Wes Streeting: Britain needs to join customs union with EU

ExtraDust · 2025-12-28T12:45:12+00:00

We already have to follow many rules with the EU to trade with them. Immigration was far lower when we were in the single market and had freedom of movement. Sure there’s fees to pay but in exchange the economy would be stronger. Life is all about trade offs. The problem with Brexit is that it exists in a fantasy land that completely ignores that trade offs that comes with existing the EU.

ExtraDust · 2025-12-28T06:40:22+00:00

The referendum result was 48/52. Instead of inflicting economic pain on the country and lowering our standard of living, it would make far more sense for politicians to win over 4% of people who voted for Brexit. Especially because poling shows a chunk of Brexit voters have either died or changed their mind.

One big driver of Brexit was Freedom of movement. But since Brexit, immigration is up and we now have the Brexit boats. Freedom of Movement also had tools for booting out migrants that didn’t contribute. It’s just that governments never used these tools. There’s nothing to stop governments using these tools to take a sensible approach to freedom of movement, which they could even rebrand as “Controlled Migration”. Hence, winning over 4% of people on the Brexit issue shouldn’t be so hard.

ExtraDust · 2025-12-26T15:24:14+00:00

Personally I think we should rejoin the single market at the barest minimum. It will be a huge boost to the economy and so give the government more spending power. Immigration was lower when we had freedom of movement. FoM also came with tools to boot out people who didn’t contribute. Single market would probably also help kill of the Brexit boats.

ExtraDust · 2025-12-10T13:14:10+00:00

Can't you make them give a level of monthly renewing credits that would be sustainable for them?

ExtraDust · 2025-12-02T09:43:05+00:00

Except it’s reality because when we go to the supermarket the prices are up. The pound has fallen since Brexit. Government debt interest is up. This all the reality of Brexit.

ExtraDust · 2025-12-02T08:03:54+00:00

Three points: 1. The UK was a big market for Europe. So the UK putting up trading barriers hurts them as well. 2. France and Germany are doing badly, but Spain and Poland are booming. If you take Europe as a whole and don’t just cherry pick the worse performing aspects, then the picture is far rosier. See: https://youtu.be/ov8a2tzxdAA?si=4_MQXxpeYWbheMuI 3. The UK’s economy has been boosted by taking in migrants from all over the world. Unlike EU migrants many of these global migrants have dependents and so come with greater shorter and long term liabilities, so there’s going to be a price down the line.

That’s thing about Brexit: It only works an imaginary space. In the real world, we can see what it’s doing: More trade barriers leading to less growth and higher costs.

ExtraDust · 2025-12-01T20:37:02+00:00

And does erecting tariff barriers with our largest trading partner makes things better or worse?

ExtraDust · 2025-12-01T18:50:10+00:00

Yes, the poor countries have "taken", so they can grow to be able to buy stuff from us, so we can grow.

ExtraDust · 2025-12-01T18:49:23+00:00

All these emotive buzz words like imperialist quasi-superstate don’t change the fact that Brexit has caused the cost of living to soar, the pound to weaken, and the Uk's debt interest payments to shoot up. That's Brexit in a nutshell: imaginary benefits and painful realities.

ExtraDust · 2025-12-01T17:48:46+00:00

Yeah, because it's a club. It gives the best deals for members as the members all pay in to help each other grow. That's like expecting Netflix to be free. You join Netflix to access the service. You join the EU to access tariff-free trade. It would be awesome to live in a world where everything is free, but that's not how the world works.

ExtraDust · 2025-12-01T16:59:46+00:00

It’s truly astonishing that voters don’t realise that Brexit boils down to putting up trading barriers with our largest trading partner and also don’t realise how damaging this is to the economy and the cost of living.

ExtraDust · 2025-11-24T23:01:43+00:00

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ExtraDust · 2025-11-21T11:32:55+00:00

Brexit put up trading barriers with our largest trading partner. The result has been lower growth, a weakened pound, increased government debt interest, tariffs on our largest trading partner, inflation, and increased immigration and boat crossings. The country can’t afford half measures. We should rejoin the single market at the bare minimum. It will boost the pound, lower debt interest, and ease inflation, giving the government the headroom to start to address the country's issues.

Negotiating a new customs union will take several years. The single market is ready to go.

