Kemi Badenoch warns Brexit is under threat from Labour (Image: PA)
Kemi Badenoch warned is in peril under Labour as she vowed to “honour the will of the British people”.
The Tory leader said wants to tie Britain up in EU red tape, give away UK fishing rights and edge back towards freedom of movement.
Mrs Badenoch promised to do everything possible to defend our hard won freedoms.
She insists the are the only party who can achieve that, despite the surging popularity of ’s Reform UK.
Writing exclusively for the Daily Express to celebrate the 5th anniversary of , Mrs Badenoch said Britain’s future prosperity is in peril if Labour gets its way.
The ardent Brexiteer, one of 17.4 million people who voted to leave in the 2016 referendum, said: “The result of the EU referendum was a huge vote of confidence by the British people in our nation.
“I was proud to vote to take back control of our borders, laws and trade.”
Mrs Badenoch said the has not always made the right decisions but they have always been committed to .
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Keir Starmer has promised to bring the UK closer to the EU again (Image: Getty Images)
She said: “While I have acknowledged my party made mistakes along the way, we have always believed in honouring the will of the British people.”
Mrs Badenoch, who has been Tory leader for just three months, warns that Sir Keir and his ministers “still believe that we would be better off in the .”
“Let’s be under no illusions – campaigned against , he tried to block it in Parliament 48 times, and he even went to Brussels to conspire against our own negotiators when he was in Jeremy Corbyn’s shadow cabinet.
“He and his ministers still believe that we would be better off in the and are intent on keeping us as close as possible to the EU’s rules and institutions.
“This is why I am committed to fighting to defend our freedoms and protecting .”
In her most outspoken attack yet on the Prime Minister, Mrs Badenoch raises alarm bells over his ability to protect British interests.
“When Labour negotiates, Britain loses. Just look at what they’re doing with the Chagos Islands.
“They will do the same with our fishing grounds and our legal sovereignty if they think it will bring us closer to EU membership.”
She added: “So, as we celebrate the fifth anniversary of our freedom, I will be fighting to ensure that Labour do not edge us back into the free movement of people, European Court jurisdiction, and an EU army, and that they put our prosperity and security ahead of their ideological attachment to the EU.”
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The Tory leader is facing intense pressure from a surging Reform UK with an exclusive Daily Express poll this week showing the party could become the official opposition after the next general election.
The survey by Whitestone Insight shows the Labour party is on course to secure 283 seats, a fall of 130 from last July, with its vote share plunging to just 25%.
Reform are forecast to win 118 seats, securing 24% of votes.
This places them slightly ahead of the , on 20% but with 113 seats, a fall of eight.
Britain finally left the EU on January 31, 2020. It marked a huge victory for this newspaper, following a tireless crusade to free Britain from the shackles of Brussels.
And Mr Farage, who held a rally in Mrs Badenoch’s constituency on Friday,
is widely-regarded as the political architect of following years of campaigning.
But the no-nonsense Tory leader insists her track record in securing post- trade deals proves she has what it takes to deliver what people voted for.
“Too many people who wish we’d never left the EU continue to spread misinformation and negativity,” she said.
“But the reality is that, since 2016 and until Labour started wrecking our economy, Britain had grown faster than Germany, Italy, and Japan and at a similar rate to France.
“Our services exports are at a record-high, and we lowered and simplified tariffs to reduce costs for business and consumers.
“When I was Business and Trade Secretary, we removed billions of pounds of EU red tape for businesses and concluded free trade agreements such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership, placing the UK at the heart of the world’s fastest growing economies.”
Downing Street has said the Prime Minister had no plans to celebrate the anniversary.
Sir Keir championed a second referendum while serving as Jeremy Corbyn’s shadow minister for exiting the .
The promise featured in the Labour manifesto, but was dropped when Sir Keir became party leader.
The Prime Minister will head to Brussels on Monday to join EU leaders to discuss European security matters, a further signal of Labour’s desire to “reset” relations with the bloc.
In August he insisted that his plans were not “reversing ” but a “closer relationship on a number of fronts” including on defence and the economy.