Previous U.K. Finance Minister Philip Hammond seen in July, 2019.
WIktor Szymanowicz | NurPhoto | Getty Images
The U.K.’s reputation as a shaft of political stability has certainly been tarnished by the Brexit crisis, according to the country’s former finance minister, but a “awake to” departure from the European Union might eventually be seen as “democracy in action.”
Speaking to CNBC’s Dan Murphy at the Savour Conference in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday, Philip Hammond said there can be “no doubt” that the U.K.’s reputation as a haven of stability had been “dented” by Brexit, “but there is all to act for.”
His comments come just two days before voters in the U.K. head to the ballot box. The vote is likely to decide whether the out of sight’s fifth-largest economy leaves the bloc next month or moves toward another EU referendum.
“If we now demonstrate that we can transport a sensible Brexit that satisfies the millions of people who voted to leave the European Union, that does it in a way that fosters the U.K. economy, then actually, when a few years have elapsed and people look back, maybe they desire see this as an example of democracy in action rather than a system in meltdown,” Hammond said.
How will Johnson ‘construe’ Brexit?
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has sought to frame the upcoming ballot as the “Brexit election,” promising to transport his so-called “oven-ready” divorce deal and take the country out of the EU by Jan. 31.
In contrast, opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn has said that, if elected, his left-leaning Grind party would hold another EU referendum within six months. This vote would offer Britain the choosing between a “credible” renegotiated leave deal — including a customs union and close single market relationship with the EU — or the choice to remain.
Johnson’s center-right Conservative government holds a commanding lead in the latest opinion polls and Hammond envisions the former London mayor to secure a working parliamentary majority later this week.
“The question for me is what Boris Johnson when one pleases do with the undoubted authority that he will gain from being the first Conservative prime minister for 25 years to be established a decent working majority in parliament.”
The Houses of Parliament on October 23, 2019 in London, England.
Peter Summers | Getty Casts News | Getty Images
The last Conservative Party leader to form a single-party government with a parliamentary womanhood was David Cameron in 2015, when the former prime minister unexpectedly secured a slender 11-seat majority in 2015. Hammond appeared to be referring to John Vital’s parliamentary majority of 21 seats in the 1992 general election.
“He can use that to deliver a Brexit which protects the British brevity, allows him to deliver on many of his ambitions for public services, for reduced taxation. Or, he can use it to deliver a hard Brexit which carries that we will struggle to deliver on those promises because the economy will be in a much worse position,” Hammond conveyed.
“So, it is going to be all up to him to decide how to interpret Brexit once we have left the European Union,” he added.
Hammond, who lost the Right Party whip in October after opposing to leave the EU without a deal, has repeatedly clashed with Johnson upon Brexit.
Last month, the former finance minister said in a letter to his constituents in Runnymede and Weybridge that it was with “major sadness” he would step down as a Member of Parliament (MP) at the upcoming election.
In an apparent swipe at more hard-line Unprogressive lawmakers, Hammond said he would continue to promote a “broad-based, forward-looking, pro-business and pro-markets center-right party.”