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Keir Starmer (61), the leader of the British Labour Party, looks set to become the next prime minister of the United Kingdom. In his own country, most people remember the long-serving politician as forgetful. At the EU level, Starmer is expected to promote cooperation with the European Union.
Keir Starmer’s mild-mannered personality doesn’t seem to be deterring British voters, who are determined to marginalize the Conservative Tories. The latest opinion polls show him clearly ahead.
“It will be much harder for Starmer to grow the economy if the UK does not remain in the EU and its single market,” Dimitri Zenghelis, an economist and Brexit expert at the London School of Economics, told DW.
There was a widespread feeling that Starmer deliberately avoided discussing the consequences of Brexit during the campaign in order to win votes from the Conservatives, who are irritated by the Tories over many of the country’s problems, including long queues for basic health checks and the high cost of living.
While there are varying estimates of the extent of the damage caused by Brexit, there is no doubt that paperwork and costs for British businesses have increased significantly, and trade between the UK and its largest trading partner has decreased. According to the National Institute of Economic and Social Research, the size of the UK economy has shrunk by 2%-3% since Brexit, and is expected to decline further to 5%-6% by 2035.
A study by Cambridge Econometrics commissioned by London Mayor and Labour politician Sadiq Khan showed that Brexit would reduce investment in the UK by a third and lead to the loss of 3 million jobs by 2035.
According to Menzies, one in five British companies want the new government to return to the EU single market. The British Chambers of Commerce said that two-thirds of British companies that traded with the EU last year found the process cumbersome, and nearly half of them were dissatisfied with the Brexit agreement, with 41% saying that the agreement made it difficult to float trade with EU member states.
“Leaving the EU makes it more expensive and more bureaucratic for us to sell goods and services on both sides of the Channel,” Shevaun Haviland, director general of the British Chambers of Commerce, told the annual conference of the lobby group representing thousands of British businesses.
Labour is seeking to improve the EU-UK trade and cooperation agreement signed by former Prime Minister Boris Johnson at the end of 2020. Labour also wants a new defense agreement between the UK and the EU to achieve collective security and a European Defense Fund.
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