Portsmouth North MP Penny Mordaunt joins calls for freeport status across entire UK coastline

A group of 13 MPs, including former leadership contender and Portsmouth North MP Penny Mordaunt, has written to Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak to urge whoever wins the Tory leadership contest to come up with a plan to boost the coastal economy.

The group of MPs, which also includes Nusrat Ghani, Bernard Jenkin and Sir Desmond Swayne, called for freeport benefits to be extended to the whole of the UK coastline and connectivity between the coast and the rest of the country to be improved.

In the letter, the MPs said: ‘There are serious challenges facing the country – and whilst the UK coastline continues to attract millions of visitors this summer, for the people living there it can be a very different story.

‘Our coastal communities have been amongst the hardest hit by the pandemic and will be hit further by the rising cost of living. Without urgent intervention they stand to fall even further behind.’

A 2021 Survation poll of 1,000 young people in coastal communities found 49 per cent planned to move away, with lack of jobs as the overwhelming reason.

The letter from MPs added: ‘Growing industry in coastal communities is vital to turn the tide. Industry roles, such as those in maritime, pay £9,000 more than the national average per year, and for every £1 generated by the sector, a total £2.71 is generated across the UK economy.”

The letter was organised by Maritime UK, which represents maritime industries and last year published a manifesto proposing ways to boost the coastal economy.

Chief executive Ben Murray said: ‘The contest deciding Britain’s next prime minister is in its final days, but we have yet to see a clear plan for growth in our coastal communities from either candidate.

‘Not for the first time, the people living in these communities could be forgiven for feeling forgotten.

‘We have a real opportunity to put coastal areas at the heart of Britain’s green growth. But this will require an economic plan that treats these areas as places of business and trade, not just bucket and spade.’