Posted on: 17 February 2020
Harry Theochari, Vice Chairman of Maritime London and Chair of Maritime UK comments on the recently announced by the UK Government Freeports consultation in an opinion piece in City A.M.
Britain has always been a maritime nation. But for decades, our coastal communities have been ignored.
Now, in the wake of Brexit, it’s high time we invested in these areas — and the government’s announcement that it is beginning a consultation on 10 free ports is a major step towards realising the potential of these communities.
Seafaring is a part of our national identity. But for much of the twentieth century, our maritime sector has suffered. We’ve seen shipyards close and rising competition from the far east, while the coastal towns and cities that once flourished have been damaged as the new industries they were promised failed to materialise.
The rest of the country moved forward, but these areas were left behind. Nor is the trend improving. The “coastal community wage gap” widened in 2018: average employee annual pay was £4,700 lower than in the rest of Britain, up from £3,200 in 2017. The financial crisis also hit
coastal communities hard: Britain’s coastal economy grew by 7.5 per cent between 2010 and 2017, compared to the rest of the country’s economic growth at 17.1 per cent. The gap between the coast and other parts of the UK is greater now than it was before the crisis.
It’s small wonder, then, that so many people in these communities voted Leave in the EU Referendum. Many followed this with their first ever vote for a Conservative government in December. In doing so, they gave the Prime Minister a historic mandate to “level up” the parts of the country that have fallen behind, and this has put renewed focus on our maritime sector.
Just as the sector was responsible for our past successes, so too can it navigate our island nation to a bright new future today.
Maritime has a unique capacity to drive economic growth across all parts of the country, and this consultation on free ports is the first step.
Please follow this link to read the article in full.