The ideas lean heavily on the presumption that there is an untapped mood in France and Germany to help the British pro-Europeans. The Blair pamphlet makes references to a smattering of largely middle-ranking former ministers and a thinktank to suggest there is a mood for reform. At a minimum, Blair is right to say the UK could have done more to control migration within the EU framework than it has. Reform to the directive would have some practical impact on wages of eastern European workers in the UK, and perhaps a marginal impact on low skilled labour market. The EU recorded more than 54,300 posted workers in the UK in 2005.

Source: The Guardian September 10, 2017 18:16 UTC