Brexit: Boris Johnson outlines how leaving EU will work for Britain

British Leave leader Boris Johnson insists Britons will be able to live and work in the EU.

Boris Johnson says Britons will still be able to live and work in the EU following the Brexit vote.

The British Leave leader and Prime Ministerial heir apparent Boris Johnson has set out a broad vision of how the Brexit will work, insisting Britons will be able to live and work in the European Union.

As the leadership vacuum exacerbates tensions in Britain, a nationwide anxiety fuelled by an absence of how the country will proceed following the dramatic referendum decision, Johnson has used his weekly London newspaper column in The Telegraph to call for unity and explain his plan for how the Brexit should evolve. Remarkably this is the first time in two and a half days that a senior political figure has spoken about how Britain views the Brexit and he canvasses thoughts as to how the ongoing relationship with Europe should operate.

He said EU citizens living in Britain will have their rights fully protected, and the same goes for British citizens living in the EU.

“British people will still be able to go and work in the EU; to live; to travel; to study; to buy homes and to settle down," he wrote.

“As the German equivalent of the Confederation of British Industry — the BDI — has very sensibly reminded us, there will continue to be free trade, and access to the single market. Britain is and always will be a great European power, offering top-table opinions and giving leadership on everything from foreign policy to defence to counter-terrorism and intelligence-sharing — all the things we need to do together to make our world safer.

“The only change — and it will not come in any great rush — is that the UK will extricate itself from the EU’s extraordinary and opaque system of legislation: the vast and growing corpus of law enacted by a European Court of Justice from which there can be no appeal. This will bring not threats, but golden opportunities for this country — to pass laws and set taxes according to the needs of the UK."

Johnson said he believed the driving force behind the successful Leave vote was not migration, but the need to regain control of British justice.

He wrote: “It is said that those who voted Leave were mainly driven by anxieties about immigration. I do not believe that is so. After meeting thousands of people in the course of the campaign, I can tell you that the number one issue was control — a sense that British democracy was being undermined by the EU system, and that we should restore to the people that vital power: to kick out their rulers at elections, and to choose new ones. "

He said the government would now be able to take back democratic control of immigration policy with a balanced and humane points-based system to suit the needs of business and industry. He insisted there would be a substantial sum of money that will be no longer sent to Brussels which could be used on domestic policies such as the National Health Service.

He urged the 17 million who voted for the Brexit to recognise that 16 million wanted to remain and they passionately believed that was right.

In conciliatory tones he wrote: “In a democracy majorities may decide but everyone is of equal value. We who are part of this narrow majority must do everything we can to reassure the Remainers. We must reach out, we must heal, we must build bridges — because it is clear that some have feelings of dismay, and of loss, and confusion.

“At home and abroad, the negative consequences are being wildly overdone, and the upside is being ignored. The stock market is way above its level of last autumn; the pound remains higher than it was in 2013 and 2014. The economy is in good hands. Most sensible people can see that Bank of England governor Mark Carney has done a superb job — and now that the referendum is over, he will be able to continue his work without being in the political firing-line. Thanks in large part to the reforms put in place by David Cameron and George Osborne, the fundamentals of the UK economy are outstandingly strong — a dynamic and outward-looking economy with an ever-improving skills base, and with a big lead in some of the key growth sectors of the 21st century."