Brexit Day: Mixed emotions on an historic night

For Nigel Farage, this is the moment he has spent his political career striving for. Following this week’s European parliament vote – which finally sealed the severing of ties between the UK and the EU – he led his Brexit Party MEPs to the nearest Brussels bar for a night of wild celebrations.

West Midlands MEP Martin Daubney, who was among those in attendance, tweeted: “Say what you like about us Brexiteers but we know how to have a good knees-up!”. He added that he and his colleagues had bought “10 beers” at the bar and created a “carnival atmosphere”.

It came after Mr Farage had delivered his final address to the European parliament after serving for more than two decades, announcing that the UK was “never coming back” before leading his colleagues out of the chamber waving Union Flags.

“After 25 years of fighting for independence, this is my final contribution in the European Parliament,” he tweeted.

“We were told to leave with our British flags, and that’s exactly what we did.”

West Midlands MEP Rupert Lowe, who fell out with Mr Farage after he pulled out of contesting Dudley North in the general election, was also in jubilant mood. He said he was honoured to have played his “small part” in “a genuine moment in history”.

Anthea McIntyre, the only Conservative MEP for the West Midlands, hailed “a job well done”, but stressed that Britain was leaving the EU, and not Europe.

“It is important that we leave on good terms, with a climate of friendly co-operation for productive talks on a trade deal ahead,” she said. “I’m not saying it will be easy, both sides are already taking up some tough positions. But that is what negotiation is all about.

“Just as it was with the withdrawal agreement, so it is in the interests of all of us to have a trade deal.

“I speak as the proud daughter of a Scottish soldier who landed on the beaches of Normandy on D-Day. We are all Europeans. We are certainly leaving the institutions of the European Union – but we are not leaving Europe.”

'Sad'

Other MEPs were far less enthusiastic. They included Phil Bennion, who represents the West Midlands for the Lib Dems, who said leaving the EU marked “a sad day for Britain”.

“The mood here is very sad, I cannot deny it. But somehow we must try to make the best of the situation,” said Mr Bennion, who was one of 49 MEPs who voted against the UK Withdrawal Agreement on Wednesday.

He described Brexit as a “threat” to the West Midlands’ export-led economy and to food and farming, and said he was attempting to forge a “process of co-operation” between the Lib Dems and other Euro parliamentary groups on foreign affairs and human rights.

For businesses across the region, Britain’s departure from the bloc at least signifies some form of certainty after three miserable years of political turmoil.

But while little is likely to change initially, many firms will need to spend the 11 month transition period bringing in some major changes to the way they operate.

Telford-based confectionery company Flower & White is a prime example, with bosses deciding to steer clear of the European market when it comes to landing future contracts.

Meanwhile business leaders have urged the Government to grasp the opportunity to build a trade policy that works for the region's firms.

CBI Regional Director Richard Butler said: "If we get it right, there is tremendous potential for the West Midlands, from more choice and lower prices for consumers to a bigger British economy with prosperity shared more equally across the country.

"Of course some people are worried today and some businesses are concerned about the future trading relationship with the EU but we can and must grasp all the opportunities at our fingertips.

“The key for the Government to unlock that success is simple – make the best use of the wealth of expertise business the West Midlands has to offer.

"It is firms that trade most goods and services, are at the front line of market access barriers, and strike deals every day the world over.”

Reactions from Shropshire and beyond

Market will become much harder:

A Telford confectionery company has decided to change its business growth plans to to focus outside of the European market post-Brexit.

Run by owners Brian and Leanne Crowther, Flower & White makes one million meringues a day from its factory in the town. Its meringues are stocked all over the UK, on board Virgin Atlantic Flights – and it has just entered the American market.

While it does have a small customer base in Europe with which it will continue to trade, Flower & White believes Brexit will make things too difficult to continue expanding onto the continent.

Leanne said: “We looked at the exporting market and started in Europe about four years ago. We started with our nearest partners France, but found it a challenging market to penetrate and felt we were hitting our head against a brick wall.

“We expect there to be a lot of additional administration and red tape which is going to have a big impact on a lot of businesses.

“We made the decision to steer clear of the mess, which we expected would continue for a few years and started to look for opportunities elsewhere.

“We will keep our conversations going with people there and will not close the door on it totally.”

Recruiters look to fill staff void:

A UK firm is working with local recruitment agencies to fill the void left by many of its former EU workers returning home because of Brexit.

Corbetts the Galvanizers, which employs 105 people at its facility in Halesfield in Telford, is also launching a new training plan and incentives to help it recruit local people.

Finance director Sophie Williams said: “Despite this turmoil, the last 12 months have been very good, with our investment in facilities and upskilling reaping dividends. Sales are up 15 per cent across our core markets of agricultural trailers, cable management systems, security fencing and street lighting.

“Where we have been having issues is with our workforce that traditionally has been made up of a lot of EU workers. Brexit has definitely seen us lose some of our staff who have returned home and we have certainly seen less foreign workers looking for jobs.

“We are working with local recruitment agencies to fill the void and also introducing a new training and development plan and a number of incentives that will see us become a local ‘employer of choice’. The implementation of an operational support team has been fundamental to this.”

Worrying time for our ex-pats:

A Shropshire ex-pat living in Poland said the next few years would be a worrying time for Brits living in EU countries.

William Tomaney, who worked in Newport before moving to Warsaw with his Polish-born wife in 2015, said the Polish government appeared to be more sympathetic to his needs than the UK one.

“It hasn’t been an easy three years, and despite having 'got Brexit done', it looks like its consequences will continue to be felt for us,” he said.

“Fortunately, the Polish government has appeared more interested in Brits here than our own UK government, and has made a reasonable offer, meaning I’ll largely be able to carry on as normal in Poland.”

But he said the application system for him to stay in Poland was not working well.

“It seems as though application forms will be the centre of our lives for the foreseeable future,” said the former Shropshire Star reporter.

“Other aspects of my life will become more complicated, more bureaucratic, and more expensive too, for example my Polish wife returning to the UK in the future, UK family and friends coming to visit.”

Mr Tomaney, 31, said he would be applying to become an EU national, regaining EU citizenship.