Andy Burnham reboots the 2016 free movement row nobody asked for
EU staff unpack Britain's old flag after Prime Minister Andy Burnham called for an "honest discussion" about a return to freedom of movement.
In a basement storeroom beneath the European Council, a Union flag folded on 31 January 2020 is being ironed. The job is booked for Wednesday. It follows Andy Burnham's call for an "honest discussion" with the British public about free movement.
The flag carries creases six years deep. Staff report that the fold running roughly where Northern Ireland sits is the hardest to shift. Nobody is surprised.
I have seen this film. Britain knocked in 1961 and de Gaulle shut the door. It got in at the third attempt and voted to stay in 1975. Then it spent four years leaving, slowly, like a guest who announces his departure and is still in the hall at midnight. The Prime Minister now weighs his options before a summit in November. The plot is the same. Only the lead has been recast, and the critics have all gone home.
"We folded it in thirds, not quarters," said a Council steward. "You only fold in thirds when you expect it back."
Steam settings have been agreed at a level both sides can accept. The ironing board has been left up, facing the door.
