James Forsyth James Forsyth

David Frost’s solution to cool UK-EU relations

Since David Frost quit the government in December over its political direction, he has not said that much about the future of UK-EU affairs. But in the Churchill lecture at the University of Zurich tonight, he sets out a potential new basis for relations. His tone is warm and marks a deliberate attempt to move on from the scratchy relations of the last few years: he argues that there is a ‘need to recognise that the EU is a natural ally of the United Kingdom, and that we should seek – as sovereign equals – ways to cooperate and work together more.’

Frost’s speech is a sign of a reminder that there is currently an opportunity to put UK-EU relations on a better footing

Frost suggests that the UK takes the threat of invoking Article 16 off the table in exchange for the EU accepting that there needs to be a fundamental renegotiation of the protocol.

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