Simon Clarke MP

Simon Clarke is the Conservative Member of Parliament for Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland. Successive Government schemes to incentivise investment in energy efficiency and low carbon sources of electricity, like solar and wind, have helped to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the UK’s power system, as Amber Rudd has argued on this site.

Last month, the likeable Chief Executive of HMRC, Jon Thompson, made waves when he revealed that a future ‘Maximum Facilitation’ customs arrangement with the EU could cost up to £20 billion per year. The largest proportion of this figure (roughly £13 billion) comes from the new cost to businesses of filling out customs declarations once we leave the Customs Union. The next £7 billion comes from additional customs compliance measures – primarily ‘rules-of-origin’ certificates.