‘UK no longer sheep!' MP hails free ports amid post-Brexit Northern trade boom hopes
CONSERVATIVE MP Lia Nici has praised the Government's free port strategy as an "absolutely fantastic" way to deliver a British manufacturing boom after Brexit.
Lia Nici praises 'absolutely fantastic' free ports strategy
The MP for Greater Grimbsy has hailed Boris Johnson's support for the creation of up to 10 new freeports across the UK as an example of the Government taking a global lead as Britain leaves the European Union. Ms Nici said Britain had been forced to act as a "sheep" while bound to Brussels over trade and manufacturing regulations but now with the creation of free ports the Brexiteer insisted the UK could now be the "shepherd" when it came to global trade.
The coastal MP told Express.co.uk: "The freeport strategy is absolutely fantastic,
"It means what effectively you can do is bring goods in, modify those goods in some way and then export them back out without tariff.
"For coastal communities, especially like Great Grimsby and the surrounding areas, free ports would be a huge boon to our manufacturing and production industries.
"You know we don't have to use the south-east coast ports we can use many more different ports," she added.
The Conservative MP continued: "What we need to do now is start to realise the amount of opportunity that we have got.
"Being part of the EU in a way has actually dampened our innervation, we have been part of a massive bloc,
"Which mean we have had to follow like a sheep, what we can do now is actually be the shepherd and make sure that we can do things that work for our independent state.
"That means getting our residents enthused about the possibilities."
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In an exclusive interview with Express.co.uk, Ms Nici's fellow MP John Redwood has also urged the Government to hurry up with Freeports.
He said: "Freeports are an incredible idea.
"The freer these ports are, the better.
"The idea is that you don't have to charge all the taxes on products that you import temporarily in order to turn them into value-added exports."
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The prominent eurosceptic added: "But you can go further than that...
"I would add enterprise zones to the free ports, so they are areas where there is very active enterprise promotion but lower taxes and less regulations in order to allow them to work better.
"I would also obviously keep very high standards.
"That would be a very good way of building larger towns and cities around the country with more industrial and commercial activity."