The Daily Telegraph, 28 September, Barney Reynolds
It is increasingly apparent that some of Britain’s politicians believe the key to unlocking our potential lies in closer ties to the EU, rather than making the most of our separation.
Sir Keir Starmer recently suggested his party does not wish to diverge from EU standards, while Rishi Sunak has made a reset of relations with the bloc a priority. They would be better advised to start by undoing a critical error of our Brexit negotiations.
The core of the misunderstanding is the misalignment of our legal systems. Britain works on a system of common law based upon argument, harnessed by parliament and the courts, and which is highly flexible. All points of law can be challenged again and again.
The EU system is entirely different, and considerably more rigid. The fundamental failure to appreciate this has led to a catastrophic failure to secure post-Brexit arrangements that work for Britain or to restore our traditional, superior common law arrangements.
London officials, used to working in common law systems, appear to have been under the erroneous impression that the seeming intransigence of EU officials meant negotiations need to be approached with a focus on personal relationships rather than on argument.
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