U.K.'s Next Government Should Fix EU Trade Relationship, Leading Business Group Says

By Ed Frankl

The next U.K. government should embrace closer trade ties with the European Union after next month's general election, according to the head of one of the country's largest business lobby groups.

Stressing the importance of improving EU trade in growing the U.K.'s economy, better terms are possible if both parties reach agreements in areas of mutual benefit, Shevaun Haviland, director general of the British Chambers of Commerce, will say at its annual conference on Thursday.

"The current plan isn't working for our members," Haviland will add, according to remarks released ahead of the event.

Neither the incumbent Conservative Party nor opposition Labour Party have pledged to open up the possibility of rejoining the EU, after Britain's fraught exit from the bloc following a referendum in 2017.

"I'm not here to look backwards, I'm here to help build a better future for our business leaders and entrepreneurs. We must stop walking on eggshells and start saying it how it is," Haviland will say.

Brexit has made the U.K.'s economy about 5% smaller than it otherwise would have been, Goldman Sachs economists said in a report earlier this year.

Labour comfortably lead the Conservatives in the polls ahead of the July 4 vote.

Write to Ed Frankl at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

06-27-24 0534ET