Sir James Dyson thinks we should trigger Brexit right now

Sir James Dyson believes that the UK should trigger article 50 and pull out of the EU as soon as possible, 'liberating' the country's economy. 

In one of his first interviews since the Brexit referendum result was announced, Dyson - a keen 'Out' vote supporter - has outlined how Britain should go about leaving the EU to TheTelegraph.

"I’m delighted to be out and don’t think we have to negotiate anything," he said. "I know exactly what I would do if I was running the country. I would leave and then, over a period of time, I would negotiate things."

Dyson, who was vocal in his opinion that UK would create more wealth and more jobs outside of the EU during Brexit campaigning, believes that leaving the EU won't have a huge impact on UK businesses.

"[The EU is] going to want to have a free trade deal with us more than the other way round. The imbalance of trade is £100bn so, even if we have to pay an import duty, it’s not much and it’s far less than currency swings."

Dyson's views on the EU are more expansive than matters of pure business. The CEO of Dyson Ltd - a company of 7,000 employees that's essentially very good at making stuff that sucks or blows really, really well - appears equally motivated by the protection of British sovereignty and independence. 

"Sovereignty is the most important reason," he told The Telegraph. "I see huge strength in independence, making your own decisions and choosing the people who run your own enterprise. Being subservient to Europe, having to do what Europe says, is entirely not in this country’s interest."

Should negotiations result in the UK being unable to turn to the EU for employment, Dyson told the BBC that he believes that skilled labour could be employed from further afield: "We can employ Chinese engineers, Singaporean engineers, American engineers which we can't do at the moment."

While Dyson would like to see article 50 invoked as soon as possible, a firm timeline on how Britain will set about negotiation its exit from the EU is yet to be announced by Downing Street. On the same day Dyson made his comments to The Telegraph, Nick Clegg (remember him?) declared in a session of Prime Minister's Questions that Theresa May could form a single market deal with the EU while also maintaining tighter controls on migration - but that she was prevented from doing so from MPs in her own party. While Dyson might wish to leave the single market, it would appear that many within May's cabinet would rather remain in the single market.

So, is Dyson going to get involved in helping the government in planning its Brexit strategy? Apparently he was offered a job by Cameron's office to help plan an exit from the EU, but he turned it down.

"I sort of think I’ve done my bit," said Dyson. "I was on a Prime Minister’s advisory group for five years. I’ve got a business to run and a lot of other things to do. I’m a practising engineer, not just a company owner. I am with my engineers all the time. My time is enormously taken up doing that."

In summary: the vacuum man thinks it'll all be okay, but he's too busy to help it happen.

(Image: Rex)

[Via: Telegraph]