Britain could still reverse Brexit, former minister Heseltine says

[webfact]

Britain could still reverse Brexit, former minister Heseltine says

By Guy Faulconbridge

 

Former British Deputy Prime Minister Michael Heseltine speaks to a Reuters journalist during an interview in London, Britain, September 5, 2017. REUTERS/Hannah McKay

 

LONDON (Reuters) - Brexit could be reversed if economic pain prompts a change in public opinion that brings a new generation of political leaders to power in Britain, former Conservative minister Michael Heseltine said.

 

Heseltine, who helped topple Margaret Thatcher in 1990 but ultimately failed to win the top job, said that Britain could face another election in just two years and that Prime Minister Theresa May would not lead the party into that election.

 

A supporter of EU membership, Heseltine said he saw a scenario in which Britain would not leave the European Union as scheduled in late March 2019.

 

"There is now a possibility that Brexit will not happen, but it will need a change in public opinion," Heseltine, 84, told Reuters in an interview.

 

"There may be indications but there is no really substantive evidence of public opinion moving but I think that it will happen. My guess is that public opinion will move," he said.

 

Heseltine said the shift in Brexit policy by the opposition Labour Party - including staying in the European single market and customs union for a transitional period - indicated Labour had sensed the wind of a change in public opinion.

 

May, who quietly opposed Brexit ahead of the referendum, has formally notified the bloc of Britain's intention to leave and divorce talks are under way.

 

Some European leaders have suggested Britain could change its mind, while former Conservative prime minister John Major has said there is a credible case for giving Britons a second vote on the Brexit deal.

 

His successor, Labour's Tony Blair, has said repeatedly that Brexit can and should be stopped.

 

In the June 2016 referendum voters in the United Kingdom backed leaving the EU by a margin of 51.9 percent to 48.1 percent.

 

The world's fifth-biggest economy initially withstood the shock of the Brexit vote, but growth began to slow sharply this year as inflation rose on the falling value of the pound and hit households.

 

CHANGE THE BREXIT TUNE

 

May, who has insisted that Britain will leave the European Union, said last month that she wanted to fight the next parliamentary election, not due until 2022.

 

Heseltine, though, said that seemed unlikely given her botched gamble on a snap election in June which lost her party its majority in the lower house of parliament.

 

"I don't think she will fight the next election, but there is no agreement on her successor. All the people indicated as possibles are singing the same song, and in my view the song is unattractive and will become less attractive," he said.

 

"'Ousted' is a specific word, but there are many ways in which the Tory party operates - what it will quite look like I am not going to say. But I think there will be a change to a new leader before the next election."

 

"They have two years before the next election."

 

Heseltine said he was waiting for a politician to emerge with the courage to challenge the Brexit consensus of British politics and explain to voters the full import of the divorce.

 

"Within a relatively short period of time, the Brexit negotiations will sour even more than they already have, and the Tories will be left holding the baby. Everybody else will have moved away from Brexit," Heseltine said.

 

Brexit, he said, was a "monumental mistake" that would make Britain a spectator of 21st century history, bleed its wealth and relegate it from the league of leading global powers.

 

"The idea that we are not European is just to spit in the wind: Anyone who has read Shakespeare knows just how European we are," said Heseltine, who the Sunday Times says has a fortune of 300 million pounds ($390 million).

 

He said Brexit was far more significant than the 1956 Suez crisis, when British forces were forced by the United States to withdraw troops from Egypt in a blunt illustration of Britain's lost imperial power.

 

Heseltine said the EU was unlikely to give Britain the beneficial divorce deal it wanted because to do so would risk unravelling the EU itself.

 

"It is difficult to see how the Brexit negotiations can be anything other than discordant. The issues are huge and they come down to a very simple question: Can the Europeans agree to someone leaving the club on 'the cake and eat it' basis?"

 

"I don't think they can. And they have made it clear they don't intend to. If they were to change their mind so that we have our cake and eat it, well of course I will be wrong. But I don't think they are going to do that."

 

($1 = 0.7695 pounds)

 

(Reporting by Guy Faulconbridge; Editing by Hugh Lawson)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2017-09-06

[Guest]

This could be interesting. 

 

Right now, pretty much all EU countries see Britain as Trumplandia.  One of us, who we lost for good. 

 

If UK wishes to revert it's policy, and become an EU state again, it must do some serious damage management towards EU. Simple 'Sorry', will not do it. 

[canopus1969]

Out means out period !

[JAG]

If Britain were to change its mind and remain I rather suspect that the conditions would be very unpalatable indeed - although not perhaps for an octegenarian with £300 millions to his name!

[Guest]

I think our EU is pretty happy for UK leaving our union. 

 

UK used to be the little brother of USA, which hindered the development of the EU.

 

UK also used to be the balancing power against Germany. 

