Thank you for contacting me about the benefits of leaving the EU.
I was elected on a manifesto to get Brexit done; I am glad that this Government has delivered on that pledge. Outside of the EU, the UK has more control over a number of areas including our borders, laws and money and I can assure you that the Government is now focussed on delivering on the opportunities that Brexit presents.
For example, 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 as a sovereign trading nation. Recent achievements of this trade policy include securing far-reaching trade agreements with Australia, New Zealand and Singapore. Negotiations are also ongoing for the UK’s accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), a free trade area with a joint GDP of £8.4 trillion in 2020, as well as for trade agreements with India and Canada.
In the future, I believe that the UK will be able to adapt more easily to the changes and technological innovations of the coming decades. We will be able to set regulations for new sectors to encourage investment and new ideas more quickly than the EU. We will be able to set rules for our benefit. This was made immediately clear in the rollout of the Covid-19 vaccine which began in December 2020. The UK procured vaccines months before the EU, approved the vaccine weeks before the bloc, and vaccinated millions of people at a far quicker pace than our partners on the continent.
The Government also has ambitious plans to level up the different regions of the country. Free from the limitations of EU funding, the Government are introducing the £4.8 billion Levelling Up Fund, which will invest in local infrastructure projects that improve everyday life, alongside £2.6 billion of investment through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF). The UKSPF will invest in domestic priorities and target funding where it is needed most: building pride in place, supporting high-quality skills training, supporting pay, employment and productivity growth and increasing life chances.
Thank you again for taking the time to contact me.