May plays to home audience but plans to curb freedom of movement won’t wash

ACHORUS of support has been sung for the heavily embattled Theresa May and her long-awaited white paper on Brexit.

Soothing words relating to the UK’s apparent move towards a “sensible” Brexit have been uttered with a deep sigh of relief.

It has only taken two years to get here. But still, in reality, Britain is nowhere near where it should be in determining what this new world will look like.

How many times and in how many languages does the term “no cherry-picking” have to be uttered before the UK can come back with a plan that acknowledges this fact?

The UK is a founding member of the single market. Furthermore it was one of the internal market’s most constructive members. British policy in Europe has always been to prioritise the development and completion of the internal market ahead of any other political objective.

The idea it would come to the table expecting it to be disassembled for a member state that is leaving the club is quite breathtaking.

Moreover, its proposals to carve up the principle of free movement of people into categories of professions depending on the demands of the UK economy is quite astonishing.

The home audience is obviously the key target in this piece. The White Paper emphasises repeatedly that

free movement of people will come to an end.

Another immigration white paper is due to be published in the coming weeks. But for now the UK says its new policy will be to attract the “best and brightest” from the EU – eschewing the fairness of freedom of movement.

So essentially Britain’s plan is to engage in a brain-drain from member states, but won’t enable other citizens to seek their own opportunities in the UK.

“They write it up for the domestic voters but its actually quite offensive,” said an Irish Brexit source.

In their response, every EU and Irish voice echoed in unison that EU laws on the four principles of the single market – freedom of movement of goods, services, people and capital – are sacrosanct.

The promises made to Mrs May’s base to end freedom of movement and “take back” control are incompatible with anything the EU can accept. In particular the very notion that the EU would undermine the authority of the European Court of Justice is also unthinkable.

All of this being said, the British position has become more credible, in particular where the Irish Border is concerned. The Border appears to be a genuine priority, the lodestar that can guide Britain towards “frictionless trade”. The fact that the max-fac solution – using technology to remove the need for customs checks – has been consigned to the dustbin for now is another positive.

And taking into account the deep rancour in the House of Commons, compounded by the viciously pro-Brexit press, Mrs May has done quite well having finally faced down the ideologues in her cabinet.

But we’re nowhere near the end of this, or even near the end of the beginning.