CHANGING HIS MIND?
Philip Hammond takes a pop at Donald Tusk over Brexit saying he’s like people who thought lightbulbs would never catch on
The Chancellor predicted an economic bounce after we strike a trade deal with the EU
PHILIP Hammond today hit out at the EU for trying to block Theresa May’s Brexit plan - saying Eurocrats are behaving like the people who tried to stop the rise of electricity.
The Chancellor also predicted Britain will see an economic boom once we cut a trade deal with Brussels, dubbing it a “deal dividend”.
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But he risked alienating Brexiteer Tories by saying the UK has no choice but to stay closely tied to Europe even once we’ve quit the EU.
Speaking at the party conference in Birmingham, Mr Hammond stood up for the PM’s Chequers and blasted the EU for being too inflexible to accept it.
He told activists: “Mr Tusk says it won’t work - but that’s what people said about the lightbulb in 1878. Our job is to prove him wrong.”
He suggested that if Britain and the EU do manage to strike a deal, the economy will soar as businesses breathe a sigh of relief.
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The Chancellor said: “Negotiating and preparing for Brexit is one of the most complex tasks ever undertaken by a peacetime Government.
“So over the next few weeks we must stand together, four-square behind the PM, to get the best possible outcome for Britain while at the same time taking the precaution of preparing for the possibility of No Deal.
“And be in no doubt that I will maintain enough fiscal firepower to support our economy if that happens.
“But I’m going to stick my neck out here today and make a prediction to you - that 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.”
The remarks are a major shift from Mr Hammond’s previous record of gloomy predictions about Brexit.
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But he also warned that Britain and the EU would have to work closely together because of the strong economic ties between them.
Mr Hammond said: “There are a couple of facts which we have to acknowledge and we cannot change.
“The first is geographic - whatever the outcome, Europe will remain firmly anchored just a few miles off the coast of Kent.
“So we will be neighbours and we are going to have to carry on living with each other.
“The second fact is economic - Europe remains, by far, our biggest market. And after 45 years of membership, Britain’s economy has shaped itself around that fact.”
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Brexiteers have previously called for Mr Hammond to be sacked by the PM because of his refusal to embrace the economic opportunities of quitting the EU.
Today David Davis said Mr Hammond had deliberately used faulty forecasts on the economy to make Brexit look more risky than it is.
He told a conference fringe meeting: “These are not forecasts, they are weapons.”
Ruth Davidson blasts anti-democratic Remainers over second referendum
PRO-EU campaigners who want a second referendum are undermining Britain’s democracy, Ruth Davidson said today.
The Scottish Tories boss - who voted Remain in 2016 - blasted sore losers who have been trying to overturn the result.
She said the referendums on Brexit and Scottish independence should both be respected as she gave her Tory conference speech.
Ms Davidson - eight months pregnant - said: “Because over the last few weeks, I keep being asked, ‘Ruth you voted Remain, surely you’d welcome the chance to try and reverse the result. Why not back another vote?
“Why not join all the other people who were happy to support a referendum when they thought they’d win, and are now crying foul and insisting we go through it all again?”
But she added: “Whether you’re Conservative, Labour, Leave or Remain, Yes or No – we must respect the democratic choices we make or we undermine the principles we all claim to uphold.
“I didn’t get the result I wanted in 2016.
“But you don’t get to demand a re-run just because you didn’t get what you want.”
Philip Hammond says Corbyn's hard-left plans offer 'no future' for Britain in scathing attack on Labour
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