“Let me be unequivocal about this… The UK will not seek any relationship with Europe that is based on alignment with EU laws,” Rishi Sunak said during a conference of the main employers’ organization in the country, in Birmingham.
“I voted for Brexit. I believe and know that Brexit can and is already bringing great benefits and opportunities for the country,” he added, citing the resumption of immigration control by the United Kingdom since leaving the EU, or the trade agreements signed with other countries.
This defense of Brexit comes the day after press reports that London would seek to strengthen its ties with Brussels, three years after leaving the European Union.
According to the Sunday Times, “members of the government are planning to put Britain on the path to a relationship similar to Switzerland’s with the European Union”. An initiative that would be “destined to strengthen economic ties” with the European Union.
On Sunday, a government spokesman had already denied such a project, calling the article “categorically false”.
On Monday, Secretary of State for Immigration Robert Jenrick also insisted that the UK now had “a well-defined position” on its relations with Brussels, with the exit agreement from the EU reached. in 2019.
Under the deal, the UK exited the single market, although trade continues to be largely duty-free, ended freedom of movement and no longer contributes financially to the EU.
“These core principles are the ones that will govern our relationship going forward,” Mr Jenrick told Sky News.
Comments made last week by Finance Minister Jeremy Hunt, who said he wanted to see “the vast majority” of customs barriers between his country and the EU abolished, also raised questions about the government’s intentions in the ranks eurosceptic conservatives.
The current economic and financial difficulties in the UK are leading to growing criticism of the effects of Brexit, as the body responsible for economic forecasts (OBR) estimated last week that Brexit had had “a negative impact important” on the country’s trade.
According to a YouGov poll, 56% of Britons now believe Brexit was a mistake.
