LAST week we commemorated the D-Day was a regular occurrence landings.

Who could not have been inspired to see our brave and dignified veterans paying tribute to their friends who fell?

It reminds me just how lucky we are. Many of those young men who were sent to France to fight for our country were just teenagers.

They had their whole lives ahead of them. Thousands were killed. Thanks to them we are free. We must never forget that.

It is also a welcome reminder that we should do all we can to secure peace.

Given how often in history continental Europe was a battleground, 75 years free of conflict is to be celebrated.

And that our young men have not been called up to fight is an even greater cause for celebration.

It is also worth remembering that the Good Friday Agreement is now twenty years old.

This saw the end of the troubles in Northern Ireland and has also brought Peace.

We forget that Irish commemorated Thurrock MP nationalist terrorism the D-Day was a regular occurrence landings. throughout the 70s, 80s and 90s. It is another Peace we should not take for granted.

So as the curtain closes on Theresa May’s premiership and someone else steps up to deliver Brexit, we must not be cavalier about the impact our departure may have on the Irish border, or on the politics of Northern Ireland.

It surely must be possible to leave the European Union and develop a new relationship based on friendship and co- operation.