Lib Dems would push UK back towards single market

SIR ED DAVEY has pledged to set the UK “on the path back to the single market” and back “at the heart of Europe”.

The Liberal Democrat leader told members that being at the centre of Europe was “where we belong”, as he pledged to rebuild the country’s relationship with the European Union.

Speaking at the close of the Liberal Democrat conference in York, he told members: “Only Liberal Democrats have a clear plan to rebuild this relationship with a better deal for Britain.

“To renew the ties of trust and friendship, to set us on the path back to the single market – our plan to repair the damage the Conservatives have done.”

He added: “And, in time, to restore Britain’s place at the heart of Europe. Where we belong.”

Sir Ed described Britain’s relationship with Europe as something “we can’t afford not to tackle head on… even if the other parties think it’s too difficult or too politically uncomfortable”.

The Liberal Democrats at the 2019 general election pledged to “stop Brexit and build a brighter future”, promising to cancel Britain’s departure from the bloc without putting it to a public vote.

But after receiving fewer than four million votes and returning just 11 MPS, the party replaced their then-leader, Jo Swinson, and focused less on Europe.

In an interview at the party’s last conference last autumn, Sir Ed refused seven times to say whether the Liberal Democrats wanted the country to rejoin the EU.

He eventually told the BBC’S Victoria Derbyshire at the time that he wanted Britain “at the heart of Europe” and that the party’s four-pronged approach would mean rejoining the single market in the long term.

The party has not put a date on when it would wish to seek to rejoin the Single Market, nor on its aim to “restore Britain’s place at the heart of Europe”.

But Sir Ed told party members: “We know it won’t be easy. We know it won’t be quick.

“The ties that have been so badly severed can only be stitched back together gradually, over time.

“This will take great care and determined effort over years. But if we are to transform Britain’s economic future, we must start today.”

In an early version of the party’s manifesto, the Liberal Democrats set out a “roadmap” to closer ties, which includes joining the Erasmus Plus scheme for students studying abroad and putting in place a veterinary agreement.