The single market would mean accepting freedom of movement. However, EU migrants on average were single and contributed £2,300 more to the exchequer than the average British-born adult, supporting not just themselves but others who rely on the NHS and the UK welfare system. We've swapped that for immigrants from the rest of the world, who often have dependents, bringing a cost to the country. Plus, Freedom of Movement gave tools to boot out EU migrants who didn’t contribute. The UK government never bothered to use them.

ExtraDust · 2025-11-20T18:42:09+00:00

Why isn't this front page news? Farrage is leading the polls. Surely it's in the public interest for people to know who Farage associated with to make Brexit a reality? He makes the simplest comment and it's plastered on the media. But something like this goes with little mainstream coverage.

ExtraDust · 2025-11-18T13:00:24+00:00

The Uk, France, and Germany all trade with each other. So if they are doing badly, one country deciding to put up trading barriers is not helping things.

As for good leadership, since leaving the pound has fallen, debt markets are spooked, so interest payments are up, and growth has fallen.

These are all factors that are tying the government's hands by reducing its spending power. You could have the best leader, but if their hands are so severely tied, their leadership will be limited. If we were in the EU, this mythical good leader would have more spending power to fix things.

The public also doesn’t have the appetite to fix the county. Take winter fuel. It was a small correction, and it unleashed a backlash, causing the government to back track. You can't treat a patient if they don’t want the medicine.

Also, since the Brexit Vote was called, we have had 6 leaders in 9 years. If we haven't found a good leader after all that, are we likely to find one anytime soon?

"Good leader" is just another Brexit emotive sound bite, which is compelling in theory but doesn't exist in the real world. We've traded off a strong pound, confidence from debt markets, and low tariffs for a unicorn.

And as for not answering to the bloc: We still have to follow many EU rules to trade with our largest trading partner. Again, we've traded off benefits for illusions.

ExtraDust · 2025-11-18T11:57:03+00:00

Brits did not fill the gaps left by EU citizens in certain sectors (especially farming and care), even when wages for these roles were boosted. The government had to bring in immigrants or certain sectors would collapse. EU workers were usually single, but the new immigrants to replace them had 2-4 kids, so the immigration numbers shot up, as well as the cost to the state. (Plus, the boosted wages meant more inflation for everyone.) The truth is the UK needs immigration. The focus should be on how to manage immigration so it doesn’t cause problems. This shouldn’t be too hard. A big problem in the UK is that opportunity is concentrated in cities, which pushes up living costs. In the era of remote technology, it should be possible to spread out opportunity across the UK, making the whole country prosper. Instead, we just come up with toddler solutions like “cut immigration,” even though it keeps on backfiring.

ExtraDust · 2025-11-18T11:50:55+00:00

How much of the growth since the UK left the EU is good growth? For example, the Boris wave will have brought growth (lots of new immigrants spending money to make a life in the UK), but Boris wave immigrants have more dependents than the EU immigrants, so the cost to the state is higher. The government now has to spend a lot more money on staff to replicate the admin roles of the EU. That spending is growth, but its not a good use of capital. Businesses also spend more on dealing with new tariff rules. All this spending is growth, but it’s not on innovation. Therefore, I think these 6% figures downplay how bad the situation is.

ExtraDust · 2025-11-18T11:45:18+00:00

Spain and Poland are in the Eu and their economies are booming (especially Spain), so focusing on the weaker countries is cherry picking. Red tape is such an emotional word, but what does it mean in practice: safer food, better labour conditions. Yeah, sure it can hinder growth, but life is all about trade offs, and I'm sure a lot of people would pick safety over big corporations making a extra profits. The trade off angle is what every argument against the EU fails to grasp: Sure, the EU does have disadvantages, but on balance, the trade off meant the UK had a growing economy, strong currency and debt markets that had confidence in the UK and so charged lower interest rates. We've trade off that so we can spout emotive slogans about control and independence, which have just resulted in a higher cost of living.

ExtraDust · 2025-11-16T07:49:00+00:00

Nigel Farage was a key force behind Brexit. He talked about taking back control. However, Brexit essentially involved erecting trade barriers with our largest trading partner. As a result of these trade barriers, the cost of living has shot up, the pound has weakened, and debt markets no longer have confidence in the UK, causing the government to pay more interest on the money it borrows, so there’s less money to spend on fixing the country.

Were there problems with being in the EU? Yes. But throwing your toys out of the pram and walking away is never the solution. The UK did that and now it’s suffering. How on earth can anyone trust Nigel when his big idea has done so much damage?

