
Brexit is dead. Long live the future
The Matts are on something of a high. This week's EU deal suddenly feels much more consequential than they'd expected. Credit (for once) to Starmer … even in his technocratic monotone, he presided over a clear vibe shift in the UK's relationship with the EU. No, it doesn't go nearly far enough. No, it's not rejoin. But yes … it's a new pathway and it feels like we have, finally, a PM willing to start fixing the mess of the last 9 years. The hard yards start now, but at least we can be confident that we've won the argument, Brexit is definitively a dud, and the future beckons. Enjoy.
EXCLUSIVE OFFER: Get The New European for just £1 for the first month. Head to theneweuropean.co.uk/2matts

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Daily Mirror
40 minutes ago
- Daily Mirror
'Keir Starmer is sowing the seeds of bigger political battles ahead'
Skyrocketing military spending is Keir Starmer's Achilles' heel when funding a dubious splurge will make the welfare crisis appear a picnic. Because thinking of a number, doubling it then adding some more without a clue where the cash comes from- fresh deep cuts, tax rises, higher borrowing? - is a £30billion ticking time bomb. Our under-fire Prime Minister could be forgiven should he go to bed cursing not Vladimir Putin but Donald Trump when the Kremlin's Oval Office bullies him and other European leaders into squandering precious extra resources on rearmament. Britain's near £60billion last year confirmed us in the world's half-dozen top spenders, according to the International Institute for Strategic Studies, and there's little confidence a wasteful, profligate Ministry of Defence would deploy the windfall wisely. Starmer's sowing the seeds of bigger political battles ahead even as he utters mea culpas for a battered first 12 months. Stick to the panicky Nato 3.5% or 5% target, both figures would be damaging when the UK's below 2.5% and the raided aid budget is shrivelled, and a 2028 or 2029 General Election will be a minefield for whoever is Labour leader or, for that matter, heading the Tories, Reform and Lib Dems. Enhancing living standards and transforming key public services such as education and justice, health enjoying deservedly reviving injections, would be nigh on impossible to promise realistically in a second term manifesto alongside tanks, destroyers and nuclear bombers. Distracted Starmer blaming international summits and the Middle East for taking his eye off the benefits ball, failing to appreciate Labour rebels put their country first, party second to champion the disabled, is a potential reset, a restart, a relaunch, ahead of Friday's anniversary of a Westminster landslide from a different age. The optimism's vanished, vanquished by own goals over winter fuel, free spectacles and, Tuesday's Commons vote will attest, welfare, yet all is far from lost for him and Labour. Deeply unhappy Labour MPs are heard contemplating life after Sir Keir, ears of deputy Angela Rayner and Health Secretary Wes Streeting likely to be buring. Up in the polls, Nigel Farage and Reform could repeat the shooting star crash of Roy Jenkins and the SDP back in the early 1980s. David Cameron and George Osborne were pronounced for the hot pot during the 2012 pasty tax furore before winnin a Tory majority in 2015. Starmer may have up to four years to put it all right but the PM needs a plan to avoid plummeting into that defence black hole he dug to appease Trump. Obscenity not glamour was paraded in Venice with Forbes calculating the Jeff Bezos-Lauren Sanchez grotesque nuptials may have cost upwards of £20million. As the only Socialist Senator in the USA, Bernie Sanders, reminded us, kids go hungry and 60% of Americans live paycheque to paycheque while a super-wealthy oligarchic class party at the expense of the impoverished many. Britain has its filthy rich and dirt poor too with relatively lightly taxed tycoons now threatening to up sticks and flee abroad should a wavering Treasury require this entitled bunch to pay a slightly fairer share, Eggheads Kate Pickett and Richard Wilkinson's groundbreaking 2009 study, The Spirit Level, demonstrated how equality is better for everyone and fairer societies are happier countries. So to put a smile on our faces I'm offering to drive to Heathrow in my nine-year-old Sunderland-built Nissan Qashqai any bloodsucking parasites doing us a favour by leaving. I Don't Want to Talk About It when I'm a big fan of his music but rock legend Rod Stewart can be a leg end over politics. Long viewed