Britain ‘will leap ahead in trade’
BRITAIN will take a “leap forward” to a more prosperous future by leaving the EU, Theresa May promised yesterday.
In a speech to a summit of Gulf leaders in Bahrain, the Prime Minister declared her ambition to forge new trade and investment links with the world’s richest nations as the country cuts ties with Brussels.
She also vowed that Brexit will transform Britain into a fairer country, meaning “life will be different” after breaking ties with Brussels.
Mrs May became the first British prime minister to address the Gulf Cooperation Council when she delivered her speech in Manama at the end of her two-day official visit.
Ambition
Speaking to the leaders of six oil-rich Gulf nations, she said: “I want to leave no one in any doubt about the scale of my ambition.”
Mrs May told the summit that Britain already had firm trade and security links with Gulf states. “I am determined that we should do everything possible to build on this and elevate our trade and investment to an even more ambitious level,” the Prime Minister said.
“As Britain leaves the European Union so we intend to take a leap forwards, to look outwards and seek to become the most committed and most passionate advocate of free trade in the world.
“For free trade makes us all richer, it creates jobs, it increases investment, it improves productivity. It transforms living standards and creates opportunities for all of our citizens.”
Mrs May insisted she would use Brexit as a chance to “ensure that the benefits of greater prosperity are shared by all”.
She said: “Just as we take every possible step to break down the barriers that are restricting our trade and prosperity, it is also important that we continue the work to bring our peoples together and to ensure the benefits of greater prosperity are shared by all.
“In Britain I have talked about the need to create a country that works for everyone. In doing so, I have set out Britain’s great global opportunity to lead the way in managing the unintended negative forces of globalisation so that large segments of our society are not left behind.”
Mrs May also pledged to work closely with Gulf states to increase security in the West and the Middle East and counter Islamic extremism.
And she declared that the allied military effort in Iraq and Syria against the Islamic State terror group – also known as Daesh – was succeeding. “As we are seeing with the current operations in Mosul, the days of Daesh as an occupying force are numbered,” she added.
Mrs May has urged Whitehall mandarins to speak their minds.
She told The Spectator magazine: “From the officials’ point of view, what they owe to the minister, and what the minister expects, is the best possible advice.”
“Don’t try to tell me what you think I want to hear.”