UK business lobby calls for improved EU links

LONDON, May 30 (AFP): Britain's business community called Thursday for whatever government emerges from the looming UK general election to improve relations with the European Union and lighten post-Brexit trade burdens.
The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) issued the plea in a five-point "election manifesto" before the July 4 vote, also urging the completion of key trade deals.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, whose governing Conservatives took Britain out of the European Union in 2021, are far behind the opposition Labour party in opinion polls amid a cost-of-living crisis that critics argue has been exacerbated by Brexit.
"The (next) government must negotiate improved UK trading terms with our largest trading partner, the European Union and complete the current pipeline of free trade negotiations including Switzerland, Gulf Co-operation Council, Turkey, and India," the BCC said in a statement.
"A new focus on ensuring businesses large and small are getting the full benefits from trade deals current and new is needed from government," added the BCC, which represents thousands of companies across Britain.
The EU bloc accounts for about 42 per cent of all British exports according to the BCC.
"The EU is the UK's biggest market... Leaving the EU has made it more expensive and bureaucratic to sell our goods and services across the Channel," added its director general Shevaun Haviland.