‘People will be asking, is it worth the pain?’ if asked to give UK a gift, says European diplomat

The EU will not rush to reopen Brexit negotiations with the UK even if Labour is swept to power next Thursday, senior sources in Brussels have indicated.

They say they will welcome a change of government but the deep scars left by the Conservatives during Brexit negotiations along with the new priorities caused by the war in Ukraine, and the rise of the far right weigh heavily on the minds of influential figures in Brussels.

In part two of our miniseries on how 14 years of Tory rule have impacted the UK, Jonathan Freedland explores how chaos from Brexit to Partygate destroyed trust in politics

Listen to part 1: austerity

In the second episode of a two-part series examining the legacy of 14 years of Conservative rule in the UK, Jonathan Freedland and Helen Pidd lay out the chaos that followed David Cameron’s departure from Downing Street.

Cameron’s reign ended abruptly in the summer of 2016, when his gamble to hold a referendum on EU membership backfired and the UK voted to leave. He retired to his shepherd’s hut in his garden to write his memoirs and a period of mayhem began.

The king of chaos was arguably Boris Johnson, who barely had time to celebrate his landslide victory in the winter of 2019 before a global pandemic forced him to lock down the country. He imposed strict restrictions on the rest of us but neglected to follow the rules himself. Liz Truss became PM, only to be outlasted by an iceberg lettuce.

And now, with just a few days before the country goes to the polls, Rishi Sunak’s campaign is being overshadowed by allegations that a stream of Tory insiders placed bets on the date of the election.

There are only 18 seats at stake in the province this week, but the next UK government has a big political task on its hands there

Compared with the contests in the rest of the UK or in France, the one in Northern Ireland may seem like this week’s electoral sideshow. Devolved government there has finally been resumed. The Brexit protests have died down. And there are only 18 seats in Northern Ireland anyway, out of Westminster’s 650. The chance of the Northern Ireland results affecting the post-election balance of power, as they did in 2017, are vanishingly small this time.

All true. Yet the election in Northern Ireland matters all the same. It matters for Northern Ireland’s people, of course, not least because one in four of them are on an NHS treatment waiting list, a higher figure than in most of Britain. It matters too because, although the devolved institutions have resumed operation, there is too little by way of creative, cross-community, cooperative government to show for it. And it matters because, at least among unionists, the wounds of Brexit have not been fully healed.

Nursery and garden centre trade bodies write open letter saying problems at border need to be urgently fixed

Nurseries and garden centres across Britain and Europe have warned that new post-Brexit border posts are not working properly and are leading to delays, damage and significant extra costs for importers bringing plants into Britain.

The Horticultural Trade Association, which represents 1,400 garden retailers and growers in the UK, has joined forces with several European trade bodies to write an open letter to call for urgent solutions, warning the new system was adding more than 25% to import costs.

The former minister’s political career began with comparisons to Thatcher and ended over Brexit. She opens up about her ex-colleagues, her infamous Nigel Farage impression, and her determination to help Sir Keir succeed

Cast your mind back to what was, even by recent standards, an especially weird and constipated period in British politics when the electorate had voted to leave the European Union but the politicians couldn’t agree on how to do it. For almost four years, from 2016 to 2020, the country was in agonising limbo, stuck somewhere between separation and divorce, as it became clear that Brexit was far more complex and intractable than a simple yes/no vote suggested.

While the nation grew increasingly more divided and embittered, one of the most vocal politicians calling for a second clarifying referendum was Anna Soubry, the former Conservative minister and, at the time, MP for Broxtowe in Nottinghamshire. She was telegenic, opinionated but also aiming to build a cross-party and popular consensus among those who believed they’d been sold a pup by the leave campaign.

Politicians are refusing to acknowledge the link between Brexit and falling living standards, says Robin Prior, while Chris Webster says voters must accept responsibility for their choices

Larry Elliott is correct that Brexit is a live issue in this election, even if politicians are doing their best to avoid it (Brexit may have felt absent from this election – but it will still define it, 26 June). And he is spot-on when he says that there is “no real difference between Labour’s growth strategy and its Brexit strategy. If one fails then so does the other”.

Keir Starmer says Labour will boost economic growth while continuing to hobble trade and relations with our nearest major market. It’s as if his shoes are tied together, but he’s refusing to untie them while also promising to win an international running race. Does he really take us for fools?

Shadow business secretary says trying to rejoin single market or customs union would cause ‘more difficulties’

Labour would rather have stability in the UK’s relationship with the Europe than try to seek accelerated economic growth by rejoining the EU’s single market or customs union, the party’s shadow business secretary has said.

Addressing the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) conference on Thursday, Jonathan Reynolds acknowledged that Brexit had been “very difficult for businesses” because it erected trade barriers, but said reopening the debate would be worse.

With differing views on striking junior doctors and Brexit, could a lunch and ‘proper conversation’ lead to common ground?

Matt, 24, Southampton

Occupation Medical student

Mar Gunnarsson, swimmer and Manchester student who is due to compete at the Paris Games, says his career is at risk

A Paralympic swimmer due to compete in this summer’s Games has said his career is at risk after a post-Brexit policy change barred him from flying in and out of the UK with his guide dog.

Mar Gunnarsson, a visually impaired Icelandic national studying in Manchester, has been unable to fly to sporting championships to represent his country because his guide dog is not recognised as a service animal by the UK authorities.

British Chambers of Commerce director general calls on politicians to improve ties with EU and strike better deal

• Larry Elliott: Brexit may have felt absent from this election – but it will still define it

The UK’s current trade deal with the EU is not working and the country must stop “walking on eggshells” around the issue of building closer ties with its biggest trading partner, the director general of the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) is expected to say.

At the annual BCC global conference in London on Thursday, Shevaun Haviland will say that the UK must forge closer ties with the EU and the next government should focus on improving trading relations to grow the economy.

Those who voted leave still feel ignored and marginalised. The pressure will be on for Labour to boost growth and narrow regional divides

• UK must stop ‘walking on eggshells’ over post-Brexit deal, says BCC chief

It is one of the oddities of this weirdest of election campaigns that the issue that helped give the Conservatives an 80-seat majority in 2019 has barely been mentioned. As far as the main parties are concerned, Brexit is a done deal. The decision has been made. Time to move on.

To be sure, much has happened since 2019, most notably a global pandemic, a cost of living crisis and the brief – yet drama-packed – premiership of Liz Truss. Making ends meet features more prominently in voters’ lists of concerns than whether the UK should rejoin the single market.

Larry Elliott is the Guardian’s economics editor

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They came to power promising ‘a golden age for the arts’. Now, 12 disastrous culture secretaries later, they leave it in tatters. What a stunning missed opportunity to capitalise on an asset that was the envy of the world

The fishing industry contributes barely £1bn to the British economy. That is 0.03% of GDP. Put it another way: it is roughly equivalent in size to visual effects, a sub-category of a category of the creative industries.

Conservative ministers made repeated visits to the nation’s ports to extol the virtues of an almost moribund trade. By contrast, a sector that has been the fastest growing for two decades, that contributes more than £120bn, that in other countries would be seen as an essential component of the good society, was largely seen as an afterthought.