By Bev Haigh-Jones
I couldn’t possibly start this feature without mentioning the election. No doubt the majority of people reading this will be relieved at the result, if not delighted, particularly as we now have a new MP in every Cornish constituency, and most, if not all of them, support a closer relationship with the EU.
The first major positive to be announced after the election results, was the line-up of the new cabinet – every member was a Remain voter in the referendum! Hopefully, this will bode well for the future when decisions are being made about the way forward with our EU relationship.
It was really encouraging to see that the new Labour government wasted no time in visiting our friends across the channel, with the new Foreign Secretary, David Lammy, meeting with his counterparts in Germany, Poland and Sweden just a few days after the election. We also saw Keir Starmer visiting Ireland and stating a willingness to negotiate the development of a veterinary agreement with the EU, in order to ease trade restrictions.
Before the election, many people were feeling very despondent and disenfranchised, as they reckoned the main parties were not offering policies which fitted with their goals, particularly when it came to our relationship with the EU. However, with Labour seemingly already making moves to improve that relationship, many are now far more optimistic, including the European Movement. At a recent webinar, which is well worth watching, the possibilities for moving forward were discussed, and the general mood was much more hopeful for the future.
Better news yet came with the King’s speech on Wednesday 17 July, where an ambitious speech included commitments to improve renters’ rights, workers’ rights, the NHS, children’s well-being, our transport network, and many other things besides, not least being our relationship with our European neighbours.
Returning to the election theme, a recent survey of young voters discovered an interesting trend, which could bode well for the future, especially if Labour bring in their plan to lower the voting age to sixteen. According to The Conversation, those young people who did vote did not flock to Reform and were generally very anti-Tory, plus they had a tendency to spread their vote across the more liberal, smaller parties. Of course, if we were to adopt a system of proportional representation, rather than first-past-the-post (FPTP), then this could indeed lead to a far different feel to politics in the UK.
Finally for this edition, some news from the European Commission. Despite what our previous government may have led us to believe, trade deals between the EU and other nations are not only possible, they are becoming more frequent and desirable. Two such deals that have been announced recently relate to an agreement with Japan regarding data flow, which is expected to add billions of euros to EU GDP numbers, and the other is an EU-Kenya Economic Partnership Agreement, designed to boost bilateral trade.
