Britain has “reaped the benefits” of Brexit, shadow foreign secretary Priti Patel has said as the nation marks five years since withdrawing from the European Union (EU).
The Conservative Party is looking to use the anniversary to warn voters of the government’s attempts to “dismantle” Brexit and “drag us back into the EU’s grasp”.
“This Labour government, driven by socialist ideology and blind to the will of the people, is determined to dismantle Brexit and drag us back into the EU’s grasp”, Patel said.
In January 2020, Britain officially left the EU after voting to leave four years prior via referendum. 52 per cent of voters backed the UK’s exit from the EU in 2016, with 48 per cent siding with “Remain”.
A YouGov published earlier this week recorded that just 30 per cent of Britons now say it was right for the UK to vote to leave the EU.
More than six in 10 Britons (62 per cent) say that Brexit has so far been more of a failure — against just 11 per cent who feel that it has been more of a success. A more noncommittal 20 per cent of Britons consider it to be neither a success nor failure, YouGov found.
The polling also revealed that as many as one in six “Leave” voters (18 per cent) say that it was wrong for Britain to choose to leave the EU. 66 per cent still say Britain made the right decision.
By contrast, 88 per cent of “Remainers” think a vote for Brexit was wrong, with just 7 per cent saying it was the right choice.
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In a recent speech, Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch appeared to acknowledge her party had made mistakes following the 2016 referendum. “We announced that we would leave the European Union before we had a plan for growth outside the EU”, Badenoch said.
The Conservatives are now looking to celebrate Britain’s departure from the bloc and the manner in which they — led by Boris Johnson — delivered “on the clear democratic will of the country.”
A Tory press release marking Brexit’s fifth anniversary cites the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), one of 73 trade deals signed since 2020, as an instance of success.
The release also celebrates the UK “ending the supremacy of EU law” and the “reform or revocation of almost 2500 pieces of arbitrary or burdensome EU law.”
The notice adds: “Outside the EU, and free of their regulations, we have been able to deliver more competitive tax policies, such as cutting VAT on certain products, reduce and simplify tariffs, and make the City more competitive with the Edinburgh Reforms.
“The UK was also able to take control of its waters and protect our fisherman as an independent coastal state.”
The Conservative Party is also seeking to “sound the alarm” over what it sees as Labour’s plans to “unpick Brexit”.
Commenting on the fifth anniversary of the UK leaving the EU, Priti Patel said: “Five years ago today, the Conservatives honoured the democratic will of the British people and Got Brexit Done.
“Since then, our country has reaped the benefits—securing new trade deals with dynamic, fast-growing markets across the world and reclaiming sovereignty from Brussels. This has allowed us to reform or revoke 2,500 EU laws, ensuring Britain’s future is shaped by our own parliament.
“But this Labour government, driven by socialist ideology and blind to the will of the people, is determined to dismantle Brexit and drag us back into the EU’s grasp. The Conservatives will not stand by and allow this betrayal to happen—we will fight them every step of the way.”
Nigel Farage, the leader of Reform UK, is set to mark the anniversary at an event in Kemi Badenoch’s constituency of North West Essex.
Josh Self is Editor of Politics.co.uk, follow him on Bluesky here.
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