Important Update from Best for Britain:

A call to arms from Cal Roscow, Director of Campaigns at Best for Britain

Dear John,

I’m trying very hard not to open by saying “the world has changed” because it’s been said in every op-ed, Substack, and podcast this week. But, the world really has changed. There is only before that Oval Office moment with Zelenskyy, and after - at least in the sense of modern geopolitics.

It doesn’t matter whether you voted Leave or Remain, no one predicted that we would ever be contemplating the idea of a NATO without the United States of America. Or a United States of America determined to destroy trading relationships, even with Canada and Mexico, while adopting Russian foreign policy wholesale. We are living through a paradigm shift that, in spite of everyone talking about it constantly, hasn’t quite yet sunk in. The magnitude of this seismic activity has not yet been fully calculated because the main shock isn’t over yet. New horrors, such as the threat of deporting Ukrainian refugees <[link removed]> from America, keep emerging. And the aftershocks - such as the decisions (and sacrifices) Europe will now have to make - haven’t even begun. 

Britain’s decision to leave the EU, if it looked foolhardy or arrogant before, now looks mortal.

In the midst of some pretty mixed domestic policy so far, Starmer’s galvanising meeting of leaders at Lancaster House over the weekend provided some comfort. Personally I was relieved, not just to see that the UK’s soft power is alive and well, but that someone like Boris Johnson wasn’t currently our Prime Minister. He has been notably silent all week. Small mercies, perhaps.

So what should an organisation like Best for Britain, which has been working hard to create the conditions to repair our relationship with Europe through a deal on goods and services, do in the midst of much graver political issues?

Some will argue that issues around moving fruit and veg through ports, or agonising over what kind of safety mark to put on a product, now seem trivial. But I would argue that their triviality is exactly why we must get them out of the way as quickly as possible, before Europe can move onto the important issue of its continued existence. (You can read all 114 of our recommendations <[link removed]> - that can be implemented without breaking anyone’s red lines - even if you hate the idea of the red lines in the first place.) And while rejoining the EU would likely solve all these issues, an application is likely to fall on deaf ears at a time when Russia shows no signs of abating its aggression near the Eastern border.

We must focus on what can be negotiated right now - that won’t disrupt important EU-wide decisions on defence and security: a deal that aligns the UK with the EU on goods and services.

Better still, our own commissioned report <[link removed]> demonstrates that such a deal can deliver up to 2.2% growth <[link removed]> in GDP (and shields EU countries from the effects of any US tariffs, should Trump impose them). An opportunity we probably shouldn’t miss, given that we will (rightly) be ramping up spending on defence. And surely preferable to cuts to welfare spending, if rumours about the Spring Statement are to be believed.

There are just over 70 days until the first Starmer-Von Der Leyen Summit, where a political declaration on the UK-EU Reset is expected. That’s ten weeks to tell the Government that the public want a deal with Europe to fix their lives and livelihoods before the geopolitical situation gets worse.

In that time I, everyone here at Best for Britain, and in fact everyone in the UK, needs your help:

We want every MP to have seen a copy of our report on how much GDP growth can be gained from such a deal: (Spoiler alert: it’s up to 2.2%)

<[link removed]>Send the report to your MP <[link removed]>Be sure to scroll to the bottom of the generated email and add your address and postcode, as some MPs require this before they consider replying.

We want our supporters to write to every local paper to make sure everyone knows how popular such a deal is, and aspects of it - such as a Youth Mobility Visa Scheme- are among the public.

We’ll be sending out the details as part of a Campaign Alert next week:

<[link removed]>Opt in to Campaign Alerts <[link removed]>We will be announcing even more campaign actions that you can take part in - and we really need your help on this - in the coming weeks.

This is a chance to put Britain back at the heart of Europe in more ways than just on defence. If we are working with our nearest neighbours to defend our continent, it would be beyond regrettable if we couldn’t quickly get our act together in restoring the flow of food, goods, and services. We don’t know what Trump or Putin will do next. We must be prepared for anything and everything.

Yours,



Cal

Cal Roscow
Director of Campaigns

P.S. If you think this work is important, please consider making a one-off donation <[link removed]> or becoming a regular supporter <[link removed]>. Every penny raised goes to spreading the word among decision-makers to help make this vital deal a reality, while we make our continent stronger.





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