This new EU deal is great for Britain. Now, Labour, focus on the future, not on Farage | Polly Toynbee

Cheaper food, passport e-gates, youth exchanges – we are finally on a path to repair the colossal damage Brexit has doneCircle the wagons: Europe draws together confronting an enemy to its east and a rogue state to its west. “Everything has changed,” said the prime minister and chancellor, and so it has. Once nestled in the arms of Nato, now alarmingly alone, we have no choice but to embrace neighbours we shunned. Thanks to Vladimir Putin, (nearly) all Europeans now see clearly what was always the case. In danger we need each other, never mind fish or dynamic alignment.But talking about less important things was always the British way. So headlines and the Today programme bang on about the 12-year continuance of the fishing deal struck by Boris Johnson, allowing French boats into our waters. It’s hard on fishing communities, but not worse than before. The Brexiters used and cheated fishers. But a government has to weigh up winners and losers when fishing contributes just 0.03% to UK GDP and 10,000 jobs. Now set that against the 2.5% of GDP we spend on defence with 164,000 jobs. As the pathway opens up for British defence industries to bid for contracts from the giant €150bn EU defence fund, that’s altogether another kettle of fish.Polly Toynbee is a Guardian columnistDo you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here. Continue reading...

Comments

Opinions

Small family farms lead the American way of life

washington times

RICHARD LITTLEJOHN: We're dealing with a PM who hates Britain - or at least the British people who embraced Brexit. The so-called 'far-Right' gammons, too thick to know what's good for them

about 5 hours ago

Democrats lied, and apologizing for Biden cover-up doesn't change that

washington times

PVO: Imagine you had to get your property valued each year... and then pay tax on how much the value went up. These Aussies are about to get hit with that scenario EVERY year

about 18 hours ago

Ian McConnell: Privatisation surely not the answer for Scotland's ferries

The Herald

Day our greatest big game hunter came face-to-face with 'the Maneater of Chowgarh'... and was only saved by his trusty Rigby rifle: ROBERT HARDMAN

about 21 hours ago

Dailymail

DOMINIC LAWSON: Just as innocent men are coerced by police into confessions, so I fear the vulnerable will be pushed into assisted dying under this seriously flawed Bill

about 21 hours ago

Expect more ‘perv teacher’ stories as NYC class-size mandate lowers hiring standards

Newyork Post

I tried the wild new celeb-approved beauty tools and treatments set to replace anti-wrinkle injections for good: POLISHED with Elise Wilson

about 22 hours ago

Newyork Post

Cardinal Dolan decided to give me a ring — fresh out of the papal conclave

about 23 hours ago

Dailymail

ANDREW PIERCE: Is a Tory grandee toying with a jump to Reform?

about 23 hours ago

Dailymail

It's a disaster if savers are falling out of love with their pensions, says JEFF PRESTRIDGE. Here's one way to stop the rot...

about 23 hours ago

Sir Keir Starmer loves getting in bed with rest of the world – but what about Britain, Prime Minister?

The Sun

Sporting's latest league title serves as another harsh reality check for Ruben Amorim, writes MATT BARLOW - but there is one thing the Man United boss has got right since his arrival

1 day ago

$How two-faced RFK Jr. ‘politicized science’ in fracking fight that left New York poorer$

Newyork Post

How two-faced RFK Jr. ‘politicized science’ in fracking fight that left New York poorer

1 day ago

Newyork Post

Comey’s cryptic shell post: Letters to the Editor — May 19, 2025

1 day ago

Comments

Opinions

Small family farms lead the American way of life

Murders masquerading as medicine

Worry about the West Bank

James Comey: A public parasite

The Wilson-Biden cover-ups

Qatar’s lavish gift for Don: Letters to the Editor — May 20, 2025

Battle for a FTSE listing: Will Assura do the right thing for shareholders and for Britain? asks ALEX BRUMMER

Letter to the editor: U.S. must support Pakistan's democratic aspirations

Letter to the editor: STEM shouldn't be a political issue

Letter to the editor: Don't make civilian workers fund own rape kits

Forget Andrew Tate – we need to worry about the new rabid wave of Andrea Tates teaching young girls how to con men

Far from taking control back from the EU, die-hard Remainer Starmer has meekly handed it back

DARREN LEWIS: 'Gary Lineker was classy and concise to the bitter end - he is now free'

ASK KEVIN O'LEARY: My girlfriend has an expensive and irresponsible addiction... should I dump her?

