Vince Cable Tells LBC Brexit Has Been Like A "Bad Divorce"

28 August 2017, 09:17 | Updated: 28 August 2017, 09:26

Brexit Britain will Never Be The Same Again, Says Sir Vince Cable On LBC

Sir Vince Cable has told LBC Brexit is turning into a “bad divorce” for Britain.

The Liberal Democrat leader said the centre of gravity in British politics had forever shifted and called Labour’s recent trade policy u-turn confusing.

The Labour Party has called for an indefinite “transition period” on membership of the European Union even after the formal deadline for an exit in early 2019.

“The British have decided to divorce them, they haven’t decided to divorce us. It’s perfectly understandable,” Sir Vince told host Andrew Castle. “We had a referendum and that’s the way it went and as a consequence of it Britain collectively decided to seek a divorce from the rest of the European Union… they didn’t decide to kick us out.”

“They’ve set out a negotiating position from the outset that is very, very clear.. that there has to be some understanding around the rights of British citizens and some payments to settle, some outstanding bills and once those are done we can move on. It’s always been very clear what the format is. If we just refused to pay that would have very, very serious consequences. This is what happens when you have bad divorces. The partners become estranged very quickly.”

Asked where Britain might stand on Brexit in five years time, Mr Cable said the political landscape might never be the same again. “The centre of gravity in British politics has shifted and its quite possible the government will simply not be able to push through parliament the extreme hard form of Brexit”, he said.

Listen to Sir Vince Cable's views above.

Sir Vince Cable
Sir Vince Cable. Picture: PA