More than four years on from Boris Johnson’s botched trade agreement, Keir Starmer set out plans for the biggest reboot of EU relations since the UK left the bloc amid fury from Tory critics
Keir Starmer has vowed shoppers, tourists and businesses will benefit from a “common sense” deal with the EU as he said it was time to move on from “stale old” Brexit rows.
More than four years on from Boris Johnson’s botched trade agreement, Mr Starmer set out plans for the biggest reboot of EU relations since the UK left the bloc.
The PM said the deal was a “win-win” and would deliver practical benefits for ordinary people fed up with years of Brexit wrangling. But he also faced accusations of surrendering to Brussels and selling out Britain’s fishermen by critics.
Mr Starmer told a summit in London that “Britain was back on the world stage” – and pointed to recent trade deals with India and the US as a boost to jobs and growth in the UK. “This deal is a win-win,” he said.
“It delivers on what the British public voted for last year. It gives us unprecedented access to the EU market, the best of any country outside the EU, while sticking to the red lines in our manifesto about not re-joining the single market or the customs union.”
READ MORE: UK-EU deal explained – e-gates, passports, fishing and what it really means for migration numbers
The PM added: “It’s time to look forward. It’s time to move on from the stale old debates and political fights to focus on delivering common sense, practical solutions which get the best for the British people.”
Talks went down to the wire ahead of the summit, with British negotiators fuelled by late-night Nando’s orders. But white smoke emerged in the morning on a deal covering aspects of trade, fishing, defence and security.
Under the pact, British holidaymakers will be able to use e-gates at more European airports to avoid nightmare queues for passport control. The EU has promised to drop objections to allowing British tourists to use e-gates, with the PM urging member states to bring it in as soon as possible.
Red tape on trade of food and drink will be ripped up to cut hassle for businesses and reduce lorry queues at the border. Most checks for moving animals, animal products, plants, and plant products between the UK and EU will be ditched, which the Government hopes will bring down prices for shoppers and revive exports.
Businesses will be able to sell burgers and sausages to the EU again – ending a ban on UK exports of chilled meats which has been in place since 2021.
Pet passports will be introduced for UK cats and dogs, so owners no longer have to get an animal health certificate for every trip.
No10 said the deal would fire up the economy by nearly £9billion by 2040.
It also paves the way for a return of the UK to the Erasmus university exchange programme, and the creation of a youth mobility scheme. Officials insisted the scheme would be capped and time limited, pointing to similar deals with Australia and New Zealand.
One trade-off was to give European boats access to British waters for another 12 years, which triggered cries of “betrayal” from the Tories and Nigel Farage’s Reform UK. But Labour accused the Tories of hypocrisy for moaning about fishing arrangements that Mr Johnson agreed in 2020, which had been due to expire next year.
It is understood that fishing was a stumbling block in negotiations as the UK refused to accept the EU’s demand for permanent access to British waters. There will be no change to current access to fish for coastal communities nor the quotas for British or EU vessels.
Scottish Fishermen’s Federation (SFF) chief executive Elspeth Macdonald said: “This deal is a horror show for Scottish fishermen, far worse than Boris Johnson’s botched Brexit agreement.”
But Phil Taylor, director of the marine conservation charity Open Seas, said: “The debate about the length of the fishing deal and the amount of access granted to EU boats is missing a key point, since some of the biggest UK fishing companies are EU owned, while a number of Scottish boats are still landing more than half their catch directly to the continent.
The Government said British fishing and coastal communities will benefit from £360 million in investment under a new Fishing and Coastal Growth Fund. The PM rejected claims he had sold out the fishing industry, arguing that 70% of British seafood was exported to the EU, so easier access to European markets would help fishermen.
Business groups also welcomed the deal. Confederation of British Industry chief executive Rain Newton-Smith said: “After the turbulence of the last decade, today’s summit marks a leap forward in the EU-UK relationship.”
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