Despite latest welcome 'betrayal', how Brexit is still blighting Scotland and the UK

Keir Starmer is about to ‘betray’ Brexit, or so some would have you believe. The reality is more mundane, with the UK Government plotting the decidedly non-heinous ‘crime’ of aligning a chunk of UK red tape with European Union red tape in order to boost trade and the economies of both.

So even if it is some kind a betrayal of Brexit, it’s also the patriotic duty of politicians whose first interest is the welfare of the British people, rather than esoteric notions about sovereignty. A government spokesperson said the new arrangements would enable a food and drink trade deal worth £5.1 billion a year, “backing British jobs and slashing costly red tape for our farmers, producers and businesses”.

While willing to move closer to the EU, Labour remains opposed to rejoining the Customs Union, the Single Market or indeed the EU, all of which would have a beneficial effect on the UK economy. Brexit may have been discredited in the minds of many, but it still retains a hold over a significant constituency.

READ MORE: Keir Starmer accused of 'Brexit betrayal' as UK could sign up to EU rules without Commons vote

Nigel Farage addresses a crowd ahead of the UK's departure from the EU at a Brexit Day Celebration Party on January 31, 2020, in London. Celebrations since then have been muted. (Picture: Leon Neal) | Getty Images

‘Uncontrolled immigration’

As does, of course, the issue that drove the Brexit vote: immigration. Reform UK’s manifesto for the Scottish Parliament election bemoans the pursuit of what it calls “woke policies on immigration” and, oddly, accuses the SNP of “welcoming uncontrolled immigration from the rest of the UK” (our emphasis).

The problem with persistently characterising migrants, wherever they’re from, as a problem is that they eventually get the message. According to a new poll of 1,900 health staff who moved to the UK from other countries, more than two-fifths were considering leaving. Furthermore, a quarter said they did not feel welcome, and a fifth felt unsafe.

These are shameful and also deeply worrying figures. Without immigrants, Scotland would be facing a serious economic crisis, with a growing number of pensioners, a declining workforce and falling tax revenues.

We suspect few people will rally to the cause of preserving British red tape and that this particular row will fizzle out despite the best efforts of Brexiteer diehards. However, the harmful effects of anti-migrant sentiments are likely to blight this country for years to come.