00:00 The City of London CEO Chris Hayward says it's time to draw a line under Brexit and
00:05 re-engage with Brussels for the greater good of both the EU and the UK's economies.
00:10 I actually think Prime Minister Sunak now has taken a very positive approach to the
00:15 EU as has our Chancellor Jeremy Hunt. So I think those days are past. I talk about a
00:22 painful divorce, it was a painful divorce, but I think we have to now get trust back
00:27 because the opportunities for both the EU and the UK by trading together, by working
00:32 together far outweigh those conflicts.
00:35 But is it over for the UK given that you have a stubbornly high inflation rate which people
00:41 like Mark Carney are saying was a direct result of Brexit?
00:45 Let's be clear, some of these issues you've talked about are common across Europe. So
00:48 high inflation isn't peculiar to the UK, nor high interest rates. We're all affected by
00:53 the geopolitical issues that are affecting our economies at the present time. The one
00:58 thing I think we need to do in the UK, and I think the EU as well frankly, is to drive
01:03 economic growth. We haven't had a lot of economic growth over the past few years and we need
01:08 to get growth back into the system. And I think EU countries are finding the same challenge
01:12 as well.
01:13 Well then does that not mean that the UK is better off in something like the European
01:16 Union? When you look at the US, the way it has its Inflation Reduction Act and the EU
01:20 where you can work together as 27 member states, you just look at the COVID Recovery Fund and
01:25 various other funds that happened throughout COVID. The UK is an outlier because of the
01:31 supply issues, the cost of supply, it's at the end of the supply chain. It's not just
01:36 a global issue, is it?
01:38 Look, I regret us not being in the single market. I think to not be in the single market
01:43 was a mistake and I'll always think it was a mistake. But I do think that the opportunities
01:49 now for us are that we have to now compete on the world stage. We have to stand alone.
01:54 We're capable of standing alone. I think we'd have been better standing within the EU, but
01:59 we now have to seize those opportunities that are available to us.
02:01 How do you see standing alone and having growth? Does that mean driving down regulations, social
02:07 dumping or that kind of thing?
02:08 So first of all, we don't want to deregulate. Let me be absolutely clear. High quality regulation,
02:13 financial regulation is really important to getting inward financial investment from across
02:17 the world. So that's actually very important to us. Getting growth is about getting investment
02:22 growth into the country. So it's stimulating our fintech sector, for example.
02:28 Just final question, because, you know, it may not be over for some people. 62% of people
02:32 would like to rejoin. Would you relish a second referendum or, you know, even a conversation
02:38 about that?
02:39 Personally, no, I think not in my lifetime. I think we have now taken a decision. There
02:44 has been a referendum. Of course, you could always argue with that swing the other way
02:48 if we did it again now. I think we've now set a course for ourselves, which we now have
02:54 to follow.
02:55 Thank you very much for joining us.
02:56 Thank you very much indeed.
02:57 Thank you.
02:57 [WHOOSH]
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