Hammond Warns UK’s Exit Could Leave Europe Lynching in the Wrong Direction

This article was last updated on April 16, 2022

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Britain’s Foreign Secretary, Philip Hammond, has openly warned that he fears Europe would “lurch very much in the wrong direction” if the UK chooses to exit the group. According to Hammond, a “contagion” of other European counties might start calling for their own referendums if Britain left the European Union and the rest of the EU would not want Britain to succeed outside the EU.

Amid cautious campaign by Prime Minister Cameron to maintain Cabinet unity ahead of a crunch summit in Brussels this week, Hammond mentioned in a TV interview that “what I think I fear and many people in Europe fear is that without Britain Europe would lurch very much in the wrong direction.” He pointed out that “Britain has been an enormously important influence in Europe, an influence for open markets, for free trade, for a less dirigiste approach to running the economy,” adding that “we would be dealing with a Europe that looked very less in our image and I think the thing that we have to remember is that there is a very real fear in Europe that of Britain leaves, the contagion will spread.”

Furthermore, Mr Hammond stated that “I think people who say we’d do a great deal with Europe if we left, forget that the countries remaining in the European Union would be looking over their shoulder at people in their own countries saying, ‘if the Britain can do it why can’t we?’.” He suspected that “they will not have an interest in demonstrating that we can succeed outside the European Union.”