Sir Richard Branson has faced a backlash from Brexiteers after he described the UK's departure from the EU as an "unmitigated disaster". The Virgin Group founder claimed the 2016 Brexit vote was an "unprecedented act of economic and political self-harm".
The billionaire, who backed Remain in the referendum and has lived in the Caribbean for much of the last two decades, insisted voters should be given a "second chance" to decide whether to be in the club. His intervention comes after Sir Tony Blair's think tank called for the UK to rejoin Brussels within a decade.
Priti Patel warns against 'rose-tinted glasses'
Tory MP Dame Priti Patel warned against looking back at Brussels "with rose-tinted glasses". She told the Daily Express: "Britain needs leadership that is committed to making the most of our Brexit freedoms rather than this constant desire to fight the battles of 2016 and the bitterness of losing the arguments back then."
"Too many still view the EU with rose-tinted glasses, since we've left, the EU has suffered from slow growth. Its institutions have failed to meet the challenges the world faces today and it continues to suffer from a lack of democratic legitimacy with more powers being centralised in Brussels away from national governments and parliaments."
"If Britain had never left the EU, we'd be paying even more in, getting less out and feeling the weight of more red tape."
Lord Elliott points to UK growth
Vote Leave co-founder and Tory peer Lord Matthew Elliott added: "The UK has grown faster than France, Germany and Italy since leaving the EU. This is partly because our tech sector is so much stronger, because it's not embroiled in the EU's AI Act."
"We shouldn't be complacent - we could be growing a lot faster - but that's down to taxation being at a 70-year high, not Brexit."
In a post on LinkedIn, Sir Richard compared the Brexit vote to swapping an F1 car for a hatchback. He added: "As a majority of UK voters now feel regret over the Brexit vote, they must be given a second chance to determine what is in their best interest."
Andy Burnham has committed to Labour's red lines on Brexit in its 2024 manifesto, including not returning to the single market, customs union or freedom of movement. But the PM earlier this week left the door open to including a pledge to rejoin the EU in Labour's next election manifesto.
