My Lords, it is an honour to speak on this historic occasion. I add my congratulations to those already expressed to the Prime Minister, the noble Lord, Lord Frost, and their hard-working team, for reaching an agreement that means Great Britain will once again be a sovereign power and still be able to trade goods with the EU free of tariffs and quotas. That itself is an outcome that many said could not be achieved, and it should be greatly celebrated.
Of course, as others have said, the agreement is not perfect. It could not be perfect. It is the result of negotiations involving compromises, and some disappointments, especially regarding the border in the Irish Sea. As others have said, there is much work to be done to protect Britain’s interests, and there are gaps and uncertainties. The absence of an agreement on financial services has been noted but, as a practitioner, I beg to differ from the pessimism of the noble Baroness, Lady Kramer. This sector prides itself on reinvention and innovation. The City has always had a global perspective and is already eyeing up the potential positives in the event—should it occur—of regulatory divergence.
Notwithstanding any flaws, the Bill before us is a watershed, because it finally enables Britain to become a truly independent nation, four and a half years after the referendum, eight years after the then Prime Minister David Cameron said that the British people must “have their say” on EU membership, and after decades of rancorous argument in this country and in Parliament over the issue. Now, after a year in which our freedoms and economy have been ravaged by the pandemic, when we have the opportunity afforded by the deal to start a new relationship with the EU that reflects the democratic wish of the British people, it is surely time to put our destructive Brexit divisions behind us, as my noble friends Lord Framlingham and Lady Meyer urged.
Until now, leaving the EU seems to have been managed more as a damage limitation exercise, to do as little harm as possible to existing trade. That has been understandable but, as we look to the future, it is vital that we encourage and support the British tendency to entrepreneurship and innovation. As my noble friends Lord Lang and Lord Naseby suggested, it is time to focus somewhat less on the EU and rather more on the rest of the world for multiple vibrant and lucrative trading relationships. A new era for Britain starts on 1 January 2021 and we in this House have a specific responsibility to help to seize the opportunity through our various areas of expertise, including those with business and finance backgrounds. I will be supporting the Bill so that Britain can move forward and focus on creating jobs, on helping people get their freedoms back and on being a force for good in the world.
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