\n
![\"Print](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/printfriendly-pdf-button.png\")
\n <\/a><\/p>\n
Dear Subscribers,<\/p>\n
This week Graham Gudgin and Wilf Glasby dismantle the consensus that concludes Brexit has negatively impacted the UK economy, the implications of Iceland\u2019s rejection of the EU and the concessions Burnham is expected to make in his forthcoming meeting with Macron.<\/p>\n
This week on BfB: Doppelgangers are Double-Dutch<\/a> by Graham Gudgin & Wilf Glasby<\/p>\n Doppelgangers are Double-Dutch<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n The widespread belief that the UK economy is significantly smaller than it would have been in the absence of Brexit rests on much more flimsy foundations than most commentators realise. In particular, the popular doppelganger approach is fundamentally flawed, leading to laughably exaggerated estimates for the negative impact of Brexit. This article deconstructs the dominant consensus that Brexit has done substantial damage to the UK economy, which pervades across the media and Whitehall.<\/p>\n Iceland says No to the EU<\/p>\n Iceland has voted No to reopening talks to joining the EU, the result being 52.5-47.5 per cent. The Telegraph has pointed out that this is a blow to the EU<\/a>, since Iceland would have been a net contributor to the EU\u2019s budget. It also noticed how the only area to have voted overwhelmingly to reopening talks was the capital, Reykjavik, which reflects the long-standing political tension between the metropolis and country which prevails across modern societies.<\/p>\n For The Spectator, John Fund has suggested<\/a> that the referendum is a portent for the EU. The central issue, Fund argues, is the carelessness and arrogance with which the EU continues to federalise and centralise: since Brexit, \u2018no other European nation has dared test the sentiment of its people in favour of \u2018an ever-closer Europe\u2019.\u2019 And neither, it seems, will one risk doing so in the near future.<\/p>\n Burnham\u2019s EU reset: farming and steel protection<\/p>\n As well as the Bayeux Tapestry\u2019s arrival, Emmanuel Macron is in London to discuss Britain\u2019s role in the EU\u2019s procurement plan. Burnham has committed<\/a> to protecting British agriculture and steel in light of the EU\u2019s French-led \u2018Made in Europe\u2019 policy. EU Today has reported<\/a> that Burnham\u2019s meeting with Macron on Thursday highlighted the fact of Britain\u2019s exclusion of the \u2018Made in Europe\u2019 policy, especially regarding its role as a supplier of defence and energy manufactures. Burnham was vague but optimistic about future negotiations: but, we might ask, at what cost will British participation in a \u2018Made in Europe\u2019 policy come?<\/p>\n What we\u2019re reading:<\/p>\n\n
![\"image](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/image_2026-09-05_085217821-1024x637.png\" "\\"image")
<\/p>\n