Economy and Jobs

Part of the debate – in the House of Commons at 1:23 pm on 29 June 2017.

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Photo of Philip Hammond Philip Hammond The Chancellor of the Exchequer 1:23, 29 June 2017

I think that there is a genuine misunderstanding in some of the debate. When we leave the European Union, we will leave the single market and the customs union. That is not a matter of choice, but a matter of legal necessity. The question is not whether we would be in the single market or in the customs union; the question is what kind of arrangements we could negotiate as part of a close partnership with the European Union that would allow our businesses to continue to trade with the EU and the EU’s businesses to continue to trade with us, so that the prosperity benefits of close trade with our European Union neighbours could continue. I am committed to trying to find a deal that will allow that to happen.