London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Sep 11, 2025

Johnson Claims Brexit Victory Over EU as Spin Battle Begins

Johnson Claims Brexit Victory Over EU as Spin Battle Begins

The Brexit deal may not be signed yet, but Boris Johnson’s government has already started trying to sell it at home, claiming victory over the European Union.

An internal British analysis, first reported by the Guido Fawkes website and confirmed by a U.K. official, claims 28 “wins” for the U.K., 11 for the EU, and 26 areas where the two sides compromised. But, in several cases, what the U.K. describes as a “win” doesn’t accurately compare with both sides’ opening demands.

For Johnson, a deal is both a political victory and a problem. Even though he won a large majority at last year’s election under the slogan “Get Brexit Done,” he still needs Parliament to approve any accord. Many pro-Brexit Tories have waited years for Britain to break free of what they see as the EU’s shackles and are wary of any compromise with the bloc that could limit the U.K.’s freedom of action in future.

An initial version of the document contained a list of pledges made by the 2016 “Vote Leave” pro-Brexit campaign and how the deal fulfilled them, a clear sign of Johnson’s team trying to convince his party that he had delivered his Brexit promises. That section has subsequently been removed.

The document says the U.K. has been able to escape the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice -- meeting one of the key demands of Conservative euro-skeptics. The U.K. is also claiming victory on issues from trade remedies, to technical barriers to trade and customs facilitation. Fisheries, where the government has agreed to an annual quota system after a five-and-a-half year transition period, is classed as a compromise.

Services Loss?


However, a simple tally of the negotiating issues doesn’t account for their overall importance, and some of the issues where the EU is deemed to have “won” are economically sensitive for Britain. Workers in the services industry, which makes up 80% of Britain’s economy, won’t have their professional qualifications automatically recognized in the EU. That means professions such as architecture, accountancy and consulting will be harder to sell in to the bloc.

The U.K. also won’t get a Japan-style deal for financial services it was looking for, which would have allowed for greater regulatory cooperation. The U.K. industry generates about 7% of Britain’s GDP. But the document claims Britain has avoided the so-called headnote, which would allow the EU to restrict the outsourcing of financial services.

Other areas claimed as a “win” by the U.K. don’t accurately reflect the two sides’ initial negotiating positions. On rules of origin -- which determine what inputs a good must contain to qualify for tariff-free trade -- the U.K. said it has achieved a win by securing so-called bilateral cumulation. That means inputs from both the U.K. and EU count toward the tariff-free threshold. But the U.K.’s opening ask was more ambitious: It wanted inputs from third countries with which it has a free trade agreement, such as Japan or Canada, to be included.

Another area where the U.K. has given ground is on product standards, according to the document. The deal doesn’t include any mutual recognition of conformity assessment, which would have allowed the British to certify goods for the EU market, meaning firms will have to pay the regulatory cost of certification twice if they wish to sell their products in both the U.K. and the bloc. Companies may also have to run separate production lines to comply with separate standards.

JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s chief U.K. economist, Malcolm Barr, offered a different assessment from the British government.

“The EU appears to have secured a deal which allows it to retain nearly all of the advantages it derives from its trading relationship with the U.K., while giving it the ability to use regulatory structures to cherry pick among the sectors where the U.K. had previously enjoyed advantages in the trading relationship,” Barr said in a research note.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
The British legal mafia hit back: Banksy mural of judge beating protester is scrubbed from London court
Surpassing Musk: Larry Ellison becomes the richest man in the world
Embarrassment for Starmer: He fired the ambassador photographed on Epstein’s 'pedophile island'
Manhunt after 'skilled sniper' shot Charlie Kirk. Footage: Suspect running on rooftop during panic
Effective Protest Results: Nepal’s Prime Minister Resigns as Youth-Led Unrest Shakes the Nation
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
King Charles and Prince Harry Share First In-Person Moment in 19 Months
Starmer Establishes Economic ‘Budget Board’ to Centralise Policy and Rebuild Business Trust
France Erupts in Mass ‘Block Everything’ Protests on New PM’s First Day
Poland Shoots Down Russian Drones in Airspace Violation During Ukraine Attack
Brazilian police say ex-President Bolsonaro had planned to flee to Argentina seeking asylum
Trinidad Leader Applauds U.S. Naval Strike and Advocates Forceful Action Against Traffickers
Kim Jong Un Oversees Final Test of New High-Thrust Solid-Fuel Rocket Engine
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Macron Appoints Sébastien Lecornu as Prime Minister Amid Budget Crisis and Political Turmoil
Supreme Court temporarily allows Trump to pause billions in foreign aid
Charlie Sheen says his father, Martin Sheen, turned him in to the police: 'The greatest betrayal possible'
Vatican hosts first Catholic LGBTQ pilgrimage
Apple Unveils iPhone 17 Series, iPhone Air, Apple Watch 11 and More at 'Awe Dropping' Event
Pig Heads Left Outside Multiple Paris Mosques in Outrage-Inducing Acts
Nvidia’s ‘Wow’ Factor Is Fading. The AI chip giant used to beat Wall Street expectations for earnings by a substantial margin. That trajectory is coming down to earth.
France joins Eurozone’s ‘periphery’ as turmoil deepens, say investors
On the Anniversary of Queen Elizabeth’s Death: Prince Harry Returns to Britain
France Faces New Political Crisis, again, as Prime Minister Bayrou Pushed Out
Murdoch Family Finalises $3.3 Billion Succession Pact, Ensuring Eldest Son’s Leadership
Big Oil Slashes Jobs and Investments Amid Prolonged Low Crude Prices
Court Staff Cover Up Banksy Image of Judge Beating a Protester
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Nayib Bukele Points Out Belgian Hypocrisy as Brussels Considers Sending Army into the Streets
Elon Musk Poised to Become First Trillionaire Under Ambitious Tesla Pay Plan
France, at an Impasse, Heads Toward Another Government Collapse
Burning the Minister’s House Helped Protesters to Win Justice: Prabowo Fires Finance Minister in Wake of Indonesia Protests
Brazil Braces for Fallout from Bolsonaro Trial by corrupted judge
The Country That Got Too Rich? Public Spending Dominates Norway Election
Nearly 40 Years Later: Nike Changes the Legendary Slogan Just Do It
Generations Born After 1939 Unlikely to Reach Age One Hundred, New Study Finds
End to a four-year manhunt in New Zealand: the father who abducted his children to the forests was killed, the three siblings were found
Germany Suspends Debt Rules, Funnels €500 Billion Toward Military and Proxy War Strategy
EU Prepares for War
BMW Eyes Growth in China with New All‑Electric Neue Klasse Lineup
Trump Threatens Retaliatory Tariffs After EU Imposes €2.95 Billion Fine on Google
Tesla Board Proposes Unprecedented One-Trillion-Dollar Performance Package for Elon Musk
US Justice Department Launches Criminal Mortgage-Fraud Probe into Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook
Escalating Drug Trafficking and Violence in Latin America: A Growing Crisis
US and Taiwanese Defence Officials Held Secret Talks in Alaska
Report: Secret SEAL Team 6 Mission in North Korea Ordered by Trump in 2019 Ended in Failure
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Florida Murder Case: The Adelson Family, the Killing of Dan Markel, and the Trial of Donna Adelson
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
×