Brexit was never debated properly, the minister for Europe has said, arguing that the previous Conservative government left Britain with the first ever free trade agreement that made it harder to trade.
Unveiling plans for a new permanent deal with the European Union, Nick Thomas-Symonds said Nigel Farage and Kemi Badenoch’s Conservatives are offering only “easy answers and snake oil” when it comes to the UK-EU relationship as he rejected claims that the government is surrendering sovereignty or freedoms.
He promised to take a pragmatic approach that would “rebuild Britain, protect our borders, bring down bills in every part of the country and secure good jobs”, adding that the new relationship would “bring freedom back to our businesses and exercises our sovereignty.”
The government will begin detailed talks on the permanent sanitary and phytosanitary standards (SPS) deal in the coming months, Mr Thomas-Symonds told an event hosted by the Spectator magazine in London on Wednesday.
“We will then bring the legislation to Parliament to implement the deal. We will 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 pocket of working people.”
The deal is expected to bring down costs for items such as cheese, olives and sausages in Britain, as well as giving access to better varieties of fruit.
It comes as Labour continues to lag by around 8 points in the polls behind Reform and 24 hours after Mr Farage attempted to seize the political initiative by outlining plans for mass deportations of illegal migrants.
Mr Farage previously criticised the SPS provisions agreed in May, writing in the Telegraph that it would push the UK “back into the orbit of Brussels, giving away vast amounts of our sovereignty for very little in return”.
But Mr Thomas-Symonds accused the Reform leader of wanting British businesses to fail so that he can offer “the easy answers, dividing communities and stoking anger, and we reject that emphatically”.
“His model of politics depends on it”, he said.
Speaking about the years leading up to the Brexit referendum, Mr Thomas-Symonds said: “Instead of a grown up conversation about sovereignty, about trade offs and responsibility, we got slogans and shouting matches, empty promises and bitter divisions.”
He accused Boris Johnson of striking a Brexit deal that prioritised ideology over reality, adding: “The result was the first free trade agreement in history that made it harder to trade”.
Anticipating opposition from Brexiteer Mr Farage and the Conservatives over the planned new deal, Mr Thomas-Symonds said: “Some will hysterically cry even treason. Some will say we’re surrendering sovereignty or freedoms, but that is nonsense.”
He continued: “Now we know we are going to have a political fight on this, especially when we legislate for it in Parliament.
“But the prime minister was very direct in his instructions to me on taking office – national interests first, build on what’s best about Britain.
“We are determined to plug the gaps, to 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 – when you’re tough, decisive and collaborative. That cannot rest on easy answers and snake oil. The Tories (are) completely 2D, stuck with a ghost of Brexit past. And then Nigel Farage, who has pledged to reverse our progress.”
The current temporary agreement with the EU on food and drink, which was put in place in June, stopped checks on some fruit and vegetables imported from the EU which meant no border checks or fees would be paid. It will expire in January 2027.
The agreement in May covered multiple areas, including fishing, defence, a youth experience scheme, and passport e-gates.
