Nick Thomas-Symonds' speech on the UK's Future Relationship with the European Union

Minister for the Constitution and European Union Relations Nick Thomas-Symonds delivers a speech on the UK's relationship with the EU, hosted by The Spectator.

Thank you Michael, and the Spectator, for hosting us today.

Michael and I share membership of a very small club…

…as a former and current UK Chair of the “Withdrawal Agreement Joint Committee.”

Overseeing the agreement which caused so much drama…

…so much stress…

…so much good copy for the lobby.

Former members of this club could start a trauma support group.

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…I'm not sure who would fancy alumni drinks less - me or Michael?

But far from the thought of a reunion…

…I'm here today to look forward. To talk about Britain's future, and a new chapter in our relationship with the European Union.

One that's built on the hard work we've done to reset what came before.

As a sovereign nation…acting always in the national interest.

To secure our borders. Bring down bills. Protect jobs.

Fifty years ago, the UK held a referendum on membership of the European Community.

People were passionate about the issue, on both sides.

But the Prime Minister Harold Wilson approached it soberly.

He told ITV in 1975 he thought remaining was best for Britain…

…but that - quote - “I don't think people would believe me if I said I saw the road to Damascus between Dublin and London.”

He knew the key was honesty—telling the public the facts, not exaggeration.

He said, “More people see it that way, rather than in black and white.”

Fast forward forty years to 2016.

The referendum asked the British people a very simple question - did we want to be in or out of the EU.

And, again, behind that binary choice sat a set of deeper questions.

What are Britain's priorities?

What relationship do we want with the EU?

But we never debated those issues seriously…

…and the blame lies on both sides.

Instead of a grown-up conversation about sovereignty, trade-offs and responsibility…

…we got slogans and shouting matches, empty promises and bitter divisions.

Michael, to his credit, did understand the trade-offs that came with the Brexit path his [political content redacted] chose.

And, while in government, he led a lot of the preparations to manage the consequences…

…getting the UK Border ready for all the new processes and paperwork.

But some leaders never grasped the consequences of the route they took.

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The result was the first free trade agreement in history that made it harder to trade.

You all heard of a Brexit tackle?

It's the phrase kids use on the football pitch when a player gets wiped out by someone who's lost their head a bit.

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Exports down by nearly 20% since 2019…

…and since 2021 over 16,000 businesses have stopped exporting to the EU entirely.

Behind every number and statistic is a British business, a British entrepreneur, a British start-up. Paying the price.

I've spoken to them—hauliers stuck in queues, farmers facing endless forms, manufacturers paying more just to stand still.

Let's say you're in the agrifood business…

…selling your goods to Europe.

So, you need an export health certificate to transport food across the border…

…£200 - that's not a one-off fee, that's per consignment.

If you're exporting salmon or beef, queuing times for SPS Checks…

…£149 for each shipment.

If you're selected for sampling…

…up to £1,400 a shipment, on fees, waiting times and cost of the product sampled.

Companies big and small are crying out for change. For practical help to bring down bills so they make goods cheaper for the public.

M&S Food's managing director said: “Brexit bureaucracy continues to add complexity and cost for retailers…

…and limits choice and value for customers.”

A DEFRA report out today, shows there's been a disproportionate impact on smaller businesses.

That red tape “has created a competitive disadvantage between smaller firms and larger operators”, it says.

The Director of Deepdock, a Welsh shellfish company, said, “Brexit has been disastrous for our industry…

…“we previously employed 25 people operating 4 vessels, but losing access to the EU market has meant that this is reduced to 1 vessel with 2.5 employees.”

25 jobs…to 2.5.

And of course, the impact across the Irish Sea…

…where the possible impacts of Brexit on Northern Ireland were barely covered by the Referendum.

UK goods being banned from Northern Ireland entirely…

[political content redacted], the Windsor Framework went a long way to resolving some of these issues…

…but we all know the current situation is still nowhere near good enough.

And look, I understand why people voted for Brexit.

They wanted change, and they wanted control.

But no one voted for the kind of change I've talked about…

…the barriers to trade and the ever-expanding web of bureaucracy.

Hiking prices and killing jobs.

And where we wanted control - like on immigration - we got dysfunction and chaos.

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And here's the thing: Britain still had choices after Brexit.

And thankfully Britain still has choices now.

Without rejoining the single market, or the customs union…

…and without reopening freedom of movement…

…we can still build a valuable relationship with the EU that genuinely benefits Britain.

That is the path this government is taking.

Resetting Britain's relationship with the EU will take time and involve trade-offs.

And it's time for a proper conversation about it.

