But that’s not the point, is it? A trade war, or any conflict with the EU, might be exactly what the UK’s leadership needs (or thinks it needs) to distract voters and mobilize political support. It worked last time.
Let’s not pretend that the UK’s stance towards the EU is in any way dependent on the material interests of its population. It is predicated on the short term party-political and personal interests of its ruling party. Recent history suggests that whenever a UK prime minister needs to shore up political support for his or her government, he or she will seek to create further conflict with the UK’s neighbours. Time is running out to respond to the EU’s various legal procedures in response to the UK breaking the Withdrawal Agreement / the NIP and the UK has just appointed a new leader with uncertain political backing, so all things point to a further escalation in the coming months.
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But that’s not the point, is it? A trade war, or any conflict with the EU, might be exactly what the UK’s leadership needs (or thinks it needs) to distract voters and mobilize political support. It worked last time.
Let’s not pretend that the UK’s stance towards the EU is in any way dependent on the material interests of its population. It is predicated on the short term party-political and personal interests of its ruling party. Recent history suggests that whenever a UK prime minister needs to shore up political support for his or her government, he or she will seek to create further conflict with the UK’s neighbours. Time is running out to respond to the EU’s various legal procedures in response to the UK breaking the Withdrawal Agreement / the NIP and the UK has just appointed a new leader with uncertain political backing, so all things point to a further escalation in the coming months.