Fixing Brexit: A New Agenda for a New Partnership With the European Union

This paper outlines a new policy agenda for the restoring of a better functioning and strategic partnership between the United Kingdom and European Union. Brexit, in its current form, is not working. Any British government, present or future, will need to confront post-Brexit challenges. In its current form, the post-Brexit relationship with the EU is not working. Practical and structural problems with the agreements negotiated by Boris Johnson’s government – not only the Northern Ireland Protocol, but also the Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) – mean that any present or future British government will come under pressure both from the business community and public to confront these challenges and fix them. At the same time, the British public’s views are beginning to shift. According to recent polling by the Tony Blair Institute, a substantial majority of Britons, including Leave voters, think the post-Brexit relationship with the EU is functioning badly while nearly two-thirds are in favour of the UK forging closer future ties with the EU. As a consequence, the UK’s political leaders can no longer hide from Brexit – they need to openly acknowledge its consequences and set out a plan to fix them.