As I am sure we are all aware, the UK left the European
Union on Friday. I know that for many this was a moment of celebration – the
culmination of three and a half years of struggle to deliver on the 2016
referendum result. For others it is the end of years, even decades of
campaigning for the UK to leave the EU.
But I am also very much aware that there are plenty of
people form whom this is a moment of regret and sadness. Those who believe this
is not the path the country should be taking. So while I was one of those who
allowed themselves to enjoy the moment at 11pm on Friday, it was also with a
deep sense of the task ahead.
My strongest emotion on Friday was one of relief. As
someone who has lived through the past three and a half years at the heart of
the wrangling in Parliament, it is a relief to finally reach this point so that
we can move on. It is a great relief to be able to deliver on what the vast
majority of politicians said they would do – respect the referendum result. In
that sense it is a relief that we have shown that democracy is alive and well
in our country and that when a majority of people vote for something it
actually happens.
Any sense of celebration is tempered by the need for us to
now come together as a country, heal the divisions that have been so raw in
recent times and face the future with a renewed sense of common purpose and
confidence in our nation. So while I fully understand all those who felt the
desire to make a big show of their celebrations of this historic moment, I also
fully support the Prime Minster who sought to keep things fairly low key.
The reality is that not much has changed since Friday.
Officially we are no longer a member state of the EU. We have left all its
institutions, no longer have MEPS and will take up our seats on international
bodies as an independent state once again. However, we are now in an eleven
month transition phase until the end of this year. During this time we will continue
to abide by all EU regulations.
This period of time will primarily be used to negotiate our
future relationship on trade and cooperation in areas such as intelligence and
security. It will also give time for Parliament to put the necessarily legislation
in place so we have the legal framework we need for the UK Parliament to take
over the democratic responsibility for areas that have been under the EU until
now. Due to the make up and deep division in the previous Parliament we were
unable to pass the legislation before. Now Boris Johnson has a majority we can
get on with passing these bills that will provide our farmers, fishermen and
businesses with many of the details they need to know about the future
regulations they will need to operate under.
This week Parliament will begin debating the Agriculture
Bill, which will provide the legal framework for our famers once we are out of
the EU Common Agriculture Policy. This will lay out the way we will support our
farmers and the standards we will expect them to adhere to for important things
such as animal welfare and protecting our environment and countryside.
Also last week we began the process of the Fisheries Bill
and Environment Bill being presented to Parliament. One of the key aspects of
leaving the EU is the UK being once again in control of our own fishing waters.
This bill will return power to the UK Parliament to decide who is allowed to
fish in our waters and will mean we can ensure our own fishermen get a fairer
share of the quota.
The Environment Bill will establish our commitment to
protect the environment and enable us to be in control of the standards we
operate by. I am particularly interested in the measures this Bill will provide
for protecting our seas and holding water companies more effectively to account
for discharging sewage.
In the coming weeks we will also have a new Immigration
Bill, that will provide the new policy the UK will operate by once we end free
movement of people and control our own borders.
So we have a busy and important time ahead in Parliament
now we have actually left the EU. This is primarily what Brexit is about.
Returning the democratic responsibility for all these things, and many more, to
our own Parliament where you can hold me as your MP to account for the decisions
we make.
This is a historic time in our nation’s history. I count it
a huge honour to be representing our constituency in Parliament at this time
and I will never forget that it is you, the local voters who put me here, and
you that I am ultimately accountable to.
