More cash for health and education after EU pullout: premier
THERESA May has insisted EU withdrawal will mean more money for the NHS and schools, but avoided branding that a “Brexit dividend” on her whirlwind tour of the country.
As the Prime Minister conducted whistlestop visits to the four nations of the UK to mark a year until Brexit day, Mrs May called on Britons to “come together” to seize the “great opportunities” she expects as a result of EU withdrawal.
The PM said additional resources will be available for hospitals and education once Britain is no longer sending “vast sums” annually to Brussels.
But, in a BBC interview, she steered clear of repeating Boris Johnson’s term “Brexit dividend” and twice ducked the question of whether she believes Brexit will be “worth it”.
“I think there are real opportunities for the United Kingdom,” she said.
“I think it’s a bright future out there. And yes, I think Brexit is going to deliver a country that will be different, but I think there are real opportunities for us as an independent nation for the future.”
The PM kicked off her tour with a visit to a textile company in Ayr, before attending a mother and toddler group in Newcastle and taking lunch with farmers in Bangor.
The PM then went to south Wales for a round-table discussion with businesses, before completing her tour in west London with a group of Polish citizens who have made the UK their home.
Mrs May insisted that the Polish population was still welcome in the UK when she was asked for “reassurances” on the matter.
Mrs May also said: “I believe we can negotiate a good agreement which is tariff-free and as frictionless trade as possible, so we maintain those markets in the EU, but also that we open up markets around the rest of the world.
“Brexit provides us with opportunities. I want to see us coming together, the four nations across the United Kingdom.
“We have a very strong union, that is in our interests and it is in our interests to come together and really seize these opportunities for the future.”