as a Tartan Tory despite a 2024 Labour flirtation courtesy of influential wife Penny Lancaster, there are two reasons why It's a Heartache that Rod's suddenly giving, as he puts it, Nigel Farage a chance. The first is ignorance, Rod falling hook, line and sinker for the lie Starmer sold out Scottish fishing when the PM in fact netted a big catch for the industry by persuading the EU to cut export red tape while rolling over Boris Johnson's trawler deal. And the second is fishy Farage is essentially the same slippery Putin fan boy criticised by Rod in 2024 for parroting the Kremlin line that the West provoked Russia into invading Ukraine. Music and politics are never plain Sailing. It's no wonder some asylum seekers work on the side when they receive not untold riches but £1.42 a day in accommodation with meals provided or £7.03 if they must buy their own grub, clothing and toiletries. The only folk who earn a fortune from a multi-billion broken system bequeathed to Labour by incompetent Tories are spiv bosses exploiting willing hands barred from employment and Fat Cat landlords and hoteliers milking taxpayers. Ending the ban on newcomers legally taking jobs while awaiting decisions on whether they stay or go would allow them to pay their own rent and bills as well as tax and save us a small fortune. It's a no-brainer. The Reform, Tory and Labour politicians opposed are the ones costing up a packet. With foreshortened limbs the Commons' only visibly physically disabled member, talk of Marie Tisdall's fraught call with Rachel Reeves emphasised the value of the Penistone MP's insights and why the Chancellor was dangerously marooned on the wrong side of benefit cuts. Tory ex-Minister George Freeman reporting himself for investigation despite insisting he broke no rules leaves us wondering when these money-grabbing second-jobber will learn after emails showed the MP asked a company paying him £5,000 a month for eight hours work to help draft Parliamentary questions. 'ALL life is sacred. And I find it pretty revolting we've got to a state in this conflict where you're supposed to sort of cheer on one side or the other like it's a football team.' I'm with Wes Streeting after Glastonbury rapper Bob Vylan nauseatingly led crowds chanting 'death, death to the IDF [Israel Defense Forces]' yet the bigger outrage at the mo is the actual relentless, ongoing wholesale slaughter of innocent Palestinians in Gaza and settler killings in the occupied since West Bank since that horrific Hamas pogrom.

The National
an hour ago
- The National
Welfare state is being treated not as a shared good, but as a burden
Supporters are told to welcome these as signs of pragmatism, but they reveal only a fake-it-till-you-make-it government clinging to the same austerity logic that's gutted public services for more than a decade. There's no strategy of principled adaptation, just damage control masquerading as radical policy-overhaul. READ MORE: Wes Streeting forced to admit Labour wants fewer people claiming PIP Like cynical venture capitalists who asset-strip football clubs, this government treats the welfare state not as a shared good but as a historical burden. Public support systems are remodelled with fewer seats, less atmosphere, and none of the legacy. Cuts are proposed, resisted, and delayed, but always within the logic of managed decline. First they tried to demolish the Kop end stand, now they promise only future fans will be excluded. Proclaiming progress, the luscious playing surface is narrowed and replaced with astroturf. Starmer and his front bench echo the language of 'toughness' while attacking the right to protest and doubling down on hostile-environment policies. Protesters are kettled, marches are banned, and dissent is criminalised by degrees. All this while far-right groups openly organise to infiltrate and co-opt Reform UK, talking of 'seizing control' and reshaping elections by 2030. READ MORE: Scottish Labour MP not 'proud' of Keir Starmer's first year in charge These are not fringe figures. They're part of a co-ordinated ecosystem of antisemitism, Islamophobia, authoritarianism and conspiracism – emboldened by silence and triangulation. Instead of calling it out, however, Labour's leadership seems content to play the same game: pinned in the six-yard box, offering managerial discipline while the far right runs rings around them and takes audacious pot-shots. Picture ex-Scotland manager Craig Levein's infamous 6-4-0 formation against the Czech Republic, but fielding only newly drafted players who might be