Richard Branson has launched an attack on Brexit (Image: Getty)
Brexiteers hit back at Sir Richard Branson after he branded the UK’s departure from the EU an “unmitigated disaster”. The Virgin Group founder claimed the 2016 Brexit vote was an “unprecedented act of economic and political self-harm”.
The billionaire, who backed Remain in the referendum and has lived in the Caribbean for much of the last two decades, insisted voters should be given a “second chance” to decide whether to be in the club. His intervention comes after Sir Tony Blair’s think tank called for the UK to rejoin Brussels within a decade.
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Sir Tony Blair’s think tank is pushing for Britain to rejoin Brussels (Image: Getty)
But Tory MP Dame Priti Patel warned against looking back at Brussels “with rose-tinted glasses”.
She told the Daily Express: “Britain needs leadership that is committed to making the most of our Brexit freedoms rather than this constant desire to fight the battles of 2016 and the bitterness of losing the arguments back then.
“Too many still view the EU with rose-tinted glasses, since we’ve left, the EU has suffered from slow growth.
“Its institutions have failed to meet the challenges the world faces today and it continues to suffer from a lack of democratic legitimacy with more powers being centralised in Brussels away from national governments and parliaments.
“If Britain had never left the EU, we’d be paying even more in, getting less out and feeling the weight of more red tape. “
Vote Leave co-founder and Tory peer Lord Matthew Elliott added: “The UK has grown faster than France, Germany and Italy since leaving the EU.
“This is partly because our tech sector is so much stronger, because it’s not embroiled in the EU’s AI Act.
“We shouldn’t be complacent – we could be growing a lot faster – but that’s down to taxation being at a 70-year high, not Brexit.”
In a post on LinkedIn, Sir Richard compared the Brexit vote to swapping an F1 car for a hatchback.
He added: “As a majority of UK voters now feel regret over the Brexit vote, they must be given a second chance to determine what is in their best interest.”
Andy Burnham has committed to Labour’s red lines on Brexit in its 2024 manifesto, including not returning to the single market, customs union or freedom of movement.
But the PM earlier this week left the door open to including a pledge to rejoin the EU in Labour’s next election manifesto.
Brexiteers Hit Back as Richard Branson Demands UK Rejoins EU in Furious Rant
Sir Richard Branson has reignited Britain’s long-running Brexit argument after calling the UK’s departure from the European Union an “unmitigated disaster” and arguing that voters should be given another opportunity to decide whether Britain should return to the bloc.
The Virgin Group founder’s intervention came as the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change called for Britain to commit to rejoining the EU within a decade. Branson said the 2016 referendum had amounted to an “unprecedented act of economic and political self-harm” and argued that changing circumstances justified giving voters what he described as a “second chance”.
His comments immediately reignited opposition from prominent supporters of Brexit, who argued that Britain should concentrate on making use of the powers acquired after leaving rather than reopening the constitutional argument of 2016.
Branson renews his Brexit attack
Branson has been a longstanding supporter of Britain’s membership of the European Union.
During the 2016 referendum campaign, he warned that leaving could damage businesses and employment and argued strongly for Remain. After the referendum, he said the result was a “very sad decision” and warned of consequences for Britain’s economy and European stability.
A decade later, his position remains broadly unchanged.
In his latest intervention, Branson argued that Brexit had imposed substantial economic costs on Britain, citing losses in trade, productivity and employment. The Independent reported that he put the potential impact at up to 8% of GDP, while arguing that Britain could not resolve the consequences of Brexit entirely on its own.
He also pointed to polling suggesting that a majority of British voters now regret the decision to leave the EU.
His argument is therefore not simply that Brexit should be reconsidered immediately. Rather, he is calling for voters to have another opportunity to determine the country’s relationship with Europe.
Brexiteers push back
The response from Brexit supporters was swift.
Former Conservative home secretary Dame Priti Patel rejected the idea that Britain should look back towards Brussels and argued that the country should instead focus on using its post-Brexit freedoms.
Patel warned against viewing the EU through what she described as “rose-tinted glasses”, arguing that the bloc itself faces economic and institutional challenges.
Her response reflects a broader argument among Brexit supporters: that leaving the EU was intended to give Britain greater freedom over regulation, immigration, trade and domestic policy, and that the political priority should now be using those powers rather than seeking to reverse the decision.
That argument remains central to the Brexit debate.
Branson and other pro-EU voices emphasise economic integration and the benefits of close European cooperation. Brexit supporters emphasise sovereignty and the ability to make independent policy decisions.
Neither side disputes that Britain is now outside the EU. The disagreement concerns what should happen next.
The government position
The current government has not committed Britain to rejoining the European Union.
The government has maintained the red lines established in Labour’s 2024 manifesto, including opposition to rejoining the single market, customs union or restoring freedom of movement.
However, the UK’s relationship with the EU has continued to evolve.
Britain has sought closer cooperation in areas including defence, trade and regulation while remaining outside the bloc.
That creates a middle ground between the two positions dominating the debate.
The government can pursue closer cooperation without formally seeking EU membership, while supporters of rejoining argue that only membership can fully restore the economic and political links lost through Brexit.
