Cheer up! UK can boom outside EU following Brexit, says Aussie envoy
THE Australian high commissioner to London has urged Britain to be less gloomy about Brexit and embrace the new opportunities it will create.
After months of negativity by Remainers, Alexander Downer heralded the bright future facing the UK once it throws off Brussels rule.
He also made it clear that he looks forward to an end to the barriers thrown up between Britain and Australia as a consequence of joining the EU in 1973.
Big business has shown its confidence in Brexit Britain with Nissan, Google, Facebook and the Deutsche Bank among others making huge long-term UK investments.
Optimistic
But attacks on the integrity of the economy by leading Remain figures including Tony Blair, Vince Cable and Chuka Umunna has been blamed for the number of smaller firms exporting goods falling over the past year, a report shows.
A survey of more than 1,000 small and medium-sized businesses found that only 30 per cent exported in the three months to June, down from just over half a year ago.
Nearly half of those polled by international payments firm World First said they expect to see export volumes stall or even decline, a year on from the UK voting to leave the EU.
However, Mr Downer said the UK should be “optimistic” about achieving a new free trade deal with the EU and could forge a new and successful economic policy if it pursued the right path domestically.
Mr Downer cited Australia’s decisions in the wake of Britain first joining the Common Market and the end of preferential trade arrangements between Commonwealth countries.
He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “I think you are a bit gloomy. Of course this is a big transition that you’re going through and there’s much contention about the negotiations.
Successful
“But our experience of major changes like this – and we had such a major change as the Commonwealth preference system was phased out and eventually Britain joined the European Union in 1973 – is that you are going to succeed depending on what policies you pursue subsequently.”
He said it was possible for the UK to conclude a successful negotiation.
“You have a motive to conclude a successful negotiation, so does the EU, so prima facie you have some basis for being cautiously optimistic an agreement ultimately can be reached,” he said. “It will involve compromises though, so both sides won’t get exactly what they want.”
He said Australia’s experience showed it was possible to do new trade deals without accepting free movement of people.
He added: “As outsiders we’re very anxious that both the EU and you do reach an agreement. Not just the UK of course, the onus is on the EU as well to make sure you don’t erect barriers.
“But secondly, it seems to us from our own experience that if you in addition, not instead of, but in addition, to that go out and negotiate trade agreements with other parts of the world, you can make your approach more global and less regional than it might otherwise be.”