The idea that we should not seek the closest commercial relationship with the United States is unconscionable.
We should make tariff reductions conditional on meeting standards of food safety, animal welfare and environmental protection which are as good as our own.
Managing various parallel negotiating tracks at the same time will be a complex task, but it must be done.
Our scoping assessment shows there could be a £15.3 billion expansion in overall trade between the two countries, an 18 per cent increase on 2018 levels.
The lack of an agreed border with Ireland makes “an Australian-style settlement” more unlikely than would otherwise be the case.
At the very same time that the Government is orchestrating a comprehensive security and defence review, that comment will have caused grave concern.
To make the most of the policy’s potential, Government must pair it with a raft of other reforms.
Harmonisation flies in the face of global trends towards equivalence rather than the highly legalistic regulatory formula favoured by the Union.
Today I am launching a Free Trade Parliamentary Caucus, to help Parliamentarians learn about the topic – and to advocate for the policy.
A WTO exit at the end of 2020 is not the probable outcome – but the risk does look under-priced.
We must maintain our pro-enterprise agenda to cement our status as being a place where both businesses and investors can thrive.
The most important sector is one usually ignored. Small firms constitute 99 per cent of all business in the country.
As a former Chief Secretary to the Treasury, I am uneasy about the bail-out of Flybe. Every time a private business is bailed out by the taxpayer, the pressure grows.
DFID managed its portfolio with far greater efficiency than the Foreign Office. But it should improve how it aligns traditional aid objectives with Britain’s goals.
To remain in it for any longer than necessary would leave the fragile economy we will have after Covid-19 very vulnerable.