loyal, but have no experience in big games. Those of us pushed to the margins – disabled people, migrants, Muslims, and working-class communities – know what happens when the centre tries to outflank the right. Rights are lost and protections evaporate. We vanish from the headlines, except when someone from a marginalised group sells their soul for a front-bench post to prop up the attack on their own team. More of us end up in poverty, detention, or despair. READ MORE: Home Office staff concerned over 'absurd ban on Palestine Action' Meanwhile, Number 10 parades like champions of Europe, running victory laps over a non-league economy. The fans are left with crumbling public services – akin to Manchester United fans getting drenched beneath Old Trafford's increasingly dilapidated roof. And though our elected manager and board point to victories of old, it's clear they're preparing to flog the stadium that is the UK to the highest bidder, while calling it progress. There's still time to fight this decline, but only if leaders stop hiding behind spreadsheets and rediscover the courage to name what we're up against: a political slide toward exclusion, authoritarianism, and resentment – selling the strongest players in the name of a squad rebuild. The public knows the difference between real change and stage-managed retreat. Delivering anything less than what's needed means not just losing the match, but the risk of relegation and surrendering the values on which the club's success was genuinely built. Ron Lumiere via email FOLLOWING Laura Webster's Saturday article on about Labour founding the welfare state, which has become a standard response by Labour hacks to every scenario: the Labour welfare state is a myth. The welfare state was agreed, with minor differences, by the wartime coalition. Bismarck had a welfare state in the 1870s and he was no socialist either; he wanted a race of supermen. The Brits had to acknowledge that the German soldier was fitter, taller and better educated, like the Channel Islands' children after German occupation. READ MORE: We investigate the state of the welfare state – read our new series England did not achieve public education till the 1870s, due to opposition by the controlling Church of England. The Church of Scotland had no wish to control public education in Scotland, which has been free since the reformation. Incidentally, Catholic education legislation was introduced at the turn of the last century by a Liberal government, not because they were sympathetic to Catholicism, but because the wanted to create divisions in Scotland. Incidentally, there are no 'Prodistent' schools in Scotland, merely non-denominational schools where Catholic and other-denomination pupils and teachers are more common than most people realise. It was a Liberal minister in World War One, Winston Churchill, who introduced free milk, because of the poorer state of the British working class compared to German wartime recruits. The architect of the welfare state was the Liberal Lord Beveridge. Lords Wilson and Callaghan introduced further austerity and pay freezes etc. Donald Anderson Glasgow IF Westminster taxed the rich cheats who threw money at Brexit so they could avoid the new EU laws on tax havens, they would bring in way more cash than they will get from hitting the poor and disabled. They could close the loopholes the government deliberately creates and make everyone pay their tax. Loopholes are actually government-created corruption. Labour could recover if they taxed the rich – as long as Israel doesn't mind, of course. Bill Robertson via email


Scottish Sun
4 hours ago
- Scottish Sun
Rod Stewart fires veiled rebuke to pro-Palestine acts Kneecap and Bob Vylan as he makes return to Glastonbury
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) ROD Stewart fired a veiled rebuke to pro-Palestine acts Kneecap and Bob Vylan as he made a sensational return to Glastonbury today. The 80-year-old appeared on the Pyramid Stage a day after a day of shame on Saturday for the massive three day festival. Sign up for the Entertainment newsletter Sign up 4 Rod Stewart on the Glastonbury Pyramid Stage 4 Rod said music 'brings people together' 4 Kneecap on stage on Saturday 4 Bob Vylan waves Palestine flag Credit: Shutterstock Editorial Punk rap duo Bob Vylan led the crowd in a chant of 'death to the IDF', referencing the Israeli Defence Force, which was broadcast live on the BBC. And Kneecap fans jeered Rod Stewart's name after they namechecked him, called him 'Rod the Prod' and mocked 'He's