UK marks five years since Brexit amid calls to rejoin and claims of ‘betrayal’

Britain will mark five years since Brexit on Friday with little fanfare as the Government pursues closer relations with the bloc.

The UK officially left the EU at 11pm – midnight in Brussels – on January 31 2020, after three-and-a-half years of political wrangling that followed the 2016 Brexit referendum.

The Conservatives have celebrated the anniversary, with shadow foreign secretary Dame Priti Patel saying it marked five years since her party “honoured the democratic will of the British people and got Brexit done”.

She said: “Since then, our country has reaped the benefits – securing new trade deals with dynamic, fast-growing markets across the world and reclaiming sovereignty from Brussels.”

Dame Priti went on to warn that Labour, “driven by socialist ideology and blind to the will of the people”, was “determined to dismantle Brexit and drag us back into the EU’s grasp” and vowed not to “allow this betrayal to happen”.

Nigel Farage, one of Brexit’s top cheerleaders, told his GB News show on Thursday: “I still 100% believe it was the right thing to do.”

Mr Farage admitted he was “disappointed in the way it’s been delivered”.

Since coming to power, Labour has sought a “reset” in relations with the EU, but has consistently ruled out a return to either the customs union or the single market.

But with polls showing a majority of the public thinks Brexit was the wrong decision, other opposition parties have called on the Government to pursue even closer relations with the bloc.

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey used the fifth anniversary of Brexit to criticise the Conservative deal as “an utter disaster for our country” that had resulted in “farmers, fishers and small businesses” being “caught up in red tape”.

He reiterated his call for a UK-EU customs union deal, saying it would “unlock growth, demonstrate British leadership and give us the best possible hand to play against President Trump”.

Green MP Ellie Chowns also called for the UK to rejoin the customs union and agree a youth mobility scheme with the bloc, but added “full membership of the EU remains the best option for the UK” and said her party would pursue “a policy to re-join as soon as the political will is present”.

Their calls come as polling from YouGov suggested 55% of the public backed rejoining the EU, with the same proportion saying leaving the bloc was the wrong decision.

Only 30% of people said Brexit had been the right decision, while just 11% said they thought leaving the EU had been a success.

However, the Government has been adamant that it will not rejoin either the customs union or the single market.

On Thursday, the Prime Minister’s official spokesman said the Government’s approach was “to strengthen our ties on security and defence, improve the relationship on trade and investment and work with the EU to identify areas which are in the UK’s national interest”.

He added: “You can see through the work we’ve done so far working towards a security partnership, committing to six-monthly foreign policy dialogues, that we’re taking an approach that supports our ambitions to deliver greater safety, security and prosperity across the UK.”

Asked whether the Government was embarrassed about Brexit, a Downing Street spokesman said: “Our focus is very much on the future. That’s why the Prime Minister has spoken of the importance of resetting the relationship with Europe and that’s the job he is getting on with.”