By getting Brexit done we can invest in public services and level up the country

Ifirst got to know Boris when he was the Mayor of London and I was Chairman of TheCityUK, the organisation representing financial and related professional services in the UK. He and I worked together in the interests of London and the City. We travelled together on visits to China, India and the Middle East; we were on the road supporting British businesses large and small.

He carried his own bag, travelled in the bus with the rest of us, and went for a run – perhaps more accurately a perspiring, ambling plod – every morning. But these were serious trips: deals were signed, friendships made, and as a result investment flowed into the UK, creating jobs and opportunities.

Even in those days, he was just as engaging with kings and presidents, business leaders, and people in the streets. In India they thought he was the king of England. In China, a friend of Harry Potter. In the Gulf, a latter-day Lawrence of Arabia. He was a man of big ideas, he got things done, and, critically, understood what makes people tick and their humanity.

Let’s be frank. The last three years have not been a great advertisement for this country. People here and people overseas have observed the parliamentary shenanigans with bewilderment. We seem to have wasted the last three years since the referendum going round in circles with little to show for it. The Brexit negotiations got stuck in a quagmire, sucking up all of Westminster’s energy so that vital issues like social services, infrastructure and the well-being of public servants – our nurses, our police, our teachers – have not received the attention they deserve.

Something has to give and by getting Brexit done we can finally turn to those priorities and invest in those public services we all rely on, and level up the entire country.

As a civil servant in the Treasury in the Eighties working for Margaret Thatcher running privatisations, I learnt the critical importance of the government, supported by Parliament, getting things done. It’s easy to forget

‘We can begin a new relationship with the EU based on free trade and friendly cooperation that will determine future economic prosperity’

what a mess nationalisation had made of our key industries: huge swathes, including our telephones, which were all black and took 12 weeks to arrive, our buses, our gas and electricity, British Airways, Jaguar, Rolls-Royce, were controlled and owned by the State. Having seen at close quarters the impact this had on capital investment, prices, and customer service, I find it very hard to imagine why anybody would advocate a return to those “good old days”.

Like many business leaders, I was a staunch Remainer. I never had any patience with political union and federalism, but I saw huge advantages in trading in goods and services with Europe. I still do. But I’m also a massive believer in democracy. If you ask the people a question and get an answer, you’ve got to be bound by it.

The key reason why the Brexit negotiations dragged on for so long is that we treated them as a technical matter and danced to the Brussels tune – until, of course, Boris took over and we finally secured a deal that looked and smelled like Brexit. Reaching an acceptable outcome has required strong political leadership, drive and determination, and, let’s be honest, some guile and, at times, playing tough. The absolute priority now is to bring the uncertainty finally to an end, which means having a parliament that lives up to its responsibilities, takes decisions and gets the deal through by the end of January. The only way to deliver that is to elect a government with a clear majority on Thursday – another hung parliament would perpetuate the uncertainty and stagnation. The longer this saga of frustration drags on, the more the uncertainty will increase, our economy will deteriorate, and our standing globally will diminish.

The deal negotiated by Boris and his team may not satisfy everybody – there is no solution that will – but it provides a very good basis to complete our withdrawal. We can then begin a new relationship with the EU based on free trade and friendly co-operation that will define and determine the future economic prosperity of us all, and drive growth and investment in the UK. It is that which our citizens, our taxpayers, our pensioners and savers are crying out for.

Sir Gerry Grimstone is former chairman of Barclays Bank Plc and Standard Life