Rethinking Brexit

There are plenty of good reasons for the UK not to leave Euratom when, and if, it leaves the European Union.

Quitting the agreement puts “the continued operations of the UK nuclear industry at risk”, according to the House of Commons Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee. However these reasons do not explain why Euratom has risen to the top of the political agenda.

There is a campaign underway not only to keep Britain in Euratom but to bring this issue to a head, possibly through a vote in the House of Commons, as soon as possible. This campaign is broadly based and highly coordinated, ranging from George Osborne’s Evening Standard to Labour’s deputy, Tom Watson. Nine Conservative MPs have gone public in support of the move—enough to destroy the Conservative-DUP majority in the Commons. But why now?