Is Labour’s post-Brexit reset a victory or a betrayal?
Political Fix
Financial Times
4.2 • 1.2K Ratings
🗓️ 23 May 2025
⏱️ 33 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
The UK and EU announced a historic deal to ‘reset’ their relationship this week. Keir Starmer called the deal a “win-win”, while a “gobsmacked” Kemi Badenoch labelled it a “surrender”. Who’s right? Host George Parker is joined by the FT’s Miranda Green, Peter Foster and Andrew Bounds who unpack the agreement and analyse who came out on top. Plus, the prime minister has handed over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, and it didn't come cheap. The panel discusses Starmer's negotiations on the world stage and how they are playing out for him, and his opponents, at home.
Follow George on Bluesky or X: @georgewparker.bsky.social, @GeorgeWParker; Miranda @greenmirandahere.bsky.social, Peter @pmdfoster @pmdfoster.bsky.social, Andrew @andybounds.bsky.social, @AndyBounds
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Want more? Free links:
UK and EU agree post-Brexit reset at showpiece summit
UK-EU post-Brexit reset: the key points
Britain will be negotiating with Europe forever
UK to pay £101mn a year to hand over Chagos Islands to Mauritius
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Presented by George Parker, and produced by Lulu Smyth. The executive producer is Flo Phillips. Original music and mix by Breen Turner. The FT’s acting co-head of audio is Manuela Saragosa.
Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Welcome to Political Fix from the Financial Times with me George Parker. |
| 0:07.0 | I'm afraid you'll stuck with me for a while while Lucy's off on maternity leave, and we'll |
| 0:11.5 | bring you all the breaking news on that front as and when we get it. |
| 0:16.1 | This week saw Kier Stama securing a historic Brexit deal for the UK with the EU. |
| 0:21.5 | What does the deal mean? |
| 0:22.9 | How has it played out politically? |
| 0:24.4 | And who are the winners and losers? |
| 0:27.0 | And later we'll be looking at Kirstama's deal on the Chegos Islands, signed on Thursday. |
| 0:32.0 | A diplomatic coup? |
| 0:33.3 | Or another example of the Prime Minister hauling up the white flag on the global stage. |
| 0:38.9 | Joining me to unpack it all are my colleagues Miranda, Miranda, hi Miranda. |
| 0:42.9 | Hello, George. |
| 0:43.8 | Peter Foster, the FTS World Trade Editor. Hi, Peter. Hi, George. |
| 0:47.4 | And joining us from Brussels, the FTs EU correspondent Andy Bounds. Hi, Andy. |
| 0:52.3 | Hi, George. |
| 0:55.2 | Ladies and gentlemen, Britain is back on the world stage, working with our partners, doing deals |
| 1:03.8 | that will grow our economy, and putting more money in the pockets of working people. |
| 1:09.1 | This is not a good deal. It is a surrender. |
| 1:11.3 | It is a sellout. |
| 1:12.5 | And I'm completely gobsmacked that this is what Labour has come back with. |
| 1:16.3 | So, Peter, it was the first EU-UK summit since Brexit took effect back in 2020. |
| 1:21.7 | So it's an historic moment in that respect. |
... |
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