Opinion: ’Why I’m excited to get Brexit done’

I am sat in my Westminster office to write this article, which is unexpected for the Christmas break.

But I am brimming with optimism and hope, because I’m back here to vote for the new UK/EU trade agreement.

We have got Brexit done. Our relationship with the European Union was one of the reasons I got involved in politics, when I was still a pupil at Sir Harry Smith Community College in Whittlesey. It was a big part of why I was elected a year ago.

Some of my excitement comes from the hope that we can finally leave the Brexit debate behind. We can move on. I know there is a positive future for us, waiting beyond the pandemic.

I also know there will still be occasional issues about our future relationship with the EU. There are choices to be made about regulatory divergence. There is still work to do about other things too, like recognising each other’s qualifications.

In all of this, we will act as neighbours and equal partners.

The UK no longer needs to act as some sort of unhappy tenant.

We have restored our country’s sovereignty. This is a new beginning and our future is our own.

We have left the European Union forever, but we are not leaving Europe. That is a cultural, historical and geographical impossibility. For those for whom leaving the EU is a matter of deep regret, I hope this reality becomes clearer.

Everyone can look forward to the future. The Labour Party need to embrace this too. Many Labour and Lib Dem MPs are committed to taking us back into the European Union at the earliest opportunity. Back to the Brexit turmoil.

Fortunately, the EU doesn’t want that either. Despite the claims of naysayers and pundits, the Prime Minister delivered a trade deal and we are leaving the transitional arrangement.

We take back control of our laws. We take back control of our borders, our money and our trade. After five years, we will take full control of our fisheries (the EU initially demanded fourteen years).

We are leaving the Single Market and the Customs Union. And we are ending the free movement of people, which means that our government can again decide how many people come to work and live in the UK.

Britain is an open, outward-looking country and we welcome people coming to live here, pay tax and work in our public services.

Such openness requires a fair system, which we control.

Our reestablished independence allows us to look far beyond Europe and become a global player again. We have already signed trade deals with over 60 countries, worth over £860 billion.

At Westminster, I am the Chair of the APPG on CANZUK. This is a group that presses for a closer relationship between the UK and Canada, Australia and New Zealand. I am also the Vice Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on the Commonwealth.

Those from Commonwealth countries and beyond are happy that the UK is back on the global stage, able to be a force for good in so many international organisations.

We are the fifth largest economy in the world and a permanent member of the UN Security Council, with respected - and resourced - armed forces. We also have tremendous soft power, not least through the English language.

It is time to move forward, hold our heads high, be proud to be British, and have confidence in ourselves.