Brexit: EU politician does not think the UK will ever actually leave the union

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Andrew Feinberg

White House Correspondent

Britain will not end up leaving the European Union despite voting for Brexit, according to Austria’s finance minister.

Hans Jörg Schelling said he was confident there would still be 28 member countries in the EU in five years' time.

He told German business newspaper Handelsblatt that European leaders were discussing “all possibilities” from Britain remaining in the union to “a free-trade agreement based on the Swiss or Norwegian model”.

However Mr Schelling also suggested the United Kingdom could break up as Scotland and Northern Ireland – who voted for Remain – could choose to remain members of the EU while England and Wales go it alone.

The Leave camp won a narrow victory in the referendum on Britain’s continued membership of the EU but there have been some questions about the legality of the result.

The Government’s own lawyers have told the minister responsible for Brexit, Oliver Letwin, that it can trigger Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty, which begins the formal exit process, using the royal prerogative and without parliamentary approval.

However, after that, MPs would still have to vote to repeal the European Communities Act 1972 in order to leave the EU, the Government's lawyers believe.

Meanwhile, the former Attorney General, Dominic Grieve MP, told one of his constituents a second referendum vote would be legal if public opinion shifted significantly against Brexit.

He said although the first referendum must be “treated with respect” it was not necessarily set in stone.

More than four million people have now signed a petition on the Government’s official website calling for a second referendum because the turnout was less than 75 per cent.