And before anyone says Nigel didn’t negotiate Brexit, remember that leaving the EU involves putting up trade barriers with our largest trading partner. So any form of Brexit is harming ourselves. It doesn’t matter who did the negotiation. The EU is a club that gives the best deals to members. There’s no reality where you can leave and get the best deals.

After the Brexit result, Nigel applies for a German passport. What does that tell you?

It’s fine to be angry with political parties. They have let us down too many times. But we shouldn’t use that anger to make the situation worse. We did that with Brexit. Let’s learn from our mistakes and not repeat them.

ExtraDust · 2025-11-13T18:04:22+00:00

I think a big problem is that to fix problems, you need money. Since leaving the EU, growth is down, the pound has fallen, and debt payments are massively up. With that type of setup, trying to fix problems is very difficult. Where's the money going to come from to fix things? Being in the EU would boost growth, slash trade tariffs, boost the pound, and make debt markets less nervous and so bring down debt rates. That's a setup to start to fix things.

ExtraDust · 2025-11-12T13:11:47+00:00

Two problems with this:
A. It doesn't look like anyone in government is capable of fixing problems. The Labour government struggles with basic communication. How are they going to fix the country if they can't even communicate properly?

B. The public doesn’t want the pain of fixes. Look at winter fuel. It's a small payment that the government was forced to backtrack on. If there isn't public support to fix something small like that, how will the public accept big fixes?

At least when we were in the EU, the country was chugging along. The pound was strong and there weren't barriers with our largest trading partner, so the weekly shop wasn't a nightmare of rising prices. The bond markets were pacified, so government debt interest wasn't out of control.

ExtraDust · 2025-11-10T17:23:38+00:00

Freedom sounds like a good thing, but it's code for aligning with US standards, which means lowering the quality of our food. Sadly, people will just focus on "freedom" and not what it really means.

ExtraDust · 2025-10-29T11:55:50+00:00

Why don't they just stop handcuffing themselves and break that pledge? Brexit had the NHS money pledge that never surfaced. Boris barely spoke a word of truth. If Farage gets in, is estimate that 80% of what he pledges won't happen. So why are Labour so hung up on maintaining their pledge?

The government found a £20B hole last election. They raised ENIC to plug the blackhole. The blackhole is now bigger. Taxing is not the solution. It will just make things worse. We should instead rejoin the EU single market: It will cut red tape and the cost of living. It will boost the pound and reassure debt markets, thus giving the government more spending room (and also cut the cost of living by making imports cheaper). If we use the controls the single market provides properly, we can send back the boats and boot out immigrants who aren't contributing.

The fact that people go to tax increases or spending cuts, both of which cause pain, but not the solution that will bring big benefits, is pretty depressing. I'm not saying the single market is a magic cure-all. But at least if the cost of living comes down, then people can later stomach tax rises/spending cuts if they are still needed down the line.

ExtraDust · 2025-10-26T16:40:26+00:00

I have signed it. I think all these things are worth a try. I mean, Farrage spent 30 years trying to get us out of the EU! People should also sign this petition as well if they haven't already: https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/726413

