Theresa May needs stronger mandate in EU to make Brexit a SUCCESS, Philip Hammond hints
THERESA MAY needs to strengthen her hand in the General Election so the UK has a strong voice in Brexit negotiations, Philip Hammond has said.
Hammond: Vital UK public have strong voice in Brexit negotiations
The Chancellor, who is attending a G7 meeting in Bari, Italy, this weekend, said good progress to secure the UK’s position had been made but there is more work to do.
Speaking to Reuters, Mr Hammond said: “The G7 is the club of the world’s leading democratic economies and I am here to push Britain’s agenda to ensure a fair deal for Britain out of global trade.
“To work together with our global partners here to protect British sub-citizens, from external security threats and to ensure global companies pay their fair share of tax in our country.
“We’ve made good progress but we’ve got more work to do and it is vital that the UK has a strong voice in these international councils and a strong voice in the Brexit negotiations.”
Mr Hammond said the General Election was about securing Mrs May mandate heading into, what is expected to be, tough talks with the European Union.
The Conservative Party politician added: “And that is what this election is going to be about.
“The strong leadership of Theresa May to give Britain that strong voice, every vote on June 8 will strengthen Theresa May’s hand to get the best deal for Britain.”
Earlier this week, Mrs May launched a scathing attack on the Labour Party, as she said the election was a choice between "me and my team, with our eyes fixed on the future, or Jeremy Corbyn and his allies that want to take us back to the economic chaos of the past”.
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It is vital the UK has a strong voice in the Brexit negotiations
The PM continued: "If you put your trust in me, back me, I will work every day to build a better future for your family and our country.
"If you put your trust in me, back me, I will strive to be a leader worthy of our great country.
"If you put your trust in me, back me, I will work every day to build a Britain our children and grandchildren are proud to call home - a stronger Britain, where everyone has the economic security they need and the chance to live a secure and happy life, a fairer Britain that works for everyone, not just a privileged few."
Speaking in North Shields, Mrs May also branded Jeremy Corbyn’s leaked draft election manifesto "a multibillion-pound ideological wish list of deliverable promises" with a funding shortfall estimated to be "at least £30 billion" that could only mean huge tax rises.
"He says he wants to change Britain - and that's true," she said. "But what we have learned in this campaign is that he wants to change it into the 1970s.
"In just three weeks Labour have taken us back 40 years - or maybe 400 years according to Diane Abbott,” Mrs May said in a dig at the shadow minister’s car-crash interview over police funding on LBC.
Meanwhile, Boris Johnson has insisted the European Union could end up paying the UK a vast sum, as Britain has contributed a large amount to the bloc’s assets.
Mr Johnson told the Telegraph: “I think there are very good arguments.
“There are assets, I don’t want to get too much into the detail of the negotiation but there are assets that we share, that we have paid for over the years and there will need to be a proper computation of the value of those assets. I certainly think the bill that’s been presented at the moment is absurd.”