Yesterday, a Labour Party spokesman confirmed cross-party talks with the Government are due to continue in the following days, despite Jeremy Corbyn claiming on Tuesday that they were on the brink of collapse. In an interview with The Guardian, the Labour leader blamed Theresa May for refusing to consider remaining in a customs union with the EU and seeking a trade deal with the US. However, even if Mrs May agreed to back a permanent customs union, the chances of such a deal passing through the House of Commons look incredibly slim, as Britain would be effectively prevented from striking free trade agreements across the world, including with the US.
Conservative Brexiteers, including International Trade Secretary Liam Fox, are hugely opposed to the idea, as they believe Britain should become a hub for global trade post-Brexit.
In particular, given the historic ties between Britain and the Commonwealth, many eurosceptics believe that forming a trading alliance with nations such as Australia, New Zealand and India will be able to replace any lost trade with the EU.
As Westminster is still deadlocked over a way forward, a speech by former Prime Minister Harold Macmillan has reemerged, which suggests that joining the bloc in the Seventies resulted in a great "loss" rather than a "gain" for Britain.
Before joining the European club, the country already enjoyed a close trading relationship with Commonwealth countries, as natural allies and partners.
Harold Macmillan predicted 'loss would be GREATER than gain' in the EU (Image: GETTY)
International Trade Secretary Liam Fox (Image: GETTY)
Such relationships came to an abrupt end when Britain joined,
