Comment now Next A LABOUR Cabinet minister has admitted there will be costs to closer ties with the EU. Lisa Nandy said she wants a stronger relationship with Brussels but said there would be trade-offs to having a more aligned trading partnership. Culture Sec Lisa Nandy has admitted there will be costs to closer ties with the EU Source: Alamy The remarks come ahead of the UK-EU ‘reset’ summit on November 20, raising fears Labour is drawing Britain closer to Brussels without revealing the true cost Advertisement The comments by the Culture Secretary come ahead of the UK-EU “reset” summit on November 20 — fuelling fears Labour is edging Britain closer to the bloc without coming clean about the price.
Ms Nandy said: “There are trade-offs and choices to be made here in the relationship with the European Union. Sign up for the Politics newsletter Thank you! Email address Please provide a valid email. Your info will be used in accordance with our Privacy Policy You'll now receive top stories, breaking news, and more, straight to your email. “The Prime Minister has made no secret of the fact that he, like me, wants to see a closer relationship.
We think that is in Britain’s interest.” She added: “It is right to say there are costs as well as benefits to a closer relationship with the European Union. READ MORE ON THE EU BRITS 'LOSE OUT' Non-EU youth jobs QUADRUPLE since 2019 amid UK's youth inactivity crisis EU WHAT? PM sparks fury after admitting Britain is EU 'rule-taker' ahead of key summit “There are trade-offs to be made and we can’t cut people out of that conversation.” After the Brussels summit, PM Andy Burnham is expected to set out options for a closer relationship with the EU.
Labour’s mixed messaging on Europe comes with Britain set to rejoin the Erasmus Plus student scheme in January, six years after leaving. Labour faced a furious backlash after they said that “as we mark Remembrance Sunday, Erasmus Plus will give a new generation the chance to build connections across Europe”. Advertisement Most read in The Sun GUN HORROR Girl, 3, dies after 'being shot by sister, 5' - as parents woken by gunfire POLITICS FIX Labour must stop obsessing over undoing Brexit & start tackling real problems FIRE TRAGEDY Man in 60s dies after fire erupts at flat - as cops launch probe into tragedy Tory Party chairman Kevin Hollinrake said the comments were “tone deaf”.
The Sun turns Lisa Nandy's statement that closer EU ties bring costs as well as benefits into a one-sided admission. In its own voice it asserts growing fears that Labour is hiding the price of the reset, though no one in the article voices those fears and Nandy's own quoted words openly discuss costs. Loaded phrases such as "mixed messaging" and "furious backlash" add a verdict that the reported facts do not carry.
States one side's claim as fact
Serious
“raising fears Labour is drawing Britain closer to Brussels without revealing the true cost”
Why this matters
The words "raising fears" and "without revealing the true cost" state in The Sun's own voice that fears exist and that Labour is hiding the cost. No one is named as holding those fears.
The impression it gives
A reader believes it is established that Labour is concealing the price of closer EU ties and that this worry is widely held.
The context
The only person quoted on costs is Nandy, who openly says there are costs as well as benefits and trade-offs to be made. The article quotes no critic saying Labour is hiding the cost. The one opponent quoted, Kevin Hollinrake, comments only on the Remembrance Sunday Erasmus remarks.
How we know
Elsewhere in the article“It is right to say there are costs as well as benefits”
Elsewhere in the article“Tory Party chairman Kevin Hollinrake said the comments were”
“Labour minister admits closer EU ties will come at a cost”
Why this matters
The word "admits" casts a stated position as a reluctant concession. The headline also keeps only the costs from her remark.
The impression it gives
A reader believes Nandy conceded that the reset is costly, against her will.
The context
Nandy volunteered that there are costs as well as benefits and said closer ties are in Britain's interest. The headline drops the benefits half of her sentence.
How we know
Elsewhere in the article“there are costs as well as benefits to a closer relationship”
The phrase "mixed messaging" passes a verdict of incoherence in The Sun's own voice.
The impression it gives
A reader believes Labour is contradicting itself on Europe.
The context
The quoted messages agree. Nandy says she and the Prime Minister want a closer relationship and that it involves trade-offs. Nothing in the article shows a contradiction.
How we know
Elsewhere in the article“wants to see a closer relationship”