JOHNSON: Brexit is ‘not an end but a beginning’

 

Brexit supporters react during a Brexit Celebration party organised by Conservative Party MP, Andrea Jenkyns in Morley, northern England on January 31, 2020, the day that the UK formally leaves the European Union. – Britain on January 31 ends almost half a century of integration with its closest neighbours and leaves the European Union, starting a new — but still uncertain — chapter in its long history. PHOTO AFP

London, United Kingdom | AFP | Prime Minister Boris Johnson promised a “new era of friendly cooperation” with the European Union on Friday as Britain prepared to leave the bloc after almost five decades.

In a public address broadcast one hour before Brexit, Johnson acknowledged there may be “bumps in the road” ahead but promised the departure was an opportunity for “stunning success”.

“The most important thing to say tonight is that this is not an end but a beginning,” he said in a pre-recorded statement from Downing Street.

Britain remains as split over Brexit as it was in the 2016 referendum. But after more than three years of wrangling, it leaves the EU at 11:00 pm (2300 GMT).

“For many people this is an astonishing moment of hope, a moment they thought would never come,” Johnson said.

“And there are many of course who feel a sense of anxiety and loss.

“And then there’s a third group, perhaps the biggest, who had started to worry that the whole political wrangle would never come to an end.

“I understand all those feelings, and our job as the government — my job — is to bring this country together now and take us forward.”

He said the EU, which Britain joined in 1973 and of which it has been often a reluctant member, had many “admirable qualities”.

But it had evolved over the last half century “in a direction that no longer suits this country”.

“We want this to be the beginning of a new era of friendly cooperation between the EU and an energetic Britain,” he said.

“A Britain that is simultaneously a great European power, and truly global in our range and ambitions.”

He added: “When I look at the potential of this country waiting to be unleashed, I know that we can turn this opportunity into a stunning success.

“And whatever the bumps in the road ahead, I know that we will succeed.”

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