Brexit was like Battle of Hastings defeat – there is one way to fix it, says George Osborne

B ritain’s economy has “fallen off a cliff” since Brexit and the only way to recover is by rejoining the Brussels-run Customs Union.

That is the view of former George Osborne , who was forced to resign as Tory chancellor a decade ago after being on the losing side with then-prime minister David Cameron in the Brexit referendum.

A “conspiracy of silence” by politicians and business and union leaders, is hindering vital moves to rebuild links to the EU, says Mr Osborne, who as British Museum chair is in charge of the Bayeux Tapestry exhibition in London .

In a wide ranging and candid interview with The Independent editor-in-chief Geordie Greig, Mr Osborne says that far from being ashamed of his so called “austerity” policies as chancellor from 2010-2015, he was proud.

People look back at the Tory-Lib Dem coalition government and say “wow!”, he claims – impressed by its stability compared to the “utter chaos” that followed.

Mr Osborne also throws down a series of challenges for Tory leader Kemi Badenoch. He dismisses her insistence that she would not agree an election pact with Nigel Farage , arguing she would do just that if it was the only way she could win power. And he accuses her of a futile attempt to “out-Reform Reform” with right wing policies.

By contrast he praises the “Tiggerish bounce” of new Labour prime minister Andy Burnham .

Ten years after the Brexit referendum saw his and Lord Cameron’s political careers end in humiliating defeat, Mr Osborne is adamant that subsequent events have proved they were right to campaign for the UK to stay in the EU.

“Brexit has been a mess. Britain has basically gone off a cliff. It has had a huge impact on the British economy. It is clearly poorer than it would otherwise be.”

But he does not believe all is lost, and draws on his success in helping to bring the Bayeux Tapestry to the UK for the first time to sustain his view that the damage caused by Brexit can be put right.

“A bit like the Bayeux Tapestry isn't the end of the story, Brexit's not the end of the story. Because there's a whole conversation of how to re-engage in the kind of issues that we're never going to solve unless we're working with our European neighbours. Like immigration, the economy, the regulation of new technologies.”

He says it “will be hard to rejoin the EU anytime soon” but maintains there is a relatively easy short term remedy that while falling short of that, would solve many problems.

“I would rejoin the Customs Union. It’s a quite simple thing to do. That was never part of the Brexit debate. No one knew we were leaving it and it has had a devastating impact on trade.

“The reason we weren't supposed to be in the Customs Union – according to the Brexiteers – was these great trade deals we were going to strike with America. That all looks pretty fanciful now.”