When considering the potentially catastrophic consequences a Labour Government could have for Britain’s relationship with the European Union, it’s important to note that Brussels isn’t what it used to be. Believe it or not, it’s worse.
Gone are the days of Jean-Claude Juncker who now sips his brandy in the comfort of his own home rather than his Berlaymont office. Instead, we have the former German defence minister, Ursula von der Leyen, leading the EU executive, who just recently announced her plan to stand for re-election.
The seemingly un-flushable Guy Verhofstadt still shouts from the sidelines in Strasbourg like an angry old man, parroting his desire for a United States of Europe — a warped desire shared by the thousands of Eurocrats who comprise the world’s largest bureaucracy.
And yet, despite the Brussels behemoth continuing to hurtle at full speed towards its federalist dream, the reality is that many European voters are turning to the right after decades of being force-fed liberal-dominated agendas, both domestically and supranationally.
European Commission President Ursula von der LeyenGETTYIn the last two years, we’ve seen socially conservative governments elected in Italy, Sweden, and Finland, the re-election of nationalist governments in Greece and Hungary, and the return to power of left-wing anti-immigration populist Robert Fico in Slovakia.
The tide looks set to turn further still with the rise of populist parties across the European Union. In Austria, the right wing FPÖ tops the polls, Geert Wilders’ Party for Freedom became the largest party in the Netherlands in November’s election, and the hard-right Alternative for Germany has enjoyed a surge in support across Europe’s largest economy — it is now the frontrunner in a number of eastern German states and second nationally to the centre-right CDU/CSU opposition.
And of course, our neighbours across the Channel are flowing towards the politics of Le Pen — with Jordan Bardella’s Rassemblement National expected to win big in June’s European elections, and Marine’s niece, Marion Maréchal, leading the candidate list for the even more fringe Reconquête under Éric Zemmour’s leadership.
However, despite an expected conservative fightback by the voters in the European Parliament this summer, we all know that the anti-democratic European Commission will never listen to reason, and will never change.
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Geert Wilders from PVV PartyGETTYFlanked by the biggest lobbying groups in the world and currently channelling an inferiority complex to the defence capabilities of Nato and the United States, it will continue to push for an “ever closer union” under the guise of European security, using the ongoing conflict in Ukraine to claim that Putin will soon be marching down the Champs-Élysées and increase its powers.
In Britain’s absence, the European Union has continued to tread down the path we all knew it would, only further justifying the British people’s decision to leave the bloc.
Other dissenting voices haven’t been so lucky. For years now, the conservative governments in Poland and Hungary have been blackmailed into domestic reforms with the European Commission withholding critical Covid-19 recovery funds until they played ball. Conveniently, these funds are now flowing freely to Warsaw after the return to power of a certain Donald Tusk, despite serious concerns over the shutting down of public broadcasters and the jailing of two conservative MPs just weeks into the reign of his liberal-left coalition government.
EU Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson spoke during a conference in GreeceGETTYMore so, the European liberals have pushed through their EU Migration Pact, an agreement that will overhaul the bloc’s current migration and asylum policy and see refugee quotas forced on member states with those who refuse to take their fair share fined up to €20,000 per person they reject.
Like Britain, Europe remains embroiled in a migrant crisis nearly on par with that experienced in 2016 but appears incapable or unwilling to combat it. The EU’s Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson recently said the bloc needs millions of migrants every year due to its ageing population, even telling former EU border agency Frontex director Fabrice Leggeri it was his “job to welcome them, whether you like it or not.” Lo and behold, the Frenchman is now standing for the Rassemblement National in the upcoming European elections.
Brussels never learned its lesson from Brexit. In fact, it acted as a catalyst for greater defence and political union. It continues to push for a European army, muddying the waters with Nato — an issue that will only deepen further with the earmarked former Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte taking the reins of the defence alliance.
We know that Labour never wanted Brexit. We know that Sir Keir Starmer backed Remain. We know he didn’t accept the result and supported a People’s Vote, better known as another referendum because we got it wrong and — in typical EU fashion (ask the Irish and the Dutch about the Lisbon Treaty) — we should try again.
A Labour government risks opening up wounds that have only just healed and threatens to drag Britain back into the mire. Under Starmer and his pro-Remain front bench, Britain could be returned to the shackles of Europe, once again inextricably tied to a failing but dangerous political and economic union it took us over four decades to free ourselves from.
Do you trust Starmer not to do a deal with Brussels on its Migration Pact or on its desire for a defence union? I don’t!
