Brexit negotiations to resume in London tomorrow

Brexit negotiations are officially back on, with Michel Barnier expected to bring a delegation of EU negotiators to London immediately. “We have agreed that a basis for negotiations with the EU and Michel Barnier has been re-established,” said UK Chief Negotiator Lord Frost this afternoon. “Intensive talks will happen every day and begin tomorrow afternoon, 22 October, in London.”

Negotiations broke down late last week after European leaders refused to commit to intensifying talks in an EU Council communique. The communique set out only to “continue” talks and called on Britain to make more concessions, triggering an angry response from both the Prime Minister and Lord Frost. In less than a week, however, the EU has completely U-turned. It is now committing not only to intensifying talks, but also to negotiate on all issues and to begin work on the formal legal texts (which is considered a gateway to concessions).

Speaking to the European Parliament this morning, Barnier said: “Despite the difficulties we’ve faced, an agreement is within reach if both sides are willing to work constructively, if they’re willing to compromise and if we’re able to make progress in the next few days on the basis of legal text; and if we’re ready for the next few days to resolve the sticking points, the tricky subjects, because time is of the essence.”

Crucial to the statement was Barnier’s recognition that “any future agreement will be made in respect of the decision-making autonomy of the European Union and with respect for British sovereignty.” This may seem a rather obvious and mundane statement, but to close observers it comes across as a signal that the EU is willing to make concessions on fishing rights. Downing Street has long claimed that the EU’s current position on fishing – that European fishermen should have the same access to UK waters as they do now – does not respect British sovereignty.

Downing Street’s statement today on the resumption of talks specifically singled out the above quote, showing that they too consider it a signal of flexibility. “We have studied carefully the statement by Michel Barnier to the European Parliament,” the statement added. “As the EU’s Chief Negotiator his words are authoritative.”

With the help of a Salzburg-style EU communications failure, Boris Johnson’s hardline strategy has produced positive results, but Britain will still have to make significant concessions on state aid if it wants a deal. While British negotiators have privately acknowledged the need for a substantial UK state aid regime, with an independent regulator, to both reassure the EU and protect the internal UK market from unfair competition, few solid commitments have been made.

Ultimately, both sides have shown that they still very much want a deal. They now have the opportunity to quietly negotiate away their redlines in intensified talks – aka “The Tunnel” – before likely emerging with a free trade agreement in November.

Tighter Lockdown spreads to South Yorkshire

South Yorkshire will face the toughest coronavirus restrictions from Saturday, joining a growing list of regions on the Tier 3 list. In a statement to the Commons this afternoon, Health Minister, Edward Argar, noted the 12,000 cases recorded in the region this month is already higher than those recorded in the previous three months combined.

Mayor of the Sheffield City Region, Dan Jarvis, has secured £41million in extra funding from Downing Street to support local businesses through the restrictions. “I honestly don’t think I could have got any more money out of the government,” he said this afternoon. “But we’ve secured a package that will help us to reduce the rate of infection, to reduce the pressure on our NHS, while at the same time supporting our economy.”

The deal has raised further doubts over Mayor Andy Burnham’s handling of the situation in Greater Manchester. Local Conservative MPs claim that he rejected a fair financial package for party political gain. Burnham is facing particular scrutiny over his suggestion yesterday that the government had withdrawn its £60million support offer for the region following a breakdown in talks, which now appears to be false. Boris Johnson today confirmed that the money will in fact “be distributed to the boroughs of Greater Manchester.”

This is a petty argument over relatively small sums of government money, but underlying it is a significant, potentially perilous, political shift: the British people are now much more worried about their finances than they were in March.

As one 83-year-old woman in Barnsley told the BBC: “How can we get the country on its feet? Moneywise. Where’s all the money? By the end of this year there’s going to be millions of people unemployed, and do you know who’s going to pay for it? All the young ones. Not me, because I’m going to be dead.”

Not the British people, say many voters.

Mutaz Ahmed
Political Reporter