Anthony Browne is MP for South Cambridgeshire, the Chair of the Conservative backbench Treasury Committee and a member of the Treasury Select Committee.
Three years after we left the EU, the debate about Brexit rumbles on. Each side highlights issues that it claims show that it was right. Some want to highlight the downsides of Brexit to prepare the ground for eventual rejoining. The fact is that Brexit has happened (even if it is not yet completed), and even some ardent Remainers admit we should make the best of it that we can.
But three years out, it’s fair to ask: what has Brexit ever done for us? As others have observed, we won’t really know its full impact of Brexit for at least a decade after it has happened, and possibly longer.
It is easy to make the case against Brexit: British people are no longer completely free to work in or retire in the EU; trade between the UK and EU is no longer frictionless; science programmes such as Horizon have been disrupted and we are no longer part of the Galileo space programme. The tensions over the Northern Ireland Protocol are a continuing source of frustration.
It is harder to make a positive case, and easily ridiculed. You will not find me sitting in an airport sipping on a pint of champagne, served out a crown-stamped glass, whilst admiring my blue passport and thinking job well done. For Brexit to be a success, the benefits need to be tangible and to improve people’s standard of living. The vaccination programme was a clear benefit, because even if we could legally have rolled it out so fast while we were EU members, it is inconceivable that we would have done.
But what else? As I vote on legislation passing through Parliament, I notice a steady stream of laws that we could not have passed were we still in the EU. Some are small, some are big, some are widely commented on, and others pass unnoticed. Here are ten examples of the benefits of Brexit:
- Since our departure from the EU, we have signed two new agreements with Australia and New Zealand as well as improved on our previous EU agreements with Japan and Singapore. Talks are ongoing with India and the US (at federal and state level) as well as with the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), which accounts for 14 per cent of the world’s trade.Critics say the deals are minor, but over time they build up to significant opportunity to improve our links with some of the fastest growing economies in the world.
- Freedom of movement with the EU has gone, but we have replaced it with an immigration system that doesn’t give free access to one continent while setting up higher barriers to others: instead, it helps us get the best and brightest from across the globe on an equal basis, wherever they are from. The new points-based immigration system sets a skills, salary, and English language threshold that targets the top global talent.
- Eight freeports have already been identified in England with more to follow in Scotland and Wales. They are a key part of the levelling up agendabringing trade, investment, and jobs to areas of the country that have historically struggled. For a freeport to be successful requires flexibility over tax incentives and regulations, which would be impossible under EU rules.
- There were some quick wins from Brexit from our freedom to fully alter VAT rates and other taxes. The so called ‘tampon tax’ was removed, finally correcting the injustice of female hygiene product’s treatment as non-essential items (the EU followed suit afterwards).The Government demonstrated its commitment to net zero by removing VAT on all energy efficient measures leading to greater installation of solar panels and heat pumps. Motor insurance premiums have been reduced by a potential £50 per year after the Government introduced legislation that reversed a European Court of Justice decision. This year, air passenger duty will be halved on domestic flights in the UK reducing travel cost by £112 million over the year, something that was banned under EU rules.
- Leaving the Common Fisheries Policy has enabled the Govt to give more generous allocations to UK fisherman, who were steadily hammered by EU quotas. As part of a Trade and Cooperation agreement the EU will transfer over 25 per cent of its quota by 2026. This year, our total allowable catch will increase by 30,000 tonnes to 140,000 tonnes.
- Leaving the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) has enabled the Government to launch the biggest change in farming subsidies in 40 years. Eighty per cent of CAP funding was reliant on direct subsidies based on the amount of land farmed, benefiting the wealthiest landowners. We have now been able to introduce a new system, the Environmental Land Management (ELM) scheme, which aims to ensure the subsidies are targeted at producing public goods. Itis fair to say it is a work in progress, but the end result will clearly be much better than CAP.
- The Government spends £300 billion a year on public sector procurement, which was strictly regulated whilst we were in the EU. Contracts below certain value thresholds are now solely reserved for UK suppliers, which will help support small businesses. It is also looking to remove red tape to simplify and speed up the procurement process to help smaller, more innovative companies.
- Leaving the EU also enables us to improve animal welfare standards in trade, which had previously been hampered by the Single Market. As well as restricting the trade of live animals for slaughter, the Government has pledged to ban the import of fur, foie gras, and hunting trophies.
- Financial services is our biggest industry, and we can now tailor our rules to suit us. Proposed changes in Solvency II, the regulation that governs insurance capital requirements, has the potential to release billions of pounds to invest in UK infrastructure. The Bank of England is consulting on rule changes banned under the EU that will enable small challenger banks to compete more effectively. Lots of unnecessary regulation can be removed without any risk to financial stability.
- I am fortunate to have some of the leading life science companies and research institutes in my constituency, and even though the saga over Horizon funding has caused problems for many, there are clearly also opportunities. Earlier this year I spoke on the Genetic Technology Bill, which will allow UK scientists to speed up the natural breeding process of plants and animals, improving yields and safety. I also welcomed the news that BioNTech, of Covid vaccine renown, has announced a partnership with the UK to study cancer vaccines using mRNA-based cancer vaccines. Part of the draw of the UK was the nimbleness of our regulatory authority, something illustrated during the pandemic. If we get our regulatory system right, then we can enhance our position as a science superpower.
Brexiteers will no doubt add to this list, and Remainers will insist these benefits are clearly smaller than the downsides. But it is too early to tell: as so often with change, the costs come quickly, but the benefits come slowly. Over time we will clearly work out how to reduce the costs – as has already been happening with trade friction with the EU – and as we think of new ways to use our new freedoms, other benefits will arise.Even though Brexit has happened, the debate over it will linger for many years to come.