We’ve achieved so much already – now we must fulfil our free-trade destiny

‘It looks like your side might win this.” It was the early hours of June 24 2016 and I was sitting in a studio with David Dimbleby, waiting to go on air to discuss the results of the referendum. The number of votes for “leave” had just passed the one million mark, and in that moment I knew we were over the line. A million votes was more than any opinion survey. We had proved the pollsters wrong. We were leaving the European Union.

The two years that have passed since that historic night have gone in the blink of an eye, but we have achieved so much in that time, to turn that vote into a reality.

At all times, we’ve worked to promote the interests of all of citizens – whichever way they voted – to make sure the whole of our United Kingdom can succeed outside the EU. Since triggering Article 50, my department has published two White Papers, 17 position and future partnership papers and undertaken hundreds of hours of talks with the EU on the new relationship we want with them.

And this week we passed one of the most important milestones so far. The EU (Withdrawal) Bill has completed its passage through Parliament.

The importance of this Bill can’t be overstated. Without it, there would have been gaps in our laws, meaning legal chaos on the day we leave the EU.

With it, our statute book will be fighting fit for whatever deal we strike with the EU. And we will soon begin the process of tweaking bits of European law to ensure they make sense after we leave.

This will give continuity and certainty for people, businesses and public services on the laws that impact them after Brexit – with Parliament having the final say on which retained EU laws to keep, and which to change.

That is what Brexit has always been about: bringing control back to the United Kingdom, so that we have the final say on our laws, our borders, and how our money is spent – not Brussels.

The vast majority of the legal text in the withdrawal agreement has been locked down, including a reciprocal deal on the rights of 3.5million EU citizens living in the UK and one million Britons across the EU. It means they and their families can carry on living their lives as they do now.

For businesses across Europe, we have also agreed the terms of the implementation period, meaning they have time to prepare for just one change in our economic relationship with the EU, and can carry on trading using the same rules as exist now. This isn’t about keeping us tied to the EU indefinitely – this period will end in December 2020 – but making sure that governments, public services and businesses can plan more effectively.

We’ve achieved a tremendous amount in a short space of time. Of course, there’s still more to do. So the hard work won’t stop.

Talks about the future trading relationship we want with the EU are well under way, including discussions to address the Northern Ireland-ireland border.

My department is finalising our White Paper, which will build on the plans we have already spelled out and give critical detail to the form we want our new economic and security partnerships with the EU to take. It will tackle the misconception that the United Kingdom doesn’t know what it wants out of these negotiations.

Two years on from the referendum, rather than looking back, we need to focus on where we want to be two, 10, 20 years into the future. With Britain taking advantage of its destiny as the world’s great free-trading nation.

There are only a few months until we leave the EU, and embark on a bright new future. One that sees us going out in the world to forge relationships with old friends and new allies, banging the drum for British business and talent. It’s the Brexit that people voted for two years ago today – and it’s the Brexit we are delivering.