Reform UK bosses ‘keen’ on new trade alliance to bolster British economy
Reform UK’s senior leadership team are warming to the prospect of a new trade pact between the UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand to bolster Britain’s economy and national security.
Richard Tice, the party’s deputy leader, told The Mail on Sunday that boosting ties with the three other nations was ‘of real interest’ and that Reform was ‘keen to explore further discussions’ on the issue alongside the UK’s existing trade deals.
His comments are likely to encourage proponents of the four-nation bloc, commonly known by its abbreviation ‘CANZUK’, who are increasingly calling for Britain to seek out alternate trade and security partnerships to avoid becoming dominated by China, the European Union or the US.
The idea is also understood to be gaining momentum among wings of the Labour party as Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s attempts to revive growth through trade deals elsewhere begin to stall.
The MoS understands that on Friday around 30 Labour MPs and peers gathered to discuss the formation of a group that would promote a CANZUK deal inside the party as doubts mount that the Prime Minister’s attempts to bolster relations with the US, the EU and China will bear fruit.
It comes after this newspaper revealed earlier this month that the Conservative Party’s leader Kemi Badenoch had thrown her support behind the CANZUK agenda, saying that the four nations could combine their ‘collective strengths’ to boost economic growth and defence capabilities.
Support: Reform deputy leader Richard Tice said boosting ties with the three nations was ‘of real interest’
Andrew Griffith, the shadow business secretary, has also said that such a partnership would be ‘top of the in-tray’ for a future Tory government.
Collectively, the economic output of the UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand totals £6.4 trillion, putting the group behind only the US, China and the EU.
Aside from trade benefits, supporters highlight the four countries’ common political systems, as well as their membership of the ‘Five Eyes’ intelligence network, which also includes the US.
The latest push to strengthen links comes as Britain increasingly finds itself searching for new sources of trade and investment as its ties with the superpowers come under increasing pressure.
Beyond the UK, creation of a CANZUK bloc has been backed by Pierre Poilievre, who is the leader of the Conservative Party of Canada (the main rival to Mark Carney’s governing Liberal Party), who has called for a ‘new partnership’ between the four nations to lower trade barriers, boost co-operation on defence and make it easier for skilled workers to move between them.
The popularity of CANZUK has also grown as the outbreak of the war in Iran has strained the UK’s existing diplomatic relationship with the US.
The conflict has also sparked a surge in energy prices as oil and gas supplies from the Persian Gulf have been cut off.
The disruption has boosted interest in oil and gas exports from Canada, which is the world’s fourth-largest producer of crude, with the country’s minister of energy and natural resources Tim Hodgson saying last week that it was positioning itself as a ‘reliable supplier’ of energy amid the chaos of the war.
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