Reacting to the results of the Tory Party leadership election, S&D president Iratxe García said:

“With EU-UK relations strained to an all-time low, Liz Truss now has the opportunity to break with previous Tory governments and make a fresh start. People and businesses on both sides of the Channel are facing a harsh energy and cost of living crisis and now is not the time to waste time in a dispute with your closest neighbour. We remain committed to a positive relationship between the EU and the UK and the current agreements provide a solid basis for an ambitious common way forward. Only positive relations between the EU and the UK can help us both face the challenges ahead of us in the months and years ahead.

Successive Tory governments have regularly undermined the UK’s close ties with the EU and caused serious damage to the UK’s reputation internationally. UK citizens have been left to bear the brunt of the damaging social, economic and political uncertainty that this path has led to. It is time for the Tory Party to learn from previous mistakes. Liz Truss has been known to change her stance on EU relations before and hopefully, once again, the lady is for turning.”