It was his most direct intervention as prime minister on the matter to date. The motivation for his growing brazenness on Brexit is the pursuit of economic growth. The Corkman had pushed the prime minister, a Remainer by instinct, to accept Brexit. “Thankfully, Britain still has choices.”He suggested Britain would, as a sovereign nation, accept more “shared rules” with the EU in parts of its economy to spur growth. The prime minister and his EU minister, Thomas-Symonds, are still insisting that the UK’s so-called Brexit “red lines” – no return to the customs union, no free movement and no return to the single market – remain intact.

Source: The Irish Times December 04, 2025 16:00 UTC