Remainers must never give up trying to rejoin the EU, Michael Heseltine says

Former deputy prime minister says we ‘must restore Britain’s position in the corridors of European power’

Tory grandee Lord Heseltine (PA)

Remainers must "never" give up trying to rejoin the European Union, Lord Heseltine has said.

Speaking during a lecture on Wednesday afternoon the former deputy prime minister quoted Nigel Farage, who claimed ahead of the 2016 vote that "a 52-48 referendum" would be "unfinished business".

"Thinking he was about to lose he was preparing for the fight ahead," the Tory peer and staunch retainer told his audience at Nottingham University.

"The last opinion poll I saw showed that that narrow Brexit vote has been replaced by a 10 point lead for those who took the opposite view. I agree therefore that it is unfinished business."

Lord Heseltine cited figures from the government’s own Office for Budget Responsibility, suggesting that leaving the EU would reduce GDP by about 4 per cent in comparison with the Covid-19 pandemic reducing it by a further 2 per cent.

And he listed other effects of leaving the bloc, such as "gaps in the supermarket shelves", "queues in doctors surgeries" and "well over a million European workers" who he said had gone home.

Conceding that the British public "may have voted narrowly for Brexit" he warned that everyone would "end up paying higher prices and having lower standards of living as a result of this ill thought out and cynical political decision by the Prime Minister to get into No.10".

Lord Heseltine, now a rare pro-EU voice on the government benches, argued that the Conservative party would eventually come to support re-entry into the European Union, adding: "It will take time. It will require energy and leadership. There is a lesson to be learnt from the Brexiteers. They never gave up. Our purpose is clear. We must restore Britain's position in the corridors of European power. That is our natural home and not only much of our history but also much of our future will lie.

"It is sad beyond measure that this government, by contrast, will bequeath to our younger generation an empty chair, voiceless, devoid of influence over European affairs. They will come to reject such a diminished role for our country. Europe will welcome them back."

A survey released in October and conducted by pollsters Savanta ComRes found that 52 per cent of the public believe that Brexit had delivered little, while 36 per cent believe it has been a success.