Tom Watson’s comments today that a future government would have to try to reform freedom of movement rules in the European Union are clearly a last-ditch attempt to show the party’s voters that it is taking their anger about immigration seriously. But they are also strange, for three reasons.
The first is that it is strange to be talking about a future renegotiation when the Remain campaign does still occasionally try to persuade voters that they are voting to stay in a reformed European Union. By talking about what more needs to be done, Watson is effectively dumping all over the renegotiation that David Cameron has already carried out, saying that there will need to be another one. He told the BBC today that ‘with freedom of movement, it’s one issue that’s coming up on the doorstep. A future government – whether it be Labour or Conservative – has to hear what voters are telling them and if you look across the continent of Europe, voters are telling political elites the same thing.
‘So to me it’s inevitable that whoever wins the next General Election will have to make it their negotiating position when it comes to future European reform and David Cameron has the opportunity to do that as Prime Minister now if he makes it the priority for Britain’s leadership of the presidency of the EU next year.
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