Now we'll see what is the true potential of Europe. 

 

[Laughing Gravy]

Heseltine you EU Gravy train clown. Shut up. People voted out. Accept it. I do wish peers like him would stop speaking for themselves. Brexit was a monumental win for democracy and a fingers up to the EU and the government of the time, who spent 9 million pound on leaflets trying to keep the people in, incase people forgot. Not to mention the constant barrage from the BBC and project fear. Heseltine, Mandelson, Blair, Kinnock et all are so out of touch with the people and are only thinking of their masters and themselves.

 

The EU and their voices seem pretty desperate at the moment. What happened to good luck we don't need you? Everyone knows that the EU is going to lose a major contributor.

[Laughing Gravy]

6 minutes ago, oilinki said:

I think our EU is pretty happy for UK leaving our union. 

 

UK used to be the little brother of USA, which hindered the development of the EU.

 

UK also used to be the balancing power against Germany. 

Now we'll see what is the true potential of Europe. 

 

Great I like what you say. Can you tell the rest of the clowns that because what you say and what the rest of the EU are saying, are paradigms apart.

[brewsterbudgen]

Once the disaster of Brexit is fully realised, the British people will be desperate to go back in. Watch this space.

[Guest]

8 minutes ago, Laughing Gravy said:

Great I like what you say. Can you tell the rest of the clowns that because what you say and what the rest of the EU are saying, are paradigms apart.

Clowns?

 

Are we clowns, simply because we think UK is a lost cause? 

I said we don't even want you to be with us, in the current form you present yourself. 

[Piccadilly Circus]

6 minutes ago, brewsterbudgen said:

Once the disaster of Brexit is fully realised, the British people will be desperate to go back in. Watch this space.

 

Joke of the day award.

[colinneil]

12 minutes ago, brewsterbudgen said:

Once the disaster of Brexit is fully realised, the British people will be desperate to go back in. Watch this space.

[Rimmer]

A troll post taking half a page has been removed

[Guest]

As a member of EU, United States of Great Britain, is a well loved member of us.

As a departed member, UK is just a country on our borders.

Turkeys' population 80 million. UK's population 65 million. 

It will be just few year before Turkey becomes a more important player in EU economies, that UK is.

Then there are all the other countries...

[sawadee1947]

56 minutes ago, oilinki said:

This could be interesting. 

 

Right now, pretty much all EU countries see Britain as Trumplandia.  One of us, who we lost for good. 

 

If UK wishes to revert it's policy, and become an EU state again, it must do some serious damage management towards EU. Simple 'Sorry', will not do it. 

I think EU would accept a "sorry" even with gritted teeth. Cherry picking has to stop of course and instead "make Europe great again". Britain without EU will be as Heseltine said a spectator of 21th century.

[sawadee1947]

27 minutes ago, colinneil said:

 

40 minutes ago, brewsterbudgen said:

Once the disaster of Brexit is fully realised, the British people will be desperate to go back in. Watch this space.

Yeah but you can see how many dumb people are here on this blog. And they act like that because they will not feel the coming growing poverty in UK. They are here. The good thing: this generation will die soon and will make way for the re-entry in EU

[pitrevie]

45 minutes ago, Laughing Gravy said:

Heseltine you EU Gravy train clown. Shut up. People voted out. Accept it. I do wish peers like him would stop speaking for themselves. Brexit was a monumental win for democracy and a fingers up to the EU and the government of the time, who spent 9 million pound on leaflets trying to keep the people in, incase people forgot. Not to mention the constant barrage from the BBC and project fear. Heseltine, Mandelson, Blair, Kinnock et all are so out of touch with the people and are only thinking of their masters and themselves.

 

The EU and their voices seem pretty desperate at the moment. What happened to good luck we don't need you? Everyone knows that the EU is going to lose a major contributor.

Heseltine was stating the position correctly. No government can dictate to a successor government and so there is nothing stopping a future government reversing the decision and taking us back into Europe with our without a referendum. All that needs to be done is put the question at a general election.

In fact no less a person than David Davis the Brexit secretary stated that if a country cannot change its mind then it is no longer a democracy.

By the way Brexit far from being a monumental win was a narrow win which means for now we are leaving the EU.

[Guest]

2 minutes ago, sawadee1947 said:

I think EU would accept a "sorry" even with gritted teeth. Cherry picking has to stop of course and instead "make Europe great again". Britain without EU will be as Heseltine said a spectator of 21th century.

EU does not have love for nationalistic nonsence some Brits has shown even here.

 

 

[dundee48]

Shock,horror.Multi millionaire businessman with absolutely no vested interests wants another referendum.

[Guest]

1 minute ago, dundee48 said:

Shock,horror.Multi millionaire businessman with absolutely no vested interests wants another referendum.

