Kemi Badenoch has hit out at Brexit bores and naysayers as she told the Daily Express that “Global Britain is thriving”.
In an article that has all the hallmarks of ill-fated posturing we have come to know the newspaper for, the business secretary fired a broadside at sceptics talking Britain down as she prepares to travel to India.
Splashing a bullish memo on its front page, Bedenoch told the newspaper: “Those voices of doom have been proved decisively wrong. Far from turning their backs on the UK, companies are queuing up to invest here.
“The UK is on the up and remains a country others want to deal with. Global Britain is here and it’s thriving.”
Reporting on the matter, chief reporter Giles Sheldrick said if the India trade deal is successful, it will follow “a flood of similar pacts that have cemented the UK’s worldwide reputation as a lean and nimble country open for business”.
He also pointed to manufacturing figures showing UK exports to the EU and rest of world reached record highs of almost £400 billion in 2022 – namely because access to Britain’s biggest trading partner has been cut off – saying “in short, Britain is prospering while the EU flounders”.
But a source close to the deal told City A.M. there were still “complex” issues to resolve and a deal was not as “imminent” as the reports suggested.
“The 12th round of talks is underway and progressing well,” they said. “But what’s on the table is still complex.”
They added: “There is a great deal to be done with India, but what happens in the negotiating room will govern the timeline.
“We’ve made progress but talks are focused on complex and technical areas including goods, services, and investment.”
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