Hammond: Chequers like the light bulb, people said it wouldn't work but they were wrong
65 views · Published 6 October 2018 · 3:25 · Indexed 28 September 2026
Channel: AP Archive · 2018 · News & Politics
(1 Oct 2018) UK Treasury chief Philip Hammond used his conference speech on Monday to stress that the Conservatives are the party of business and economic aspiration, whatever the outcome of Brexit. "Europe remains by far our biggest market and after 45 years of membership, Britain's economy has shaped itself around that fact," Hammond told Conservative members at the party's annual conference. Hammond spoke ten days after EU leaders told Prime Minister Theresa May that her proposed divorce terms were unacceptable. "Mr Tusk (European Council President Donald Tusk who has rejected Theresa May's proposal) says it won't work but that's what people said about the light bulb in 1878 and our job now is to prove him wrong," he told applauding delegates. Hammond on Monday urged party members to "stand together four-square behind the PM to get the best possible outcome for Britain". "When the prime minister gets a deal agreed there will be a boost to our economic growth, a 'deal dividend', which we will share in line with our balanced approach between keeping taxes low, supporting public services, reducing the deficit and investing in Britain's future," he said. It's a sign of how Brexit has upended British politics that the party of free-market former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher needs to make such an assurance. May's plan has also been rejected by EU leaders, who say it amounts to "cherry picking" benefits of membership in the bloc without the costs and responsibilities. May is sticking to her proposal. But with Brexit day - March 29- less than six months away, chances are rising that the U.K. could find itself crashing out of the bloc without a deal. The government has acknowledged that could leave lanes grounded and trucks backed up at British ports. Advocates of "hard Brexit" argue that make the UK a "vassal" of the EU and say a clean break with the bloc would let Britain strike new trade deals around the world. Former Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, a likely future contender for May's job, has called the prime minister's plan "preposterous" and "deranged." Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter: https://twitter.com/AP_Archive Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/APArchives Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/APNews/ You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/1144656683c3d930913abc21660f2009
