UK Unlikely To Return To EU After Brexit Under New Prime Minister – Tory Peer

MOSCOW, June 23 (Bernama-Sputnik/RIA Novosti) -- The United Kingdom is unlikely to rejoin the European Union under a new government, Richard Balfe, a Conservative member of the UK Parliament's House of Lords, told RIA Novosti.

"Yes, but in a rather halfhearted way. Ultimately, they will fail [to re-enter the EU]," the lawmaker said when asked whether London could undo the Brexit under a new government.

Balfe expects that the new government will continue to "muddle along," but eventually will follow Washington's lead.

On Monday, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced his resignation as leader of the ruling Labour Party and stated that he would remain prime minister until a new party leader is elected. He added that the election to choose his successor will begin on July 9 and conclude before Parliament reconvenes in September.

June 23 marks the 10th anniversary of the Brexit referendum, when 52 per cent of Britons voted to leave the EU. On January 31, 2020, the country formally left the EU after 47 years of membership.

The transition period after Brexit, when all EU norms and laws were in effect in Britain and citizens travelled under a simplified procedure, ended on December 31 of the same year. On January 1, 2021, a trade and cooperation agreement between the parties came into force. The Financial Times wrote that the UK had ceased to be a significant trade hub due to leaving the European Union, and that Brexit had significantly complicated investment in British companies.

--BERNAMA-SPUTNIK/RIA NOVOSTI