Jeremy Hunt: Social consequences of no Brexit would be 'devastating'
The foreign secretary says a second referendum would be "incredibly damaging" - and the PM will "find a way" to pass her deal.
Friday 4 January 2019 09:23, UK
Theresa May will "find a way" to get her Brexit deal through parliament, according to Jeremy Hunt, who said the social consequences of not leaving the EU would be "devastating".
Speaking during a visit to Singapore, the foreign secretary said: "When Theresa May comes back with those reassurances that she has been seeking from the EU that the deal that is on the table is not going to lead to us being permanently trapped in the customs union... she will find a way to get this deal through parliament."
MPs will return to parliament next week, with the debate on the prime minister's Brexit deal commencing on 9 January.
The delayed vote on the deal itself will take place the following week, having been postponed by the government before Christmas.
Mrs May pulled the vote because she feared a heavy defeat - but the move sparked a vote of confidence in her leadership.
The PM emerged from this victorious and pledged to seek assurances from the EU in a bid to win over wavering MPs.
But as 2019 begins, it appears little has changed.
The current impasse has led to calls from some quarters for a second referendum, with supporters of such an idea arguing it could be a solution to the deadlock.
However, Mr Hunt warned proponents of another vote that such a course of action would be "incredibly damaging".
"We've been given our instructions by the British people, they've asked us to leave the European Union and they're expecting us to get on with that," he said.
"If we went back to them and asked for their opinion a second time, they'd say 'well you guys aren't listening to us. Are you going to ask us a third time or a fourth time until you get the answer you want?' And if that's the case, then that's not a democracy at all.
"So the social consequences in one of the oldest democracies in the world of not going ahead and leaving the EU on 29 March, as we've been instructed to do, would be devastating."
And specifically addressing what assurances Mrs May can obtain, Mr Hunt said Britain was not "asking for anything new".
"But we are asking you to define what temporary means so we can have confidence we're not going to be trapped in the customs union forever against the wishes of the British people," he said.
During his three-day visit to Asia, the foreign secretary said the UK's history and geography gives it the opportunity to be an "invisible chain" linking democracies around the world.
Despite being in the process of leaving the EU, Mr Hunt highlighted the UK's "friendship" with Europe as one of the UK's key international advantages.