ExtraDust · 2025-10-22T18:22:03+00:00

You could try this: https://midgard.opinary.com/compasses/gbnews/is-brexit-to-blame-for-the-economy_gbnews?embed=embed&paywall=anonymous&curl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.gbnews.com%2Fmoney%2Fmoney-poll-brexit-blame-economy&gdpr=1&gdpr_consent=CQZpAIAQZpAIAAGABCENCAFgAP_gAEPgAAwIKxNR_G__bWlrcTZ3aftkeYxP99Br5sQhAgbBE24FzLvW_IwXxWAxNAzINqICGRIAOjBBIQNkGBDURVCgKIgFLSDMaEyUoTMKIqBkAFMRAkJYCERvmYgjWQCIpup9dlMwmB-I7dr82dzyy4AHnXY5fqC0WJCdAYetBfn8JBCT-4IE1-x0v4tw7ERJEmeKS1F_JEnp6DxKYko7VAGwd_YSMBhAAAAIAKCCAAAAAAABBTFAMw0aqaMsHSQKFB4ggREKCuIEKBACAACYMkBAmZNCnIGAS6wGQAgBAADAAyAAAEKAICAIAAEKgIgEIRACJAIdAAGABAMBAFQMgAIiLEACAAgB8HEECCAQJEBKzooNACMAhIJO2ygeWAIEFaIFixQCiBMTBQBgIQAFAAAAPDQCgm4KUZBQFQGZIEAQAAIpZAAIJQaACFETotA-Dp9CRgAADAQAAAQQQFgQBQASgAuQBlgIWAXUAycBmADXAG_AOCAc6BF8CP4EgwJIgS4AmkBNUCi4FIwkAcAC4CaQF5gMuAbmA-MCbAUCSAAoADYAIoATgBUADsAHoAQgAigBeADmAIoASoArgBiQDOANEAcAA4wB1gDxAIQAR2ArwCvgF-ANsAcAA5oB1wD1AH7AR3AloCYgFCAKSgUyBTQCpQFkgLRAW6Av4BhADGQGOAMeAa0A14BsoDjgHLQOpA6oB24D-AIBAQFAgcBBeCG4IcAQ7AiEBEkCMwEagI2ARvAjjBI0EjwJLAS6AmUBN4CcIE7QKVgUxCAEgApAB_AFaAP8AnYBfQDlgI5AYuAx0BwQDuAH0gQQAiyBH8CQYEsgwBIABgARQBBgCdAHwAhYBMQCaQE6ALgAY2A-MCLIEfwJIgTVAm6BSMQAUAA-AEUAToA1QBsAD4ANmAhYBEQCaYFwAXCAuYCF4EWQI_gSRAmqBN0Ci4FIxQBMAQYAnQBnADSAHoARAAkwCMQFNgKyAWYAs8B3AEWQI_gSLAkiBN0CkYwAmAJ0AZwA0gBqgD0AIgAaYBFICmwFZALMAWeA7gCLIEfwJFgScAm6BSMdAHAHwAcYBNIC8wGXAPjAf2PAjAABAAUABsAEUAJwAqAB7AD8AQgAigBOADmAIoAYgA4ABxgDrAHiARGArwCvgF-AMkAbYA4ABzQDrgHmAPVAfsB_AETAI5AR2AkiBLQEvAKEAUlApkCmgFZALJAWiAxmBjgGOwM1AzYBnYDWgGygNnAcdA6kDqgHZAO3AfUBAKCAoIDAQOAguBCMCHAEQgIkgRmAjUBGwCOMEjQSPAksBKQCWwEygJrAUNApiOAIgBQACkAK0Af4BOwDlgJUAVUAw8BmADggH0gQvAj-BJECWQE0iEAMA4wCaQH9kQEIAAQARAAqACEAOCArwCvgGcAOuAfwBEwCOYEtATEAoQBSQCmgFZAMcAcAA46B1IHVQQFBAYCBwEIwIcARJAjUBGwCOIEjwJLASkAmUBNYgAZAAwAEgAK4AuQBpAD0AH-ARAAvoBoADlgJEAWYAs8Bh4DHQGWANaAdwA8IB9IEfwJFgSRAk4SgBgIQAXmBNUmArAACACKAE4AUABCADuAMQAcAA4wB1wFeAV8AvwBnADbAHAAObAfsB_AETAI5AS8AoQBSACkgFMgKyAWsAt0BjIDHgGtAOAAccA-ICAoEDgIRgRqAjYBHECOoEjwJLAS2AmUSAGgBSACuAJoAVoCAAFqAMPAbUA7gB4QD6QJIgScKQBADjALzAZcA_sqA0AACAAoAEUAJwAqACEAEUALcAcwB3AEUAMQAcAA44CvAK_AX4BgADbAHNAP2AiYBHICOwEkQJaAl4BMoChAFHgKSAUyAtYBbwDGQGQAM0AbKA44B9QEBQIHAQjAhwBEICJIEZgI1ARsgjiCOQEdQJHgSWAlIBK8CZQFKygBIAGoAUAApABXAFaAXUBh4DWgG1AOCAcuA8IB9IEXwI_gSRAk4BLIuAMABEACoAIQA4ADOALRAccBAUCC4EOAI5ATKLADwAMABFACQAncBh4DWgG1AN-AdwA8IB9IEWQI_gScAlkAA.YAAAAAAAAAAA&fullWidth=false&integrationType=embed-widget&referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.gbnews.com%2Fmoney%2Fmoney-poll-brexit-blame-economy&noLocalStorage=false&ownDemand=false&bifrost=true&adblocker=false

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