Andy Burnham adds another dimension
The question has gained additional political attention because Prime Minister Andy Burnham recently declined to rule out the possibility of Labour eventually supporting EU membership.
According to Euronews, Burnham was asked whether he could rule out including a commitment to rejoin the EU in a future Labour manifesto.
His response was that such questions were “for another day”, while emphasising that his immediate focus was the planned UK-EU summit.
That does not amount to a commitment to rejoin.
Nevertheless, the refusal to completely close the door has fuelled speculation about the longer-term direction of British politics.
It also helps explain why Branson’s intervention has attracted attention beyond the traditional Brexit debate.
A discussion that once centred on whether Britain should leave the EU has gradually developed into a new argument about the form of the UK’s future relationship with Europe.
The economic argument
One of Branson’s strongest arguments concerns economics.
Britain remains deeply connected to the European economy despite Brexit.
Reuters reported this week that the UK’s exclusion from the EU’s proposed “Made in Europe” industrial initiative could create difficulties for the British automotive sector. The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders has warned about the potential consequences for British manufacturers, noting that UK-EU automotive trade is worth around €80 billion annually.
The issue demonstrates the practical complexity of Brexit.
Britain is no longer an EU member, but British manufacturers remain integrated into European supply chains.
The EU is also considering rules that could give preferential treatment to products manufactured within the bloc.
Reuters reported that the proposed Industrial Accelerator Act could require electric vehicles used in public procurement to contain 70% EU-made components and be assembled within the EU. The UK’s exclusion from such arrangements could therefore become commercially significant.
Brexit supporters can respond that the UK has opportunities to develop its own industrial and trade policies.
The disagreement is ultimately about whether greater regulatory independence outweighs the economic advantages of deeper integration.
The sovereignty argument
For Brexiteers, sovereignty remains the central issue.
The 2016 referendum was based heavily on arguments about parliamentary control, immigration, national borders and the ability of the British government to make its own laws.
Supporters of leaving argued that membership of the EU placed restrictions on Britain’s ability to determine its own policies.
Those arguments did not disappear after Brexit.
In a September debate in the House of Commons, a prominent Brexiteer argued that the referendum represented a historic decision to take back control of Britain’s laws, borders and finances. He also criticised aspects of the Windsor Framework and the continuing application of certain EU rules in Northern Ireland.
This illustrates why the debate remains more complicated than a simple economic calculation.
For some Brexit supporters, the ability to make independent decisions is itself a political benefit, even when closer integration with the EU could reduce certain economic barriers.
The argument over public opinion
Branson’s call for a second opportunity for voters rests partly on his claim that public opinion has changed.
Polling since the referendum has shown shifts in attitudes towards Brexit, although the exact size and meaning of those changes vary between surveys.
A key question is whether support for closer relations with Europe necessarily means support for full EU membership.
Those are not identical positions.
A voter might favour easier trade with the EU, closer security cooperation or youth mobility while still opposing membership of the single market or freedom of movement.
That distinction is becoming increasingly important in the current debate.
The political choices facing Britain are no longer simply “Leave” or “Remain”.
They include a wide range of possible relationships between the UK and EU.
Rejoining would not simply reverse the clock
Another complication is that rejoining the EU would not necessarily mean restoring Britain’s pre-2016 position automatically.
Any future application would involve negotiations with the European Union and its member states.
The UK’s previous membership arrangements would not simply reappear unchanged.
That means the debate over rejoining involves questions about the terms of membership, the single market, customs arrangements, freedom of movement, institutional obligations and Britain’s future relationship with the EU’s political structures.
Branson’s argument therefore represents a strategic political position rather than a simple proposal to restore the status quo.
Why the argument is returning
Ten years after the referendum, Brexit remains one of the most consequential divisions in British politics.
The original decision changed Britain’s relationship with its largest neighbouring political and economic bloc.
The consequences continue to affect trade, immigration, regulation and constitutional politics.
At the same time, the political environment has changed significantly.
The EU itself has changed. Britain has changed. Global economic conditions have changed. And public attitudes have evolved.
That is the basis for Branson’s argument that voters should be given another opportunity to consider Britain’s future relationship with Europe.
For Brexiteers, however, the same passage of time provides an argument for allowing Brexit to develop rather than attempting to reverse it.
A debate that is far from settled
Richard Branson’s intervention has therefore reopened an argument that neither side has abandoned.
He believes Brexit has produced serious economic and political damage and says voters should eventually be given another choice.
Brexit supporters reject that interpretation and argue that Britain should concentrate on using its independence rather than seeking to return to EU membership.
The government currently sits between those positions, pursuing closer cooperation with Europe while maintaining its opposition to rejoining the single market, customs union and freedom of movement.
Meanwhile, Britain’s economic links with Europe remain substantial, as illustrated by continuing trade and the debate over the EU’s proposed industrial policies.
The central question is consequently no longer whether Brexit happened. It did.
The argument is about what Britain should do with the relationship it now has with Europe.
For Branson and those advocating re-entry, closer integration could address some of the economic problems they associate with Brexit.
For Brexiteers, maintaining independence and exploiting Britain’s ability to set its own policies remains the priority.
And with senior politicians increasingly discussing the UK’s long-term European relationship again, the Brexit argument appears likely to remain a significant part of Britain’s political debate for years to come.