LONDON - Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond on Monday described Brexit as one of the most challenging tasks ever faced by a peacetime government in Britain.
Addressing the Conservative Party Conference in Manchester, Hammond added in his keynote speech that Britain would succeed in its task of withdrawing from the European Union.
Repeating Prime Minister Theresa May’s pledge that the government would respect the leave decision in last year’s EU referendum, Hammond said the British people had chosen independence over the EU’s greater integration.
Britain is scheduled to leave the EU in March 2019, with progress in the negotiations with Brussels still described as slow.
Hammond said the short-term challenge of uncertainty around the Brexit process must be resolved by accelerating negotiations with Brussels and to deliver a limited interim period of around two years for businesses to adjust.
His message confirmed what May said in her speech in Florence last month that there should be a two-year transition period starting in March 2019. (Xinhua)