BORIS PLAN FOR BREXIT BOOM
PM vows: Great Britain will be trailblazer of global trade
BRITAIN will become a global trailblazer after we finally leave the European Union on Friday, says Boris Johnson.
The Prime Minister wants the country to become “great again”, heal its past divisions and “look ahead with confidence” to life as an independent nation after Brexit.
It came as the US Treasury Secretary confirmed that America will “dedicate a lot of resources” to securing a trade deal between
the two countries, vowing that, after Brexit, Britain would be “top of the list”.
Mr Johnson is now focusing on reaching out to the world beyond Europe with the relaunch of the “great” ready-to-trade campaign which is designed to “unleash the UK’S potential”.
In a sign that relying on the EU is firmly in the past, advertising will centre on 13 non-union countries. Rolling out on February 1, there will be a digital marketing strategy aimed at priority markets in Australia, Brazil, Canada, China – including Hong Kong, India, Japan, Mexico, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, the UAE and the USA.
It follows revelations that talks on an EU trade deal will not be prioritised and that parallel discussions for lucrative trade deals will happen with the US, Japan, Australia and New Zealand.
Mr Johnson said: “Friday marks an important moment in the history of our United Kingdom. No matter how you voted in 2016, it is time to look ahead with confidence to the global, trail-blazing country we will become over the next decade and heal past divisions. That is what I will be doing on January 31 and I urge everyone across the UK to do the same.” US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin had a breakfast meeting with Chancellor Sajid Javid yesterday and said: “We’ve said that the goal is trying to get [a trade agreement] done this year . “From a US standpoint we are prepared to dedicate a lot of resources. The UK and US have very similar economies with a big focus on services and I think that this will be a very important relationship. This is going back to the President during the election campaign when he said, post-brexit, ‘They’ll be at the top of the list’.”
The wave of optimism about the future comes as previous critics of Brexit have finally admitted they were wrong – and that Britain is well on course to succeed. In spring 2016, the International Monetary Fund – headed by the pro-eu Christine Legarde – predicted that Brexit would lead to a recession.
But the IMF is now forecasting that Britain’s growth will actually be stronger than the Eurozone.
Meanwhile, a PWC survey of chief executives revealed that when it comes to being an attractive place for business to relocate, Britain is riding high and back to the same level it was in 2015. According to the poll, it is now the fourth best market in the world to invest for growth, and the number one destination in Europe.
Significantly, chief executives in Germany, France and Italy put Britain in their top three markets.
Mr Johnson has long made clear that ending the uncertainty over Brexit is the key to British prosperity. Downing Street has also revealed how it plans to mark the occasion on Friday.
The day will begin with the Prime Minister and his Cabinet meeting in the north of England, in a sign that new focus will be on the former Labour heartland seats dramatically snatched by the Tories in last month’s election.
Ministers will discuss Mr Johnson’s “levelling-up” agenda and how best to spread prosperity and opportunity across all corners of the UK, as the country looks ahead to the next decade.
He will then join friends and colleagues for a gathering back in Downing Street to mark the occasion. At 10pm the PM will address the nation in a special broadcast timed an hour before Britain’s departure. A commemorative 50p coin, emblazoned with
‘Looking ahead to a trail-blazing country’
the words “peace, prosperity and friendship with all nations” will also be launched. And although Big Ben will not sound, nearby Whitehall will be decked out in patriotic red, white and blue.
Throughout the week, senior politicians will meet people and businesses across the UK, encouraging the whole country to look ahead.
Some small Scottish whisky distillers will need reassurance, as they suffer the fallout from US tariffs aimed at the EU.
Mr Johnson will also host another People’s PMQS session on Wednesday and children will be invited to Downing Street on Thursday, giving them the chance to ask about the future he intends to build for the next generation. In an emailed message to supporters around the country, the Prime Minister has appealed for unity. He said: “We’re leaving the EU and putting an end to all the uncertainty. That means we’ve got a future to build. So let’s build it together.
“The arguments. The gridlock. The chaos. We’re moving past it. We’re building the kind of country you can be proud of. The kind of country you want your children to grow up in.
“A country where you don’t have to wait three weeks for a GP appointment. A country where you feel safe when you walk home at night. A country where your child gets a world-class education, no matter where you live. Better hospitals. Safer streets. world-class schools. Join the Conservative Party and let’s take the next steps together. Leave or Remain, it’s time to put the past behind us.
“It’s time to level-up every region, unite the country and unleash Britain’s potential.”
It is also hoped that the focus on the rest of the world and prospect of swift trade deals with the US and elsewhere will force the EU to compromise on its unrealistic demands.
This follows France’s attempts to get 25 years’ access to British fishing waters and demands from Brussels that the UK accepts free movement of people as a condition of a deal. Ministers have made it clear that these are unacceptable and in a bid to crank up the pressure, Mr Johnson has put into law that the transition period with the EU will end on December 31, 2020.
● Jeremy Paxman, left, has dismissed claims that Britain is racist for voting Tory last month, and said the country is assuredly ready for a post-brexit “adventure”.