Hi John,

Let’s get this out of the way early - by all measures Brexit has been a disaster. With the exception of a few hedge fund managers, almost everyone is worse off, where estimates range from tens to hundreds of billions wiped from the UK economy.

Lines on a graph, right? Wrong.

It’s cancelled NHS appointments, less-frequent bus services, fewer teachers in your local school. It’s an additional £250 on the average annual grocery bill and £2,000 out of the pocket of the average Brit.

This isn’t Ukraine, this isn’t Covid, this is the impact of Brexit alone, and that’s to say nothing on the damage to the UK’s reputation, soft power and alliances.

Five years on from the UK’s most ungracious exit from the EU; British musicians can’t tour, British businesses can’t export and you have to pay roaming charges after all. Five years on we are weaker, poorer and less free.

With this avalanche of evidence it would be easy (and fun) to write yet another “we told you so” piece about how wrong Brexiters were, how awful everything is and how, in the name of god, did Nigel Farage end up in parliament? But as there’s a lot of that going around today, here’s a few reasons to be optimistic about EU-UK relations.

1. Bregret

Despite the best efforts of some cynical politicians and the dominance of pro-Brexit media, the British public have consistently expressed regret over the decision to leave. Since we Brexited no poll has shown majority backing for Brexit and the faction who still thinks it was a good idea currently sits closer to 30%. Support for rejoin has rarely been higher, and even if you don’t want a second referendum, there is consistent public support for action to repair some Brexit damage. Brits want a Youth Mobility Scheme, they want beneficial regulatory alignment, they want a closer relationship with our largest market. 

2. The Tories are gone

At last 2024 saw the back of the Conservative government. On the slimmest referendum result, this lot drove through a most harmful form of Brexit and spent the next four years taking every opportunity to compound the damage. Last July, they got the electoral kicking they so richly deserved. Now with an unassailable majority, the new government has real power to fix things. Whether they will use this power is another matter. Starmer has a lot of warm words about his relationship reset with the EU. What we need now is specific detail on what he wants to change.

3. The EU wants a better deal

Alongside sadness, there was palpable relief in Brussels when the UK eventually left the EU. After years of negotiations, deadlines, cliff edges, and last minute extensions, Brexit "got done" and the EU could focus on other matters. But new challenges, most notably Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, highlighted Britain’s importance to our European allies. The EU wants to negotiate better terms with the UK, particularly on Youth Mobility and increased cooperation on defence. The UK Government must prioritise removing the trade and travel barriers which are crippling economic growth and robbing opportunities from UK citizens.

4. The re-election of Donald Trump

Alright, stay with me on this one. While Trump's return to the White House is catastrophic, the silver lining is that it has categorically squashed the “Global Britain” libertarian fantasy that informed much of Britain’s post-Brexit trade policy. This was the delusion that outside the EU, the UK could strike deals around the world delivering only upsides and compensating for lost EU trade. If five years of stalled negotiations and lopsided agreements hadn’t already, Trump's reelection has extinguished this fallacy. With threats of tariffs and annexation, the Biff Tannen of geopolitics has made clear to both the UK and EU that we Europeans need to stick together.

5. The review of the Brexit deal

This is the big one. 2026 will see the first official review of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement also known as the Brexit deal. It’s why Best for Britain ran a tactical voting campaign at the last election so it wouldn’t be the Tories negotiating on our behalf again, and why we’ve worked with hundreds of businesses to find ways the Government can improve the deal within Starmer’s stated red lines. But with preliminary meetings already underway between the EU and UK, we who want to undo the damage of the last five years can’t sit on our hands. 

We have the power to remedy the mistakes of the past and a responsibility to do so. Something as simple as writing to your MP or local paper on this issue can have a profound impact, giving the Government the courage and confidence they need to do what needs to be done.

Not all the challenges Britain faces are because of Brexit, but Brexit has made tackling these challenges more difficult and the cost will grow if we do nothing. Things won’t be perfect by Brexit’s 10th anniversary but they can be much better. The Government has a mandate for change and the power to make it happen. It’s a golden opportunity we can’t afford for them to miss.

Finally, I need to say thank you. Because people like you, John, have done so much to help fix the mess of the Brexit deal. 

For all the emails you've sent. For all the letters you've written to the local paper. And for every time we've asked you to take our research to your MP.

And of course for just how much you have donated to fund our campaigning.

It's been five years since Brexit. But with your help, the next two can be a chance to get back some of what we lost.

Yours gratefully, 

Niall McGourty
Director of Communications

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