UK's government's Trump-like animosity may mean it isn't easy to restore vital European relationships - YEP letters

AMERICA is showing us how quickly a country can hit the reset button with a change of leadership, opening the way to repairing relationships with its historic allies.

Sadly, given the Trump-like animosity this Government has purposefully sought, for its own narrow political ends, it may not be as easy for the UK to restore its vital European relationships.

Boris Johnson’s departure from Downing Street early in the New Year has long been rumoured – along with that of his chief advisor, Dominic Cummings.

But none of the likely successors to our mini-Trump PM will offer the “Europe reset” our country urgently needs.

Already, almost 50 per cent say that, with hindsight, quitting the EU was a mistake (YouGov).

That figure is likely to grow if, as predicted by the National Audit Office last week (November 6), “significant disruption” and “uncertainty” follow in the New Year, due to the Government’s lack of preparations for the Brexit transition which ends in just 50 days.

It would be good to hear opposition politicians catching up with public opinion on Europe – and doing more to influence it.

Too often, Labour and the Liberal Democrats seem almost complicit in the harm the Conservatives are currently doing to our country.

Any deal the Government might do before the end of the year – while better than nothing – will not reflect promises made to voters during both the 2016 referendum and the 2019 general election.

The opposition could and should do more to highlight this.

Britain will probably have to wait until a 2024 general election to see changes similar to what is happening in America.

But – right now - it would be good to show our European neighbours and natural, historic allies that Britain has more progressive, internationalist and fewer Trumpian politicians waiting in the wings.