Brexit: Secret Ditchley Park meeting between Labour and Tory politicians suggests a new sense of realism – Scotsman comment

The Scotsman has repeatedly called for the UK Government to get real about the damage being caused to the economy by this country’s departure from the European Union.

Despite this, the Conservative and Labour party leaderships have remained steadfast in their commitment to ‘making Brexit work’ with both sides seemingly still pandering to those who appear to hold a near-religious faith in Britain’s ability to go it alone.

However, the ‘secret’ meeting reportedly involving, for the Tories, Cabinet minister Michael Gove, former party leader Michael Howard and former Chancellor Norman Lamont and Labour frontbenchers David Lammy and John Healey is perhaps the first sign that senior politicians are finally starting to recognise the need to try to fix some of the damage caused by this ideologically driven act of folly.

According to the Observer, the “private discussion” was held under the title, “How can we make Brexit work better with our neighbours in Europe?”, while an introductory statement given to the participants acknowledged Brexit was “acting as a drag on our growth and inhibiting the UK’s potential”.

Asked about the meeting, Rishi Sunak stressed he was “proud to vote for Brexit and now as Prime Minister I'm keen to make sure we deliver the benefits of it”, while a Labour source said the event was “a bog standard Ditchley Park conference. Their events are always cross-party”.

However, sometimes the significance of such matters is better judged by those they annoy. With typical exaggeration, Nigel Farage claimed the summit showed a “full sell-out of Brexit is underway”, while Lord Frost, a UK negotiator in talks with the EU, said this was “further” evidence of a plot to “unravel” his work.

It is still too early for a serious campaign to rejoin the EU. However, if politicians are truly starting to face up to the reality that Brexit has damaged the UK economy, then this gives hope that meaningful solutions to the problems it has caused can be found.

During the Brexit campaign, Gove infamously declared that people “have had enough of experts” when challenged about the likely consequences of leaving the EU. If the dubious attractions of blindly optimistic, nationalistic dogma are beginning to be replaced by a new and much-needed sense of realism, guided by expert advice, the country finally has reason to be hopeful.