Britain’s first priority after Brexit is a trade deal with the US

After Brexit UK will seek trade talks first with the EU before commencing any serious talks with the USA.

“Getting Brexit Done” will mean very little if we cannot keep our promises to blue collar voters.

The result of the last general election wasn’t just a substantial victory for the Conservatives but a marker for a new era in British politics. It was as significant as Margaret Thatcher’s victory in 1979, where she gained a majority of 43, drawing hundreds of thousands of votes away from Labour’s traditional support base. The same happened again in 2019, as life-long Labour supporters voted Conservative for the first time.

For my party, “Getting Brexit Done” will mean very little if we cannot keep our promises to these voters, who have felt left behind for too long. Brexit exposed the reality that the UK has become a tale of two countries – of London and the South East vs the rest. In this divided nation, a metropolitan elite, inhabiting the ‘beltway’ in London over successive governments, has disproportionately benefitted from comfortable arrangements that suited them often to the detriment of the rest of the UK.

Whilst London and the South East have the highest productivity in the EU, other regions of the UK are lagging behind. It is from these regions that Boris Johnson gained votes for the first time and now we must deliver to them.

How can we achieve this? Staring us in the face as the next phase of the negotiations starts are some quick wins to support these blue collar Tories, who placed their trust in us.

First, once we officially leave, we must do a much better job than we have done so far in the next negotiating round. The EU have it all mapped out, they believe they have us over a barrel and are toughening their position. From what they understand in their conversations with civil servants, the UK will seek trade talks first with the EU before commencing any serious talks with the USA.

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.