I’m a Brexiteer and the vote in 2016 set us on a path to freedom — I want to finish the job
I AM a Brexiteer.
I campaigned to leave, I voted to leave and there have been so many Brexit benefits already, including being in full control of our tax system to bring down duties paid on things like beer and wine, cutting red tape to attract investment and creating jobs in our booming sectors.
But the protocol that was put in place just a few years ago doesn’t work and it needs fixing.
Over the past few weeks and months, we have been in talks with the European Union and others about the problems the Northern Ireland Protocol causes.
Reams of unnecessary paperwork for businesses, vet inspections, the need for all kinds of certificates, just to move goods within the United Kingdom.
And even some products banned altogether from moving between Great Britain to Northern Ireland.
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These are the challenges that the people of Northern Ireland and businesses are facing every single day and it’s not right and not sustainable.
And it is because of these practical problems that it makes some people feel Northern Ireland is somehow treated differently to the rest of the UK.
We cannot have that continue and it is my responsibility as Prime Minister of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to change it.
I want to ensure trade can flow smoothly around the United Kingdom’s Internal Market and I want to safeguard Northern Ireland’s place in our Union for decades ahead.
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The Good Friday Agreement has given Northern Ireland 25 years of peace and stability and we need to protect that and fix the democratic deficit that the Protocol has created.
None of these issues are easy and I’ve been working intensively with the EU and with political leaders in Northern Ireland, together with my colleagues the Foreign Secretary and the Secretary of State of Northern Ireland to try and find a way through so that we can fix these problems.
There’s still more work to do but we have made promising progress recently and I’m determined to do right by the people of Northern Ireland and deliver for them.
The vote in 2016 set us on a path to sovereignty and freedom. I want to finish the job.