In the face of Trump’s mayhem, Europe is the direction to which the UK must turn – and Keir Starmer knows it | Tom Baldwin
www.theguardian.com
The PM will not antagonise the unpredictable president, but it is clear to No 10 that Trump is the problem and the solution lies elsewhere, says journalist and Keir Starmer biographer Tom Baldwin

This article says that the UK might be willing to sign up for a youth mobility scheme with the EU (for 18-30 year-olds) because it could boost economic growth: “by some estimates, it could do more for growth than planning reform and housebuilding combined”.

However, the article also says that the UK government thinks it would be a mistake to get too close to the EU, because this could serve the narrative of right-wing populists:

Downing Street believes that part of the appeal of both Trump and our homegrown [British] strain of rightwing populism lies in how institutions like the EU became too detached from the people they were meant to serve. In short, [the UK government is] determined not to be seen defending the status quo.

Thoughts?

  • makyo@lemmy.worldEnglish
    11·
    1 day ago

    I think he is right to worry about defending the status quo in this moment. Trump returned to power in a large part because he offered an alternative and Kamala painted herself as a defender of the status quo. Now I don’t think as many people in Europe are chomping at the bit for change as they were in November in the USA - but I also don’t think people are exactly pleased either.

    There are real concerning global changes occuring at a greater and greater pace and people want to hear that leadership is willing to act on it, and sometimes that means talking with passion and offering real change instead of just a limp-wristed defense of what we already have.