IN the post Brexit referendum UK, economic indicators seem to be showing mixed signals. It is, of course, far to early to be able to tell what effect, both in the short term and in the long term, the exit vote will bring. Although it is the case that some inward investment into the UK has stalled or been postponed until the post Brexit deal becomes clearer, we had some good employment figures recently. Employment is at a record ever level, with a record proportion of people in work. Unemployment is at a 10 year low and wages are now consistently beating inflation, rising at 2.4% against inflation at below 1%. Here in Wyre Forest we have set a terrific pace, being the 8th best performing constituency (of 650) in terms of cutting unemployment – by 69% since 2010.

All this is good – great – but it does not give cause to claim the job has been done. The value of the pound has fallen significantly and this has helped our exporters. Tourism is doing well, but that is in part because people find it more expensive to go on foreign holidays so stay at home. But if the pound stays low, we will start to see prices go up in the high street and a slowing of demand by consumers could lead to a stalling of our recovery.

This is why we need to get on with securing the deal with the EU as soon as possible – so that businesses know what the landscape will look like in the future. Indeed, this is what we are doing in Whitehall and plans are being developed as to what type of deal we would like and what type of deal we need.

In the meantime, we are working to boost exports to the rest of the world. There will be an “Exporting is Great” week in the autumn and I will be putting on an event here in Wyre Forest as part of that drive. Of the 5 million businesses in this country, just 180,000 export. Demand for British brands and goods overseas far exceeds the supply, so there is a huge opportunity to be had. Help can be given from the Hereford and Worcester Chamber of Commerce for all aspirant exporters. I remain cautiously optimistic about the future, but we need to embrace change. It’s a big world out there: go take advantage of it.