Josiah Mosley: To survive we need to recognise Labour’s foreign policy strengths – and their many faults

Josiah Mosely is a community based Conservative activist in Essex. 

EU policy has toppled leaders before; it led to Cameron’s resignation and caused many awkward silences in interviews with Jeremy Corbyn. But it has also made governments — Boris Johnson’s strength and 80-seat majority came on the promise of “getting Brexit done.”

That’s why the current Conservative Party needs to take a strong, firm stance on the EU and critique Labour’s faults in negotiation.

The question is: what should that stance be?

We have to operate under the fact that Brexit is the democratic will of the people, and any faults with the current status quo lie on Conservative shoulders. We also have to accept that the EU is our closest ally, and that people want closer relations with the bloc. YouGov polling shows that 7 in 10 Brits now believe leaving the union was a bad idea. While a “Breturn” is less likely than joining the American union, we have to consider that the electorate at large wants cordial relations with the EU — particularly for travel and trade.

We can start with a simple, recurring truth: Labour got it wrong.

But we must appreciate the achievements they have made: they cut red tape around transporting food into the EU and have all but secured British use of eGates — a small but overwhelmingly popular issue. Labour has managed to secure easy wins by cherry-picking popular aspects of the EU and presenting them to the public. The entrenchment of aid for Ukraine is popular with everyone except Putin apologists and was virtually guaranteed in the first set of talks.

If the benefits of the deal were popular, what’s the issue?

The concessions.

In one fell swoop, Starmer signed away the use of British waters for 12 years with no quotas or reviews. He agreed to enter Europol, rejoin Erasmus, consider youth mobility, and contribute to the SAFE fund for European defence.

Of course, quid pro quo — the EU cannot be expected to give something for nothing.

The harsh terms of Brexit were designed as a deterrent to other countries dreaming of sovereignty. So attempting to regain close relations with the EU will undoubtedly come at the cost of certain privileges we earned by leaving. Deciding which privileges to surrender — and which ones to protect — must be a strong process of Conservative triage.

We must accept that Britain after Brexit isn’t the utopia many thought it would be. Many of the so-called “freedoms” we gained are actually concessions the public is now willing to make.

The closing of borders with Europe has done next to nothing to solve the migration crisis, and the return of free movement is longed for by a large portion of the public. The withdrawal of funding to European programmes has clearly not benefited our public sectors. Even if £350 million has indeed been returned to the NHS — as the infamous bus claimed — it has not been felt.

However, the paramount benefit of Brexit was sovereignty.

We cannot afford to give that up.

As people, as a party, and as a country, the greatest benefit we received from Brexit was sovereignty — the long-awaited right to self-determination. The ability to set our own laws without being subject to European courts; to regulate and deregulate industry as we see fit; to choose our electoral processes without scrutiny from foreign powers; and to have Parliament (and by extension the voters) remain supreme on any matter concerning our United Kingdom.

Once again, Labour got it wrong.

British waters have been surrendered. The food agreements with the EU have all but destroyed any hope of a food deal with the US — as US chlorinated chicken is banned under European law. Starmer made the wrong concessions. He gave up large chunks of our sovereignty and has all but removed the tangible benefits of Brexit, while half-tying us back into Europe under a deal infinitely worse than simply being a member of the EU. We now follow EU law, but have no say in shaping it.

That is what we need to oppose — the loss of our sovereignty.

Not dealing with the EU. Not getting caught in the whirlwind of Erasmus. Not getting dragged into a three-way shootout with Farage and Starmer over who can sound the most like Enoch Powell. We must accept that we failed on migration — and the answer isn’t appealing for even more migration when we have a terrible track record.

Instead, we appeal to sovereignty, where we have a brilliant record.

A pledge: Britain, not Brussels.

We must engage the EU as two sovereign entities. And while we must be prepared to enter joint initiatives and contribute to joint funding, we cannot be expected to sign up to joint laws.

The heart of the problem is that we’re not negotiating with the EU as two equals starting from scratch. We’re negotiating like ex-lovers desperate to get back together — but both since married.

The Conservative Party must criticise the demeanour of negotiations and the willingness to surrender to the European Parliament — not just the trade-offs typical of any deal, good or bad. We need to be qualified and clinical when we oppose, not brash and ideological.

Once we can accept the concessions that must be made — and correctly identify the ones that must not — then we can effectively lead an opposition.