Is there a future for the labour party ?

[Gofer Blue]

Further to the above: In 2018 the UK government paid £13 billion to the EU budget, and EU spending on the UK was forecast to be £4 billion. So the UK’s ‘net contribution’ was estimated at nearly £9 billion. The rebate we "enjoy" was £4 billion - without it the bill would have been £17 billion! That's a pretty large amount for the remaining EU members to cough up.

[cyril evans awaydays]

Further to the above: In 2018 the UK government paid £13 billion to the EU budget, and EU spending on the UK was forecast to be £4 billion. So the UK’s ‘net contribution’ was estimated at nearly £9 billion. The rebate we "enjoy" was £4 billion - without it the bill would have been £17 billion! That's a pretty large amount for the remaining EU members to cough up.

You make the presumption that the EU will set its 2021-27 budget based on the current one where this is not the case. The future budget under negotiation will factor in the net contribution loss from the UK. It will be budgets for things like the CAP and regional funds that will suffer (there was already an intention to re-balance budgets for climate change initiatives in any event).

Looks like Johnson has followed May's path in setting an unnecessary red line around the transition period before negotiations begin. The EU will follow its successful method during the Withdrawal Agreement phase of setting out its negotiating priorities that will give it the greatest benefit in the 11 month window between leaving the EU on 31st January and the end of December. Any deal in that timeframe is likely to be framed around those narrow lines rather than an all embracing one which could take a number of years to achieve. Somewhere along this path people may start to ask what getting Brexit done actually means I suppose but I wouldn't hold my breath.