After the formal business of the GM was concluded we were very pleased to welcome Brendan Donnelly who is now leader of the Rejoin party. Brendan is a pro-European Union politician who has been the leader of Rejoin EU party since earlier this year (2024). He previously served as the Tory MEP for the Sussex South and Crawley constituency. Brendan is director of the Federal Trust.
Brendan started his talk by discussing federalism. Many people say they are ‘in favour of the EU but I’m not a federalist”. However federalism in essence is the allocation of power between the centre and the peripherals; some decisions are taken in common and some are taken locally (or nationally in the case of the EU), Canada and Germany are examples of federal systems.
Brendan then turned to the question of ‘Does the EU want us back?’ His answer was it depends how you ask the question.
Q – Is the EU now wishing we would rejoin? A – No.
Q – Would the EU like it if we applied to join? A – Yes in the right circumstances– we brought strength, civility, and solid experience and knowledge especially in international and military affairs.
The right circumstances? The EU want to avoid Brexit 2 at all costs. They have to be convinced that we are in it for the long haul, accepting the underlying principle that we are stronger together than separated and that the UK is not a special case. When we were members we negotiated many special arrangements; the EU agreed to them in the ill founded belief that the arrangements would ensure we stayed in the EU. If we apply to join again we cannot expect to join on the same terms – the special arrangements we had around the Budget, Schengen and the Euro would not apply. Not because we would be being punished but because we have to demonstrate that we are serious about both the benefits and the principles of the EU. In particular the UK joining the single currency would be reassurance that we would be unlikely to leave and had accepted the principle of ever closer union.
The next question addressed was “what about Keir Starmer’s reset?” Brendan saw this as a continuation of British exceptionalism – wanting some of the benefits of being in the EU whilst remaining outside the EU. We need a radical change in Keir Starmer’s position.
What of the argument that we should rejoin the Single Market and the Customs Union as a step towards rejoining? Firstly the EU could see this as cherry picking and secondly it is not possible to be in the Single Market with also accepting Freedom of Movement. If we did rejoin the Single Market without being a member of the EU we would be rule takers not rule makers and it is questionable how easy it would be to sell the idea to the British public. Thirdly if we waited to see how being in the Single market worked out then another 5-10 years would pass before we felt ready to start the process of joining again. Time that we can ill afford.
Brendan reflected that there are a lot of unresolved questions.
Will Keir Starmer give up his red lines? How will the political and economic circumstances play out? Our prospects for growth without being part of the EU are limited. Public services will struggle to show improvement without economic growth. The British electorate is more likely to align with its European identity than with Trump and would not easily accept Trump pressurising Ukraine to give up land to Russia.
The Rejoin EU party is a single issue party. We need politicians to understand that people who are pro-EU can’t be taken for granted and this can be done through the ballot box.
If politicians can be convinced of the strength of public feeling then they will start to make the case for sharing sovereignty, we are stronger together.
At the end of the talk the floor was opened for questions. Then Andy thanked Brendan very much for joining us; his presentation was warmly received and gave much food for thought. Would the British public be persuaded to give up the pound??
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