If  you are indeed an UK national, or even an EU national, you have all the right to say so.

As Russian.. well 

[adammike]

It's a bit of cut and paste journalism,though Hessa has said all that over the last couple of years in various interviews, lazy reporter, two years till the next election?  More like five.

[dundee48]

2 minutes ago, oilinki said:

EU does not have love for nationalistic nonsence some Brits has shown even here.

 

 

Bitterness and jealousy are very uncouth.

The cash cow is leaving,get over it.Your country`s begging bowl will have to be filled by another member(Turkey maybe,hahahahahahahaha)

[sawadee1947]

2 minutes ago, oilinki said:

EU does not have love for nationalistic nonsence some Brits has shown even here.

 

 

Yeah Do you think this forum is a place for Nazis, nationalists, racists and ignorant and narrow minded?

[dundee48]

1 minute ago, oilinki said:

If  you are indeed an UK national, or even an EU national, you have all the right to say so.

As Russian.. well 

So you are China`s bitch.

[Guest]

Just now, dundee48 said:

So you are China`s bitch.

Ha! Does this mean I have been analysed by GRU? 

It's such an honor. Thank you!
:D
 

[Grouse]

6 hours ago, canopus1969 said:

Out means out period !

Very helpful comment that! Thanks!

 

There is no doubt that the referendum demonstrated that a small majority of those who voted wished to leave for a number of reasons

 

It is my opinion (backed by a number of statistical measures) that those who voted to leave tended to be the less well educated, the less well informed, the dissatisfied ones, the ones not so successful. So what to do?

 

This is a representative democracy, members of parliament should vote for what they themselves feel is best for the country generally even if that goes against a majority of their constituents 

 

It is quite obvious that leaving is a faux pas. Even today we learn that there will be further defence cuts because the falling pound makes our imported equipment much more expensive.

 

I think Heseltine, Blair, Major et al are correct. This disasterously foolish move will be reversed.

 

 

Edited September 6, 2017 by Sheryl
edited for civility

[adammike]

Just now, dundee48 said:

Bitterness and jealousy are very uncouth.

The cash cow is leaving,get over it.Your country`s begging bowl will have to be filled by another member(Turkey maybe,hahahahahahahaha)

Angela Merkel said last week that Turkey will never be a member of the EU as long as the present dictator is in charge.just so you know Turkey does want to join the EU (applied over 30 years ago) but has never been close to even having the application debated, Let's be clear the brexiters scare tactics that there was 60,000,000 Turks waiting to flood into the EU was another of their lies. The EU has transformed the lives of millions of the poorest people in Europe,  and countries still want to join and even take the Euro as there currency, the EU has learned and the criteria for joining the euro are strict,the "pigs" would probably not have the Euro now.

[CantSpell]

Just make another referendum: don't give us another "the people voice" excuse, everybody is entitled to change it's mind and 2 years have gone already...

I also had the feeling that many lies were fed to UK citizen before the first referendum and most of the country was surprised by the result....

 

Would love the see the result of a second one....

[dundee48]

3 minutes ago, adammike said:

Angela Merkel said last week that Turkey will never be a member of the EU as long as the present dictator is in charge.just so you know Turkey does want to join the EU (applied over 30 years ago) but has never been close to even having the application debated, Let's be clear the brexiters scare tactics that there was 60,000,000 Turks waiting to flood into the EU was another of their lies. The EU has transformed the lives of millions of the poorest people in Europe,  and countries still want to join and even take the Euro as there currency, the EU has learned and the criteria for joining the euro are strict,the "pigs" would probably not have the Euro now.

Any rich countries in that list,didn`t think so.More begging bowls coming.

[dundee48]

2 minutes ago, CantSpell said:

Just make another referendum: don't give us another "the people voice" excuse, everybody is entitled to change it's mind and 2 years have gone already...

I also had the feeling that many lies were fed to UK citizen before the first referendum and most of the country was surprised by the result....

 

Would love the see the result of a second one....

And if the result was the same? Maybe a third or fourth?

[Grouse]

1 hour ago, Laughing Gravy said:

Heseltine you EU Gravy train clown. Shut up. People voted out. Accept it. I do wish peers like him would stop speaking for themselves. Brexit was a monumental win for democracy and a fingers up to the EU and the government of the time, who spent 9 million pound on leaflets trying to keep the people in, incase people forgot. Not to mention the constant barrage from the BBC and project fear. Heseltine, Mandelson, Blair, Kinnock et all are so out of touch with the people and are only thinking of their masters and themselves.

 

The EU and their voices seem pretty desperate at the moment. What happened to good luck we don't need you? Everyone knows that the EU is going to lose a major contributor.

Gravy and gravy trains!

 

Why is it always about the money?

 

It's much more important than that!

 

Ironically it is the UK that will be much worse off even after stopping our EU contributions.