Analysis: Critics of Alignment Seem to Be Losing Voice

Asked in 2020 whether the UK would accept aligning with EU business regulations, Michael Gove, who was then the Cabinet Office minister, said bluntly: "We will not trade away our sovereignty."

- Kiran Stacey

Sitting next to his Labour successor Nick Thomas-Symonds yesterday, the now editor of the Spectator was more circumspect. Asked whether he accepted Thomas-Symonds' argument that so-called "dynamic alignment" was good for the economy, Gove replied with a smile: "I will wait to see the details before making a definitive judgment."

Underpinning Gove's response was not just the politeness of a host—Thomas-Symonds gave his speech at the Spectator's premises—but a realisation that voters have moved on since 2020.

Thomas-Symonds's speech was the most assertively pro-European he has given since entering government last year as Keir Starmer's chief European negotiator.

The minister said he wanted to sign a deal to export food and drink products to the EU without boundaries, something the government says would generate £5.1bn a year in economic benefits by 2040.

Small businesses currently pay £200 for a licence every time they want to export a shipment of agricultural goods—costs that the government has promised to eliminate.

But Thomas-Symonds also talked openly about the benefits of accepting EU standards for the foreseeable future, even if the UK now has no say in setting them.