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And see them hit a ceiling at 35%. Max. I keep saying this and nobody seems to want to listen. When you actually tell the UK public want EU membership would mean in 2026, their response is: f*ck that.

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I completely agree with him. And hence I am vehemently opposed to any rejoin movement. Its stupid and pointless. The UK does not believe in the European Project. In our marrow, we don't. We hated being a member before, we would again and it will be even worse. TCA+ is the only game in town.

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Oh and agree to the common external tarrif which means all our trade deals are essentially dead. Its vassalage. In or out. Choose. And make the case.

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So we agree to pay in, accept free movement and submit all UK businesses, even those that have no trade with the EU to EU rules with no say. Oh and allow the French to impose laws that privilege their defense sector and AI sectors on us. Again. With no say. Err bugger that.

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And note: she doesn't mention the euro, or free movement, and she admits the deal will be terrible vs 2016. She lacks imagination. Rejoin is just as bad a panacea as Brexit was. The UK needs to focus on fixing its own problems rather than blaming Europe or seeing it as a solution. Neither are true.

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Pffft. She's the lead on the UK-EU EP parliamentary liaison. Its a hot air to make Brussels feel like something is happening - it isn't - moving towards the proposed May/June summit where we'll get progress on getting the SPS and Electricity Market deals done. Nobody is voting in May on Brexit.

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And now its back down. Trending to net zero. Which shows its under our control. And the arguement is to let rip again?

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Perhaps but lets not pretend the EU doesn't often uses regulation to defend substandard industries. The UK is vastly out performing the EU as a whole on AI adoption and investment. Why would we align? As long as we meet GDPR rules and keep equivalence, its just Europe = Protect France as usual.

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James Willby @jameswillby.bsky.social · 25/04/2026

You think the British people are going to give up their currency ... for the foreign Euro run out of Frankfurt and managed by the EU. After the ERM debacle. After watching the Eurocrisis. No. Not a chance and never. But feel free to try, will be comical.

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They've not won the argument on what membership means today. They'll get absolutely smashed by a campaign based on border control and "Save the Pound!".

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James Willby @jameswillby.bsky.social · 23/04/2026

They'll help if we pay and tie it to other things they need. Arrivals are down a third year on year. Deportations up, and now we've told countries we'll slash their visa allocation if they don't help. The plan is working. And without us taking *any* EU refugees.

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James Willby @jameswillby.bsky.social · 23/04/2026

Channel crossings are down 33% percent year on year. So. Yes we can. And so no, you cant use this to try to force our hand via EU level. France was never going to turn down half a billion quid were they.

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James Willby @jameswillby.bsky.social · 21/04/2026

First, the UK doesn't believe the European project applies to it. Bluntly it was for the losers of WWII. Secondly, the UK is not culturally European. Europe is foreign. Always will be. And third, if the UK says the EU is brilliant ... immediately every MEP will be like "So why not join?!" Duh

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James Willby @jameswillby.bsky.social · 21/04/2026

Comical. The UK will do a deal on youth mobility, much as I resent it, and it will end up paying cohesion funds because the market benefits to the economy are understood. But the UK will never go to Brussels and say the EU is brilliant. For a reason visible from space.

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James Willby @jameswillby.bsky.social · 21/04/2026

Easy win for stay out if the Euro, Free Movement and no rebate, plus schengen are the deal.

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Key argument from Ipsos is this. Any referendum would rip the country apart. Again. We are not doing this again. Its about cooperation, picking the areas where you can actually win over public opinion, and working on those.

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You should've listened to Metsola today. This is about the EU getting access to London's ecosystem for tech-startups. A reminder; 3rd largest AI unicorn population outside of the US and China.

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mimij9.bsky.social @mimij9.bsky.social · 16/04/2026

Interesting @ipsosgroup.bsky.social presentation at the UK-EU Forum on attitudes in UK, DE and FR on the UK-EU relationship. To me, the complete lack of interest in the UK - compared to DE and FR - on easier mobility (we mean goods when we say trade) shows once again red lines must stay.

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Reposted by James Willby

UK economy on ‘stronger footing’ than expected before energy shock after February growth surge. Starmer and Reeves, cannot catch a break. If Trump hadn’t won that election, we would be well on the path to recovery. Damn him.

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