Gary Lineker should have left the BBC in a blaze of glory, instead it is under a shadow

It’s highly unlikely Biden didn’t already know he had cancer: Doctor

RICHARD LITTLEJOHN: We're dealing with a PM who hates Britain - or at least the British people who embraced Brexit. The so-called 'far-Right' gammons, too thick to know what's good for them

Democrats lied, and apologizing for Biden cover-up doesn't change that

Despite this deal, Europe is moving forward and UK risks being left behind

Letters to the Editor: Please, Gov. Newsom, don't let the Delta water tunnel become another budget fiasco

Letters to the Editor: California needs major developments to address homelessness and substance abuse

'Climate change is clear for all to see and it’s why we need to take water seriously'

Letters to the Editor: LAPD needs to find a way to both call out abuses and rein in massive payouts

I may not agree with King Creosote but surely he's allowed to have his own opinion?

Letters: Glasgow has shown a sad lack of ambition with George Square proposals

Building a resilient future for Scottish hospitality

I'm an expat and mail service is slow - why does my pension provider need regular signed letters? STEVE WEBB replies

Mark Smith: Eurovision 2025: the year they fixed their Israel problem

Roz Foyer: Why I'll be supporting workers on the picket line

Herald Diary: Foxed by Eurovision and a shoe paradox

PVO: Imagine you had to get your property valued each year... and then pay tax on how much the value went up. These Aussies are about to get hit with that scenario EVERY year

Ian McConnell: Privatisation surely not the answer for Scotland's ferries

Pope Leo XIV must guide church through dangers of AI

New book reflects Biden family’s delusions of grandeur and how their ‘greatest strength is living in their own reality’

‘Crazy like a fox’ Biden shows selective memory in belatedly released special counsel interview

Day our greatest big game hunter came face-to-face with 'the Maneater of Chowgarh'... and was only saved by his trusty Rigby rifle: ROBERT HARDMAN

DOMINIC LAWSON: Just as innocent men are coerced by police into confessions, so I fear the vulnerable will be pushed into assisted dying under this seriously flawed Bill

Expect more ‘perv teacher’ stories as NYC class-size mandate lowers hiring standards

Stop the suicide bill dead in its tracks, senators!

NYC must stop treating cyclists like a special class — for everyone’s safety

I tried the wild new celeb-approved beauty tools and treatments set to replace anti-wrinkle injections for good: POLISHED with Elise Wilson

Cardinal Dolan decided to give me a ring — fresh out of the papal conclave

ANDREW PIERCE: Is a Tory grandee toying with a jump to Reform?

It's a disaster if savers are falling out of love with their pensions, says JEFF PRESTRIDGE. Here's one way to stop the rot...

Sir Keir Starmer loves getting in bed with rest of the world – but what about Britain, Prime Minister?

Air traffic control fiascos continue to snarl travel around the country

Democracy dies in darkness in Fairfax County

Taiwan's commitment to regional peace is strong and enduring

Americans are getting wise to the left's chicanery

Pope's peace calls vs. Putin's war machine: The conflict between ideals and reality

Pride Month and the fascism of identity politics

City monopolies: Breaking the ruinous Democratic stronghold

LOVERRO: Don't think about it too hard and, sure, it was good year for the Capitals

Biden brain lie hurts Dems, stratospheric school spending and other commentary

Will today go down in history as the day Sir Keir Starmer betrayed Brexit and the British people?

ALEX BRUMMER: Trumpian tariff on movies is an arrow pointed at Britain

The end is near for on-the-job reverse discrimination — another blow to DEI

Sporting's latest league title serves as another harsh reality check for Ruben Amorim, writes MATT BARLOW - but there is one thing the Man United boss has got right since his arrival

How two-faced RFK Jr. ‘politicized science’ in fracking fight that left New York poorer

Comey’s cryptic shell post: Letters to the Editor — May 19, 2025