go again with another round of political whiplash.

So yesterday I was chatting with my neighbor (hardcore Brexiteer, has the mug and everything) about rising food prices, and then my phone buzzes with this bombshell about Labour potentially handing power back to European courts. Perfect timing, right?

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What the hell is "dynamic alignment" anyway?

According to Bloomberg's reporting, Starmer's government is apparently ready to accept something called "dynamic alignment" with EU standards on food and agricultural imports. Let me translate the political jargon - it means we'd basically follow Brussels' rules on these matters... even though we're not even in the club anymore!

The kicker? This would give teh European Court of Justice oversight over significant parts of our trade. Remember all those "take back control" speeches? Yeah, about that...

This feels like watching someone who just declared they're vegan secretly ordering a bacon sandwich when they think nobody's looking.

The man behind the curtain

Nick Thomas-Symonds has been Starmer's point-man in these hush-hush negotiations with Brussels. They're calling it a "reset" in relations.

Reset. Interesting choice of word.

Back in 2019, I spent 3 weeks covering the Brexit negotiations for a newspaper (worst assignment ever, my editor still owes me for the therapy bills). One thing became crystal clear: terminology matters enormously in these discussions. When politicians use soft, innocent-sounding words like "reset," it usually means something much more substantial is happening behind closed doors.

Frost's icy response

Lord Frost, who previously served as Britain's chief Brexit negotiator, didn't mince words when speaking to The Sun about these developments. "It's increasingly obvious that Labour are going to sell out the country once again," he said, adding that this move would force "our farmers and food producers to live by laws they have no say in, enforced by a foreign court."

Listen. I'm not exactly Frost's biggest fan (met him once at a press conference in 2020, cold as his name suggests), but he's not entirely wrong here. The whole point of that exhausting Brexit process was to bring decision-making back to the UK.

So what's Starmer's endgame?

The government has officially ruled out rejoining the free movement area, customs union, or single market. They're sticking to the line that a "closer relationship" with the EU is in Britain's interest.

When I reached out to a Labour source yesterday afternoon (who obviously insisted on anonymity), they gave me the classic "broader economic picture" spiel. "We inherited an absolute mess," they texted. "Sometimes pragmatism trumps ideology." Right.

My follow-up questions about specific ECJ jurisdiction were met with... you guessed it... silence. Then a government spokesman provided the most predictable response in political history: "We will not provide a running commentary on talks."

The Brexit merry-go-round never stops

God. Will we ever escape this endless Brexit loop? It's been 8 years since the referendum, and we're still arguing about the same fundamental questions about sovereignty adn control.

My father-in-law (staunch Remainer) will be absolutely insufferable at Sunday lunch if this goes through. He's already got his "I told you so" face ready to deploy.

The truth is, these negotiations are happening largely out of public view. While we're all distracted by the cost of living crisis and whatever celebrity scandal is trending, these fundamental decisions about our relationship with Europe continue to be made in quiet meeting rooms.

And that might be the biggest problem of all.

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Did you miss our previous article...
https://hellofaread.com/politics/election-betting-scandal-sunaks-aide-among-15-charged-for-gambling-on-poll-timing