British businesses do not support reversing Brexit or rejoining the EU, the head of the Confederation of British Industry has admitted.
CBI director-general Rain Newton-Smith said the business community has no desire to turn back the clock to the time before the Brexit referendum.
She said: “The evidence is clear — Brexit has brought added costs for businesses.
“But firms aren’t looking to reopen the referendum debate. None of the business leaders I speak to want to revisit that argument.”
Her comments highlight a growing divide between the business sector and left-leaning politicians pushing for closer ties with European Union.
Andy Burnham, seen by many as a leading contender to replace Keir Starmer as Labour leader, has suggested Britain could seek EU membership again in the future.
Meanwhile, Ed Davey urged Mr Burnham to pursue much stronger ties with Europe if he reaches Downing Street, including rejoining both the single market and a customs union.
Speaking to GB News earlier today, Mr Davey said Brexit has “damaged our country,” adding: “We need to change that relationship with Europe, and I think that’s now obvious to most people.”
The outgoing Prime Minister has drawn firm red lines against such moves, ruling out membership of the customs union, the single market, and free movement as part of EU reset talks.
Ms Newton-Smith said the business landscape has changed significantly since Britain secured trade deals with countries including India and Gulf nations.
She said: “Five years ago, businesses may have supported joining the customs union. But the world has changed, so no, CBI members are not calling for that now.”
The government’s EU reset deal is expected to raise UK GDP by just 0.3 per cent over 15 years, according to official estimates.
That is only a small share of the potential eight per cent GDP hit that Chancellor Rachel Reeves warned Brexit could cause last year.
A summit scheduled for July 11 to finalise the agreement has been delayed following Mr Starmer’s resignation yesterday.
The CBI chief also warned Britain risks being pushed out of European supply chains as Brussels adopts more protectionist policies, including the Industrial Accelerator Act.
She said: “With the UK increasingly caught between American and Chinese industrial power, this is a classic lose-lose scenario. We cannot allow politics to damage our shared competitiveness.”
Lord Elliott, former chief executive of Vote Leave, told GB News that Eurosceptics had grown complacent since Britain left the EU, while Remain supporters had shifted toward actively backing rejoining.
He said: “We need to be more confident in making the case for Britain to remain outside the EU.
“Once the UK left in January 2020, Brexit was done, but many on the Remain side quickly became rejoiners and continued pushing that case.
“Brexiteers need to get back into the debate, remain proud of how they voted, and keep making the case that Britain must make full use of Brexit freedoms — because rejoining would be a serious mistake.”
