Rishi Sunakcutarelaxed figure as he sat in shirtsleeves, clutching a Downing Street mug, chatting to journalists on the plane to the G7 conference in Japan last week. One question ruffled his smooth demeanour, though: what did he make of Nigel Farage's eye-opening comments the previous evening? Brexit had "failed", the former Ukip and Brexit party leader had said.
Britain had "not actually benefited ... economically" from leaving the EU.
And who was to blame for this sorry state of affairs? "Useless" Tory governments. Sunak bristled at these remarks. "I voted for Brexit, I believe in Brexit ... as chancellor and prime minister I am actually delivering the benefits of Brexit as opposed to talking about it," he said.
He had reason to feel sensitive. More serious than Farage's jibes was what had prompted them: a warning from the carmaker Stellantis that it would close manufacturing operations in the UK if the government did not renegotiate its trading terms with the EU.
This story is from the May 26, 2023 edition of The Guardian Weekly.
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This story is from the May 26, 2023 edition of The Guardian Weekly.
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