City gives up hope of full access to single market

Westminster is leaning towards a beefed-up trade deal with the European Union along the lines of that already enjoyed by Switzerland, according to the Financial Times.

Key in that respect was The City of London, which had given up hope of being able to retain full access to single market due to the inherent political and practical challenges that would throw-up.

Norway, for example, enjoyed such access but in exchange had to accept the free movement of people, had no say in how regulations which affected it were crafted and had to pay into the common budget too.

Switzerland on the other hand had secured full acess for its insurance firms, although its banks had to operate through their London subsidiaries in their dealings with the EU.

Britain would also seek to leverage the fact that it was the EU's single largest export market, the FT reported.

The government's negotiation would not be revealed until the end of 2016 but the Prime Minister wanted informal positions to be ready before that date in order to 'sound out' Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and decision-makers in Brussels.