Brexit

In 2019, the Conservative Party won the general election with an 80-seat majority with the promise to ‘Get Brexit Done’. We did get Brexit done.

The UK Parliament is once again supreme and the European Parliament has no control over our borders, laws and finances.

I supported Brexit from the beginning and over 70% of the constituency voted to leave. Therefore, I am proud to have assisted on delivering the biggest democratic decision ever made by the British people. 

Amongst other things, the Government has delivered: 

  • A Trade and Cooperation Agreement with the EU - a historic achievement that delivered on the promises of the EU referendum and the 2019 Conservative Party Manifesto. There are no tariffs or quotas for trade in goods between the UK and the EU. This was the first time that the EU agreed such a deal and it provides the UK with the same benefits in tariffs and quotas that EU member states enjoy.
  • Sovereignty over trade policy. The UK once again has the ability to make its own trade deals and the Government has an ambitious trade policy in place which will seize on the opportunities available to us. Recent achievements include far-reaching trade agreements with Australia, New Zealand and Japan. Moreover, the UK is joining the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), a free trade area with a joint GDP of £8.4 trillion, and negotiations are happening right now with India and Canada.
  • An increase in exports with a 24% current-prices rise in exports in the 12 months to November last year. The Department for International Trade pursuing its strategy – ‘Made in the UK, Sold to the World’ – to help businesses across the UK double exports and sell their world-class products around the globe. UK exports are due to hit the £1 trillion per year mark by the mid-2030s but this strategy aims to get us there before then. To help businesses, the Government have created a new end-to-end Export Support Service and expanded UK Export Finance so that SMEs in all parts of the UK can receive technical advice on how to find new opportunities in overseas markets.
  • Vaccines. Having left the EU, during the pandemic, the UK's Vaccine Taskforce procured vaccines months before the EU, approved the vaccine weeks before the bloc and vaccinated millions of people at a faster rate.
  • Control over industry regulations so that the UK can lead its own path with regards to technological and scientific developments. For example, the UK is setting its own course on Artificial Intelligence with the AI White Paper, Frontier AI Taskforce and AI Research Resource backed by an increased £300m investment - encouraging the development of AI tech in the UK but ensuring it develops safely and to our own benefit. 
  • Freeports which would not have been possible in the EU. Since being approved in 2021, Thames Freeport has generated over £600 million of private investment and 1,000 jobs. London Gateway/Thames Freeport is generating new revenue streams for business across the local area.
  • An improvement in the UK's diplomatic relationship with Europe. Now that the UK has left the EU, it is establishing a different type of relationship. The UK and Europe are still close scientific partners - with CERN and the £80 billion Horizon fund remaining important parts of our relationship. Moreover, an agreement has been reached on Northern Ireland - with the Prime Minister securing the Windsor Framework which delivers integrated GB-NI trade.

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