It has been a quite a month for the United Kingdom when it comes to trade agreements with other countries.
First were the deals the Government reached with India and the USA which will open up new opportunities for our exporters. In the case of India, their tariffs on Scotch whisky and British-made electric cars will be slashed and farmers will be able to sell British lamb to the large Indian market.
In the case of the USA, farmers now have the chance to sell British beef, we upheld our food standards – as we promised to do – and a lot of jobs at Jaguar Land Rover, which otherwise would have been facing substantial tariffs on its cars being sold to the United States of America, were saved.
This was followed by the UK playing host to the first-ever UK-EU summit in London as we set out to build a new partnership with the European Union.
In recent years our relationship with the EU has — at times — been strained, but in an era in which global instability is rising, it makes sense to build stronger ties with our European friends and neighbours. And the EU is, of course, by far and away our biggest trading market.
The way I see it, the world is changing and it’s time for us to move on from the debates and political fights of the past to find common sense, practical solutions which get the best for the British people.
So, what this deal is all about?
It will make food, agriculture and plant trade with the EU cheaper and easier. It will do this by slashing red tape and bureaucracy, which will reduce costs. We will also be able to sell British burgers, shellfish and other products back into the EU.
A new Defence and Security Partnership will strengthen our security in a dangerous new era and create jobs and opportunities for our defence industry by opening the door to working with the EU’s new defence fund.
British tourists travelling to Europe will in future be eligible to use e-Gates, so ending huge queues at passport control, and we are asking all EU member states to implement this as soon as possible.
There will be more co-operation on energy and emissions trading to drive down bills in the long term, thus saving UK businesses from having to pay £800 million in carbon taxes. The previous agreement damaged our energy security and forced the UK into a more expensive way of working with our neighbours – even though we are physically connected to the European grid by undersea cables. This deal will see us work to bring our systems together again, so benefitting bill payers and boosting renewables in the North Sea.
The deal on fish will provide more certainty, save industry £25m a year by protecting our steel exports from new EU tariffs and protect our access rights and fishing areas. And there will be no increase in the amount that EU vessels can catch in British waters. We’re also investing £360 million into our fishing industry to help them take advantage of this deal.
On policing and border security, the agreement will close the huge gap the previous deal left in our ability to work together to tackle illegal migration and smash criminal gangs. There will be more co-operation on law enforcement, with better sharing of intelligence – including facial recognition data for the first time – to help combat terrorism and serious organised crime.
Lastly, there will be co-operation to set up a youth experience scheme which will allow our young people to travel and work in Europe and give the same opportunities for European young people here in the UK, with appropriate time-limits, caps and visa requirements.
Given the turmoil in global trading relationships at the moment, it is quite remarkable that Britain has managed to secure these three deals in the space of just over three weeks. For years, we were told that we were negotiating a deal with India and that we’d quickly get a deal with United States of America after we left the European Union, but nothing happened. And now suddenly both have been achieved, alongside a new agreement with the European Union, which will bring a lot of benefits to the UK. It is a tribute to steady, patient diplomacy, negotiating skill, and a determination to put the interests of the country first.
The changes to eligibility for winter fuel payment have caused a great deal of debate, and I was pleased to hear the Prime Minister in the House of Commons recenty expressing his wish to change the system so that more pensioners can become eligible for winter fuel payments, when fiscal conditions allow.
We inherited public finances that were in a terrible mess and had to take swift action to stabilise the economy. That included the difficult decision to means-test winter fuel payments so that they were targeted at those with the greatest need.
The economy is now showing signs of recovery because we took the right decisions to restore stability and fix the black hole in the public finances. The UK is currently the fastest growing economy in the G7, interest rates have been cut four times, and we have strengthened the economy by securing the new trade deals discussed above.
But many people are still struggling with the cost of living, including pensioners, so as the economy recovers, we want more people to feel the benefits of that in their lives. That’s why we would like to expand the number of pensioners who are eligible for winter fuel payment when economic conditions allow and we can identify how to fund it.
Hilary Benn is our Member of Parliament. He represents the Leeds South constituency.
Email: hilary.benn.mp@parliament.uk | Website: www.hilarybennmp.com
Constituency office:
Unity Business Centre, 26 Roundhay Road, Leeds, LS7 1AB
Tel: 0113 244 1097
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