We've never shied away from that.

Others have.

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Our recent trade deals with the USA and India have used our new Brexit freedoms to bring down bills for British people and open new opportunities for British businesses.

Deals that show we can negotiate new agreements as a sovereign nation outside of the EU…

…and we will enter into a food and drink deal as outlined in the Common Understanding signed in May.

It means aligning standards on food and agriculture when, and where, it's in the interests of British businesses.

And it means shared rules.

But all international agreements involve shared rules. That's their very nature.

Free traders and conservatives have always wrestled with this - but the boldest have always been pragmatists too.

Back in the 80s, when President Reagan was negotiating a free trade agreement…

…the arguments came down to how to settle disputes and the roles of courts. Sound familiar?

Canadian Prime Minister Mulroney challenged him - “Now Ron, how is it that the United States can agree to a nuclear reduction deal with their worst enemy, the Soviet Union, but not do a deal with Canada to make trade easier?”

Reagan did the deal.

And let's be honest: most British exporters already align de facto with EU standards to keep selling their goods.

The question is not whether alignment is inherently wrong.

It's whether, as a sovereign country, we decide where it works for us.

This government thinks that in some cases, like SPS, it is in our national interest to align with the EU. We have made that choice because it is pragmatic, and we own it.

There will be some carve-outs for the UK.

We will have decision-shaping rights when new EU policies are made.

Parliament will rightly have a say on those new rules.

And any disputes will go to international arbitration, not the European Court of Justice.

Just as the [political content redacted] agreed in the Withdrawal Agreement.

That's sovereignty, exercised in the national interest.

And it will deliver real change.

For farmers, agrifood exports will become cheaper and easier.

For hauliers, they will spend less time sitting in their cabs in long queues.

For consumers, prices will come down.

This is not theoretical. It's practical.

This autumn we will start the detailed negotiations on the SPS deal, as well as the other commitments from our summit in May.

We will then bring legislation to Parliament to implement the deal…

We'll get that done by 2027, so businesses and consumers see the tangible impacts as soon as possible.

Money saved at the borders. Profits freed up to invest. Pounds kept in the pockets of working people.

And the benefits aren't just limited to trade.

In energy, linking our carbon markets will cut costs for our major UK industries…

…and stop British firms paying the EU's carbon border tax.

And so many of the challenges we will face in the future are crises across the continent…

…which we can't fight alone.

So we'll work together on security - hybrid threats, space, illicit finance - all the more important in the face of Putin's aggression…

And we'll work together to tackle illegal migration.

Already, we're working with France to detain illegal immigrants crossing the Channel.

Because the international criminal gangs don't recognise borders when they run people smuggling operations.

And those gangs don't recognise borders when they enable illegal drugs getting onto British streets.

Our new agreements on data sharing, facial imaging, and access to EU criminal records will help us bring those criminals to justice.

Our borders will be more secure.

That is progress

Now, some will cry ‘treason'.

Some will say we're surrendering sovereignty, or freedoms.

But that is absolute nonsense. What are those things in a modern context?

Is it businesses drowning under mountains of paperwork… or free trade, a country now free to strike deals across the world and boost economic growth?

Is it taking away measures to fight the criminal gangs making our streets less safe… or securing the borders that protect our country?

We know we're going to have to have a fight on this…

…especially when we legislate for this in Parliament.

But the Prime Minister was clear in his instructions to me upon taking office.

National interest first. Build on what's best about Britain.

We are determined to plug the gaps and rebuild Britain, protect our borders, bring down bills in every part of the country, and secure good jobs.

A new relationship of mutual-benefit.

One that brings freedom back to our businesses and exercises our sovereignty.

And it needs pragmatism - where you're tough, decisive and collaborative.

That cannot rest on easy answers and snake oil.

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If we are setting about choosing what country we want to be…

We need decisions rooted in the national interest, not party interest.

Believing in the hard yards of work to restore what is great about this country.

Not chasing the empty slogans that shout us down.

Last week was GCSE results day.

Young people opening envelopes that help decide the shape of their future.

Most of them weren't even eight years old when the referendum happened.

That era is gone…

It is time to make positive choices today.

Harold Wilson put it so right, in that timeless phrase.

“He who rejects change… is the architect of decay”.

Keir Starmer said some years ago that we face a choice: shouting slogans or changing lives.

We choose changing lives.

Securing borders.

Bringing down bills.

Protecting jobs.

Borders. Bills. Jobs.

The kind of strategic partnership we need.

This is making a Brexit that works for Britain. Restoring the freedoms we once had.

Charting a brighter course for the future.

Thank you very much.