The British people have spoken, says the British high commissioner to Canada, and there’s no going back.
Howard Drake shut down any speculation about a reversal of the Brexit vote on this weekend’s edition of the West Block, telling Tom Clark that is is now the responsibility of the British government to carry out the will of the people.
“The people have spoken,” Drake said. “The European Union, for their part, have said there will be no renegotiation and I think that’s going to happen. So this is now going to be taken forward … this is going to happen.
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Britons voted by the narrowest of margins on June 23 to leave the European Union behind. Within hours, the British pound had fallen sharply in value and there were calls for follow-up referenda from Scotland and Ireland.
Drake said his job, and the job of the U.K.’s government under a new prime minister (David Cameron has indicated he will resign), is now to provide a sense of stability.
“The most important thing as we take this forward … is that all the key stakeholders, which includes the devolved administrations who have a direct stake in the U.K.’s membership of the European Union, are fully consulted on the way forward,” he said. “The Bank of England is going to be a key part of that.”
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As for the free trade agreement Canada has negotiated with the EU, Drake said Britain didn’t suddenly stop being a member on the night of the vote. It will take time to make an orderly exit, he said, hinting that the agreement isn’t necessarily doomed.
“We may be on the way out of the European Union but we are still a part of Europe,” Drake said.
“We’re a very close part of Europe. We believe therefore that the security and prosperity of the countries of Europe, those in the European Union and outside, is very much in our interests. So we will be doing what we can to help ensure that.”
Watch the full interview above.
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