Don’t let Remainer civil servants thwart freeports in the wake of Brexit – Jayne Adye

Very few had more potential or ambition than the premise of freeports, which not only encapsulated the removal of EU regulatory restrictions, but also mirrored perfectly the Government’s ‘levelling-up’ agenda.

Areas given freeport status are meant to benefit from a wide-ranging package of tax relief; simplified customs procedures; streamlined planning processes to boost redevelopment; as well as government support to promote regeneration and innovation.

However, as has now become common, it seems the Government’s ambitions have been watered down and the scope and scale of these freeports will not be what we were sold at the last general election.

What makes this retreat somehow worse is it appears this dilution has not come from those we have elected, but 
the unelected mandarins of the Civil Service who, once again, seem content to take the easiest option in front of them, instead of trying to innovate and create the very best path for this country going forward.

As a result, we see an arbitrary limit of only 10 ‘freeports’ imposed across the whole of the United Kingdom, as well as a hesitation to implement the full range of possible tax benefits and regulatory changes – including planning reforms.

Instead of ambition and belief in an independent Global Britain being the focus of those who run our country, we are faced with the Civil Service ‘blob’ (who are still largely working from their back bedrooms) who simply want to kick the can down the road and play it safe.

They are missing the whole point of the opportunities freeports which are supposed to be beacons of innovation, encouraged by Government policy and reduced regulation, bringing growth and jobs to many areas of this country which have been deprived of opportunity for so long.

Even, if you concede on the number of freeports and the regulations which will take effect inside them, you have to ask why – almost a year after the end of the transition period, and two years since the election – the UK’s first freeport on Teesside only opened last month, and to very little fanfare?

The first freeports in this country, including the Humber, should have been opened as soon as we left the EU – as there was plenty of time to plan during the transition period – but instead, the lack-lustre Treasury seems only intent on more and more taxation to recover from the Covid pandemic.

The Treasury has dragged its feet so far, and has all but missed this huge opportunity by always complaining 
about why things shouldn’t be done instead of taking maximum advantage 
of the possible benefits of freeports as well as the opportunities they should open up.

The Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, needs to stop his PR campaign to be the next Prime Minister and concentrate on ensuring the whole of the Treasury wakes up, before we lose one of the best advantages for Global Britain in our lifetime!

The current modus operandi cannot continue if we are to succeed as a country outside the EU, because you can be certain, when it comes to competition, the EU will not give the UK a free pass and will try to keep a ‘level-playing-field’ as much as they can.

You only have to look as far as failing German businesses receiving more than 50 per cent of all EU emergency coronavirus state aid to understand that Brussels will not sit idly by and allow the UK to gain any advantage.

A properly implemented freeport agenda should be able to outstrip the 
EU’s ability to respond effectively, because the UK now has the capacity to be flexible in changing our regulations to stay ahead of an EU legislative body which takes months, if not years, to bring in changes.

If the PM wants to implement his vision, then it means instigating serious reform of the Civil Service, to bring 
about a radical change in mentality to replace their ‘no change, Remainer’ agenda.

We did not fight for years to get Britain out of the EU, only to have such a historic and seismic change undermined by unelected bureaucrats. If we wanted more of their involvement and negativity, we would have stayed inside the EU.

Jayne K Adye is director of the Get Britain Out grassroots campaign.

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