Britain warned Sunday it might undercut the EU economically if it cannot obtain both single market access and immigration controls.
Britain would be forced to “change our economic model” in order to remain competitive if it is shut out from access to the single market, Finance Minister Philip Hammond said.
Hammond, in an interview with Germany’s Welt am Sonntag newspaper, said, “Britain could not compromise on the main message from the June referendum vote to leave the EU: Stemming the flow of immigrants from the bloc.”
EU citizens would be free to travel to Britain and do business there — but the debate was over the right to work, settle and set up businesses, he said.
“Clearly we need people to come and work in our economy to keep it functioning,” Hammond said.
But as for having no control, “that has to stop.”
He hinted that London was ready to push through aggressive cuts to business taxes to ensure British-based firms remained competitive in the face of EU tariffs.
Hammond said he wanted Britain to remain a “recognizably European-style economy with European-style taxation systems, European-style regulation systems.”
However, London would have to change course “if we are forced,” in order to “regain competitiveness.”
“The British people are not going to lie down and say, too bad,” he said, adding, “we could be forced to change our economic model and we will have to change our model to regain competitiveness. And you can be sure we will do whatever we have to do.”

Source: Arab News