How Starmer managed to have his cake and eat it with new Brexit deal

For those of us who covered the infamous 2016 EU referendum and subsequent negotiations to “get Brexit done”, the bitter memories and toxicity displayed by both sides scarred almost all involved.

Throughout the painful negotiations, particularly when Theresa May was prime minister, the constant refrain to the UK was “you can’t have your cake and eat it” – you cannot have the benefits of EU membership without being part of the bloc.

Yet the deal struck in London on Monday, in the wake of the India trade deal and US agreement with Trump, suggests that Sir Keir has succeeded where others failed and managed to break the Brexit conundrum.

But much of how he has achieved the apparently impossible can be explained by the markedly different tone between the UK and EU at this summit.

The constant references to “dear Keir” at the press conference for this Brexit reset deal and talk of “turning a new page” and “friendship” set a tone which has been lacking for almost a decade.

Ursula von der Leyen was particularly keen to portray this deal as a victory for the British prime minister and went out of her way to emphasise how his leadership and cooperative approach had made it possible.

Less than a fortnight ago the leader of another major power - Donald Trump - said almost the exactly same thing as he and Sir Keir unveiled their trade deal.

Sceptics might say looking at the two agreements that von der Leyen and Trump were just being magnanimous to a man they fleeced.

Certainly there are elements of both details that will raise eyebrows among critics – giving fishing access to the EU for 12 years has already been dubbed a “betrayal” by Scottish fishermen and the lack of a final agreement on items such as youth mobility leaves too much of it appear open-ended.

But looking at the bigger picture shows a prime minister who, in the space of a fortnight, has achieved something which for years during the Brexit wrangling was deemed impossible.

It was noticeable that when at the press conference one journalist suggested Sir Keir had “surrendered” and was now “back in the auspices of the EU”, it was Ms von der Leyen who pushed back. She noted that the deal was “an agreement that sovereign nations do with others.”

When Sir Keir’s Labour pivoted from campaigning for a second referendum to “make Brexit work” in 2020 nobody really took it seriously. But this last month has shown that Starmer has been able to get it done.

And while some criticise him for cosying up to Trump and the EU commission, his friendly and cooperative style has won over both von der Leyen and the White House.

Meanwhile, opportunities are open for major advancements unconstrained by EU rules on the big growth industries such as biotech and artificial intelligence.

So when Starmer boasts that Britain is “back on the world stage” under his leadership, he has the evidence to back it up.