[1] In their 1983 manifesto, The Challenge of Our Times, the Conservative government outlined its plans to establish 'experimental' freeports as a part of its regional policies to modernise the British economy following the early 1980s recession.
[2] After winning a second term at the general election Margaret Thatcher's government assigned freeport status to six areas; namely Belfast, Birmingham, Cardiff, Liverpool, Glasgow Prestwick Airport and Southampton.
Teesside MP Simon Clarke blamed the failed experiment on "an uncharacteristic lack of ambition by the Thatcher Government" and "the regulatory constraints placed on them by the EU".
[3] In 2016, the then backbench MP—and later Chancellor of the Exchequer—Rishi Sunak published a white paper for the Centre for Policy Studies outlining his ideas for post-Brexit freeports similar to those in the United States.
[4] After the Conservative Party's victory in the 2019 general election, plans were announced for ten freeports to be set up by 2021 with regions bidding for free status.
In October 2024, the Keir Starmer Labour government announced official clearance for five existing freeports to have customs sites, which is needed to class them as operational.
[20] Former Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer John McDonnell suggested it to be '"a revival of a failed Thatcherite plan from the 1980s, designed to cut away at regulation and our tax base."
In Scotland, the Scottish National Party (SNP) was sceptical, with trade minister Ivan McKee calling them a "shiny squirrel" to distract from the consequences of Brexit.
[8] Despite these remarks, in 2021 the SNP announced its own version of freeports, called 'green ports', which they say will adopt "best practice which helps deliver our net-zero emissions and fair work principles, alongside supporting regeneration and innovation ambitions".