Stephen Pound: The idea of the UK rejoining the EU ‘is for the birds’

Former Labour MP Stephen Pound has said there is no way the UK could rejoin the EU without accepting the Euro and ceding sovereignty over Gibraltar.

Speaking on GB News, Pound said: “I think under the previous arrangement, when Mrs Thatcher negotiated the opt-out and various other things, that we have the best of both worlds. I think what we have now is the potential for actually having our cake and eat it.

“Let’s get one thing absolutely straight: The idea of us rejoining the European Union is for the birds. There is no way that every single one of the European Union states would sign off on it at the present time.

“Not without, for example, us having to take the euro, without Spain having to reconsider the whole issue of Gibraltar, without the whole issue of southern Poland. It’s a whole range of issues.

“It would take years and years of incredibly detailed negotiation. I think where we can actually get benefit from being in Europe, particularly in terms of trade, we should do that.

“But above all, in my own personal area of interest, the chaos in Ireland at the moment could be resolved by us actually having a closer relationship with Europe on that border, as we have already done with the reset on the Northern Irish border.

“But look, the idea that we can simply say, ‘Oh, by the way, Brussels, by the way, Strasbourg, could you let us back into the club?’ Absolutely no way. It ain’t going to happen.”