EU Referendum Debate

This week, I attended a debate in Parliament on the UK’s relationship with the European Union. I wanted to contribute because this relationship matters deeply to many of my constituents , and me too. Unfortunately, there were many MPs hoping to speak at the debate and we ran out of time before I could make an intervention. As a result, I thought it would be useful to set out the points I would've made in this blog post.

Brexit has been damaging in so many ways. I see it in the extra costs and bureaucracy facing local businesses, in the impact on research and innovation, and in the way it has complicated our cooperation on defence and security. It has also affected something less tangible but just as important: our sense of being part of a wider European family.

One of the strongest lessons Brexit has driven home for me is the danger of putting up unnecessary borders. Of course, decisions should be made as close to home as possible, but we are stronger when we work with our neighbours rather than cut ourselves off from them.

For businesses, the problems are very real. The long delays in reaching agreements on sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) rules have been deeply frustrating and damaging, particularly for food and drink exporters. I have raised this with the Government before on behalf of local firms who now face hundreds of import and export licences that simply did not exist before. That red tape costs time and money, and makes it harder for them to compete.

Travel restrictions are another major barrier. Whether it is lorry drivers, touring musicians or people running cross-border businesses, the current system makes working in Europe far more difficult. EU citizens can visit the UK for up to six months, but UK citizens are limited to 90 days in any 180-day period in Europe. That imbalance creates a real disadvantage for British workers and businesses, and it is something I would have liked to press the Minister on directly.

At a time when the world feels increasingly fragile – with Russian aggression on one side and an unpredictable United States on the other – this is exactly the moment when we should be strengthening our ties with our closest neighbours, not weakening them. It is vital that the UK continues to push for closer cooperation on security and defence and prioritises working hand-in-hand with our allies.

The Liberal Democrats have always been proudly pro-European. Ten years on from the referendum, it is hard to know whether the UK will ever rejoin the EU. But what I am certain about is this: a much closer relationship with Europe is the best thing for our economy, for our security, and for the future of the next generation.