Transport Minister George Freeman MP praises the Port’s preparations to keep Britain’s trade front line flowing after Brexit

The Port joined forces with the FTA (Freight Transport Association), a Government Transport Minister and Conservativehome at a Conservative Party Conference fringe event on Tuesday this week in Manchester.

*Image – the Port’s CEO Doug Bannister (right to left) with George Freeman MP, Henry Hill, Assistant Editor of ConservativeHome and James Hookham, Deputy CEO of FTA.

Addressing a packed audience, the panel of transport leaders reiterated how vital it is for everyone to work together so that cross-channel trade can flow freely via the most economic route to market post Brexit and beyond.

They discussed how the Port and its partners are working hard together to ensure that Dover, as Britain’s “just-in-time trade conveyor belt” continues to operate smoothly. Doug explained that “Dover’s success is Britain’s success” and that the Port has an instrumental role in ensuring shops are full, factories busy and prices low for consumers. 

Another of the key take outs from the event was George Freeman MP thanking both the Port and the FTA for the important steps they have taken already to help transport businesses prepare for Brexit. Doug Bannister continued to share his confidence that Dover, the ports of Calais and Dunkirk, plus the ferry operators are “100% ready for Brexit”.

Doug went on to explain that the Port of Dover has a proven ability to clear backlog and manage disruption more than anywhere else because of its capacity, frequency and efficiency. Hence, Port of Dover has a distinct role in recovery and getting trade back on line.

With the government worse-case scenario assumption of 50% drop in Dover Straits volumes, Doug also explained that could be £1 billion per week in lost trade to both UK and Europe. This should focus the minds of those involved on both sides of the Channel and highlights the importance of continued preparations to ensure trader readiness to keep the traffic moving.

James Hookham, Deputy CEO of the FTA went on to praise the Port’s Brexit preparations and reassured the audience that the logistics industry has been working extremely hard to keep Britain’s trade flowing and continues to do so.

The Port continues to push on with its Brexit preparations, and will be the headline sponsor for the FTA’s Brexit Readiness Conference on Friday, which is another major opportunity for key players to come together and ensure that collectively, we are prepared for 31st October.

Watch our latest Brexit preparedness animation, which was unveiled at The Conservative Party Conference.