PM: BREXIT IS UNLOCKING OUR TRUE POTENTIAL
Five years on from EU referendum, Boris says freedoms will help to ‘shape better future’
FREEDOMS won by Brexit will unleash the United Kingdom’s “true potential”, Boris Johnson promises today.
Celebrating the fifth anniversary of the referendum vote to quit the EU, he says that taking back control of our borders and signing global trade deals are already shaping “a better future” for Britain. The PM added: “We have already reclaimed our money, laws, borders and waters.
“We’ll spur innovation, jobs and renewal across every part of our country.”
Mr Johnson continued
by saying: “Five years ago the British people made the momentous decision to leave the European Union and take back control of our destiny.
“This Government got Brexit done.
“We’ve installed a new pointsbased system for immigration, delivered the fastest vaccine rollout anywhere in Europe, negotiated trade deals with the EU and 68 other countries – including our first post-Brexit free trade agreement with Australia – and we’ve just begun negotiations to join the $9trillion Pacific trade area.
“Now as we recover from this pandemic, we will seize the true potential of our regained sovereignty to unite and level up our whole United Kingdom.
“With control over our regulations and subsidies, and with freeports driving new investment, we will spur innovation, jobs and renewal across every part of our country.
“Our clear mission is to utilise the freedoms it brings to shape a better future for our people.”
Senior Tory MP Dame Andrea Leadsom, who played a leading role in the Vote Leave campaign, praised the progress made.
She said: “All the promise of Brexit still holds. Covid stopped the world in its tracks.
“But the UK’s future as a free trading, independent nation is so clear. I am totally optimistic about our plans to promote jobs, growth and exports and to be a force for good.”
Analysis of opinion polls yesterday showed voters are still split over quitting the European bloc.
Deltapoll surveys suggested they would divide 50-50 on whether to Remain or Leave in a referendum today.
But Kantar polls asking if voters want to stay out or rejoin the EU found 54 per cent opted to keep out.
Sir John Curtice, professor of politics at the University of Strathclyde, told a briefing hosted by the UK In A Changing Europe think tank: “Britain is still significantly divided over the merits of Brexit.
“On average, the most recent polls, pretty much all done by Deltapoll, it’s a 50-50 split. “Ask people whether we should rejoin or stay out, you consistently find somewhat lower support for rejoining than for remaining, but we’re still looking at a society that is pretty divided down the middle. “Relatively few people have changed their minds. Over four in five people say they would vote in exactly the same way they did five years ago. Those people who didn’t vote in 2016 have been pretty consistently two to one in favour of remaining.”
Referring to the Kantar polls, Sir John said: “Some but by no means the bulk of Remain voters do say ‘We’re out, I’d prefer we were not out but I’m not sure I’d vote to rejoin.’We’re still divided.”
He added that the Brexit vote appeared to have “revolutionised” Tory support since the referendum,
with Leave-backing Labour strongholds turning blue in 2019.
“The character of support for the Conservative Party in particular was little short of revolutionised.
“Whereas in 2015 it was getting the support of 45 per cent of those who wanted to Leave, by 2019 it was 73 per cent. Labour is not showing any evidence of being able to particularly recover amongst Leave voters. And the Liberal Democrats have basically lost all the gains they made amongst Remain voters in 2019.”
Brexit had also fuelled a rise in support for independence in Scotland, Sir John added. “Prior to the 2016 referendum, there was no relationship between people’s attitudes towards independence and their attitudes towards the EU.
“Once Brexit was voted for, that began to change. Support for independence is now much higher amongst those who are Europhiles.
“All of the increased support for independence occurred among Remain voters.”
Brexit-backing Tory MP Andrew Bridgen said last night he was “surprised” by the finding that only 54 per cent of voters did not want to rejoin the EU.
He added: “Now being an independent sovereign nation, I don’t believe the British public would ever give up that sovereignty again.
“We’ve seen with the Covid vaccine roll out the advantages of being independent.”
His Tory colleague Philip Hollobone, a fellow Brexitsupporting MP, added: “Had we not left the EU...instead of having a world-beating vaccine rollout, the UK would have been in the European slow lane.”
Edge
A Savanta ComRes poll last night showed Remain would edge a re-run of the 2016 vote, beating Leave by 51 per cent to 49 per cent once Undecideds are removed.
It also hinted at very little switching of sides since 2016, with six per cent of Remainers now voting Leave and seven per cent of Leavers now voting Remain.
FUTURE generations of Britons will owe those who voted for Brexit five years ago a debt of gratitude. It took guts to leave the EU when so many prophets of doom within the British establishment warned that cutting the cord with Brussels would trigger disaster. They have been proven wrong.
Half a decade on, the country has a new confidence on the world stage. Newly-signed trade deals have unlocked fantastic economic opportunities and the best is yet to come. If we succeed in joining a Trans-Pacific trade zone which includes many of the world’s most exciting economies then we can look forward to a new chapter of prosperity.
There is no doubt that Britain is better off as a result of not joining the EU’s vaccination programme. Boris Johnson’s team have won the respect of the world with the successful rollout of vaccines.
The PM is right to pledge to “seize the true potential of our regained sovereignty to unite and level up our whole United Kingdom”.
Epic challenges confront our nation but this brave and ambitious country will use its new freedoms to chart a path to a better future. The people of Britain made the right call in 2016 and there is no turning back.