‘There ought to be not only a national esprit de corps, but a European esprit de corps.”
This plea by the renowned barrister and lord chancellor FE Smith – who became the first Earl of Birkenhead – was made in the wake of the devastation caused by the first world war. Birkenhead, a friend of Churchill’s, died in 1930, shortly before the rise of Hitler and the subsequent outbreak of the second world war. Alas, no European esprit de corps in the 1930s!
After 1945 there was a serious attempt to engender a European esprit de corps, with the Marshall plan and the formation of what was then the European Economic Community (EEC), popularly known as the Common Market.
One of the founding fathers of the EEC was the French statesman Jean Monnet. The object was to avoid yet another European war by tying Germany and France together by economic means. Other European nations joined in, but in the UK it was a case of “start the revolution without me”.
In due course, the economic success of the EEC, and the relative sluggishness of the British economy, led the UK to join what eventually became the European Union (EU).
We entered, under prime minister Edward Heath, in 1973, without a referendum, and confirmed that decision under Harold Wilson in a 1975 referendum, with a two-thirds majority for remain. Around that time I had the privilege of meeting Monnet, who was the guest of honour at an anniversary dinner for the Financial Times, for which I then worked.
Monnet asked me: “Do you think the UK is serious about Europe?”
I replied: “I am not sure.”
End of history lesson. Fast forward to October 2024, and a newly elected Labour prime minister, once a passionate (and convincing) remainer, who now draws “red lines” when we rejoiners mention the single market, the customs union, or even easier terms for 18- to 30-year-olds – British and EU residents – to move to and from the UK. That would mean crossing the red line of free movement, say Keir Starmer and Chancellor Reeves, although the proposed scheme would still require visas. Are they serious about Europe? I am not sure.
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Starmer talks about “making Brexit work” and “resetting” our relationship with the EU, but, frankly, the evidence suggests that he is merely frolicking in the margins rather than making a serious effort; he is scared, it seems, of the rightwing press and the threat of further Reform progress in the “red wall” seats of what were once our industrial heartlands. Yet again, I think someone should remind him that he has won an election. Time to show leadership, not run scared of the parties he has defeated.
It is not just that this country’s homegrown economic problems are being seriously exacerbated by Brexit. The other concern is that, with a dangerous recrudescence of extreme rightwing and racist parties in several EU countries, and mounting economic problems in the key nations of the EU, it is surely time to revive Smith’s idea of a European esprit de corps. (I need hardly mention Russia and Ukraine!)
For economic and political reasons, Starmer needs to get his act together over Europe. Why, Emmanuel Macron, the French president, has even expressed concern that the future of the EU itself – the visionary construct whose main aim was to preserve the peace – is now threatened. And an important report by former European Central Bank chief and Italian prime minister Mario Draghi makes the case for Europe to address its present economic malaise.
After a recent visit to Paris, Denis MacShane, a former minister of state for European affairs under the Blair government, reported in The New European that a senior French official said of Labour’s mantra – no to the single market, the customs union and freedom of movement – “Alors, c’est le triple non to Europe: you won’t get very far with that with the French government.”
Resetting? It’s a farce at present. Yet MacShane adds that, notwithstanding the pessimism and sense of resignation that seem to afflict “defeated” remainers: “There is a lot of goodwill in the European parliament and a desire among EU governments to find win-win solutions to the problem of building better ties with Britain.”
If the government is serious about resetting, it could start by bolstering the size of UK representation in Brussels. This would send a strong positive signal of intended cooperation with an EU that, like us, faces many economic and political problems, which some – including the French president – evidently fear could be existential.