older than Israel.' Asked if their fans were going to see Rod's show, the question was met by boos, which may have been a reaction to Rod saying he's is a big fan of Nigel Farage and the Reform Party. But the Celtic-daft crooner emerged to huge cheers for his Legends spot to pipers playing 'Scotland the Brave'. He told the fans: " I'm here, enjoy yourselves ladies and gentlemen please." In an apparent jibe towards the divisive performances of Saturday, he said: "Music brings us together, we need music. "There's been a lot about the Middle East lately, quite rightly so, but I want to draw your attention to the Ukraine with the next song, called The Love Train." He kicked off his set with his hit Tonight I'm Yours before singing other hits like The First Cut is the Deepest. Asked where Britain's political future now lay, he told The Times earlier this week: 'It's hard for me because I'm extremely wealthy, and I deserve to be, so a lot of it doesn't really touch me. 'But that doesn't mean I'm out of touch. For instance, I've read about Starmer cutting off the fishing in Scotland and giving it back to the EU. That hasn't made him popular. Lord of the Rings star breaks down in tears after making surprise appearance on stage at Glastonbury 'We're fed up with the Tories. We've got to give Farage a chance. He's coming across well. What options have we got? I know some of his family, I know his brother, and I quite like him.' Asked what Mr Farage stands for aside from Brexit, tighter immigration and controversial economic promises he replied: 'Yeah, yeah. But Starmer's all about getting us out of Brexit and I don't know how he's going to do that. 'Still, the country will survive. It could be worse. We could be in the Gaza Strip.' Meanwhile, Kneecap will not be prosecuted by terror cops over their "kill your MP" remarks. The Irish band - who the BBC refused to broadcast live at Glastonbury yesterday - were subject of a terror probe by the Met Police unrelated to their appearance at the festival. It concerned a video from a November 2023 gig which emerged last month and saw one band member calling for the death of British politicians. He could be heard in the footage saying: 'The only good Tory is a dead Tory. Kill your local MP.' The trio - which includes Liam Og O hAnnaidh, Naoise O Caireallain and JJ O Dochartaigh - responded with a grovelling statement, including to the families of murdered MPs Sir David Amess and Jo Cox, insisting they would not incite violence against any individual. However, Avon & Somerset Police is carrying out its own investigation into comments made by Kneecap and rap duo Bob Vylan on Glastonbury's West Holts Stage on Saturday. Ó Caireallain called on the crowd to "riot" outside Westminster magistrates in August when bandmate O hAnnaidh returns to court in August on another terror charge. Kneecap started their performance yesterday afternoon by chanting "f*** Keir Starmer". They also spoke out in support of Palestine Action and prior to appearing on stage, the band put a post onto their social media accounts showing a photo of O Dochartaigh in a 'We Are All Palestine Action' t-shirt. The anti-Israel activist group could soon be banned in the UK. Meanwhile, a statement said Glastonbury chiefs are 'appalled' after music double act Bob Vylan led the crowd in "death to the IDF" chants during their performance. IDF stands for Israel Defence Forces, the national military of the State of Israel, which is currently involved with the war in Gaza, one of two remaining Palestinian territories. It comes after Israeli politicians blasted the BBC and Glastonbury for failing to cut off the performance during the live broadcast of the festival. The singer from the pro-Palestine punk act, who keeps his identity secret, also shouted "from the river to the sea Palestine... will be free" - regarded by Jews as a call for Israel's elimination. Bob Vylan - which consists of singer Bobby Vylan and guitarist Bobbie Vylan - then shared a post on X of the former eating an ice-cream with the caption: "While Zionists are crying on socials, I've just had a late night (vegan) ice cream." The BBC later took down the broadcast on the iPlayer but has been criticised for not cutting it off immediately after the anti-Semitic chanting, with the live feed continuing for another 40 minutes. O hAnnaidh was charged under the Terrorism Act last month after allegedly displaying a flag in support of proscribed terrorist group Hezbollah while saying "up Hamas, up Hezbollah" during a gig in Kentish Town, north London, in November.