George Osborne calls for UK to rejoin EU customs union and boost trade
Ex-Tory chancellor says economy has ‘fallen off a cliff’ since Brexit but rejoining union could be ‘quite simple’ Former chancellor George Osborne said Britain’s economy has “fallen off a cliff” since Brexit and that rejoining the European Union’s customs union would be the fastest route to recovery. Osborne, who resigned as chancellor after being part of David Cameron’s cabinet at the time of…
Former UK Chancellor George Osborne has called for the country to rejoin the European Union's customs union, in a bid to boost the economy and boost trade. According to Osborne, the UK's economy has been "falling off a cliff" since Brexit, with the impact being huge and the nation poorer than it would have been otherwise. Despite the difficulty of rejoining the EU a decade after the Brexit referendum, Osborne believes that closer ties with Europe could be the "fastest route to recovery."
He stated that rejoining the customs union is "a quite simple thing to do" and that it was never part of the Brexit debate. Osborne argued that the supposed trade deals with America, which were meant to compensate for the loss of the customs union, now seem "pretty fanciful." He emphasized that considering Britain's growth problem would require looking into ways to revive trade with the continent and attract investment.
Osborne suggested that former Labour leader Andy Burnham should consider rejoining the customs union, but noted that unlike joining the single market, it does not require accepting the free movement of people – an issue that is difficult to sell to people in Britain.
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