When will Brexit be over?
I was asked that question more than once in the years after the referendum, sometimes by people who had been persuaded by the promise to “Get Brexit Done”.
My answer was always the same: never.
The idea that leaving the European Union would somehow free us from the need to deal with our neighbours was always fanciful. We still share the same continent, the same challenges and many of the same interests. Brexit didn’t make any of that disappear. It simply took away the institutions through which we had spent decades working together.
Instead, we now navigate a cumbersome Trade and Cooperation Agreement and a collection of committees that few people have heard of, let alone understand. We exchanged a seat at the table for a more complicated way of dealing with the same problems.
That frustration was very much in my mind when I spoke in Westminster Hall on Monday, during a debate prompted by a petition calling for Britain to apply to rejoin the EU.
I made no secret of my position. We should be in the European Union. We should never have left. And I was fiercely proud to be a European citizen, and furious at having those rights taken away.
But there is another reason why I believe we need to reopen this debate, beyond the arguments we have been having for the past decade. Europe has moved on.
During my time as a minister, I met colleagues from across the European Union. What struck me was the warmth and generosity with which I was received. There was remarkably little of the rancour that had dominated our own political debate. Many wanted Britain back, and some said so openly.
Yet those conversations also reminded me that the EU had not been standing still, waiting for Britain to change its mind. It has continued to develop its policies, respond to new challenges and make decisions that affect us, whether we like it or not.
Fishing is a particularly telling example. Few sectors were promised more from Brexit, yet the benefits have proved elusive. Now there are discussions in Europe about reforming the Common Fisheries Policy, and a very different offer to Iceland, potentially creating new opportunities. In precision breeding, meanwhile, the EU is moving closer to Britain’s position.
Having been closely involved in these issues as a minister, I find it deeply frustrating that we are on the fringes of discussions in which we once had a direct voice. We may have left the institutions, but we have not escaped the consequences of their decisions.
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So what happens next?
I welcome prime minister Andy Burnham‘s willingness to consider Britain’s long-term relationship with the EU afresh. A customs union, a single market relationship, arrangements similar to those of Norway or Switzerland, or ultimately full membership: each deserves proper examination.
That does not mean pretending there is an easy route back. Leaving was long, painful and costly. Rejoining would involve difficult negotiations, and the EU we might eventually return to would not be quite the same one we left.
Nor should we underestimate the need to rebuild trust, both with our European neighbours and with people here at home. The referendum exposed genuine divisions, and another debate conducted through exaggerated promises and dire predictions would serve nobody well.
In the meantime, there is practical work to do. The government‘s efforts to reach an agreement on food and agricultural standards, including addressing the difficulties facing Northern Ireland, are important. So too are closer arrangements on energy, security and opportunities for young people. The UK-EU summit in November is an opportunity to make progress.
But these should be steps towards a clearer understanding of where Britain wants to end up, rather than another attempt to avoid the question.
The best arrangement was the one we had, imperfect though it was. We threw it away, and there is no simple switch we can flick to restore it.
Ten years on, we ought at least to be capable of having an honest discussion about how to find our way back.
We are Europeans. And I still believe we should be in the European Union.
