UK Trade Minister Liam Fox says a vote in Britain’s parliament on Wednesday closed the door for good on any chance of the country staying in the European Union.
“As many of you will know, we took the decisive step last night in legislation that will now pave the way irrevocably for Britain’s exit from the European Union,” Fox told a debate in Geneva on Thursday.
“So in case anyone is in any doubt, the chances of the UK not leaving the European Union are now zero,” he added.
Fox said Britain was keen to ensure continuity as it left the trading bloc.
UK Prime Minister Theresa May won a Brexit vote in parliament on Wednesday, keeping her divided government’s plans to end more than 40 years of British partnership with the EU on track.
In Britain’s 2016 referendum, 52 percent, or 17.4 million people, voted to leave the EU while 48 percent, or 16 million, voted to stay.
Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair has called on the Labour party leadership to back his call for a second referendum on whether Britain was still willing to leave the EU, arguing that the country’s exit from the bloc was “by no means a foregone conclusion.”
Several campaigns have emerged in recent weeks calling for a rerun of the EU referendum and putting pressure on MPs to oppose a Brexit agreement.
Opponents of Brexit are exploring ways to stop what they call Britain’s biggest mistake since World War ll.
May’s government is divided over Brexit. She campaigned for a “remain” vote in 2016, but now insists Britain will leave on March 29, 2019 and there will be no rerun of the Brexit referendum.