We are now at the end of the summer season and schools will
be back next week and I will be heading back to Parliament. But what a great
Bank Holiday Weekend we have had to finish off the summer. As is usually the
case the past six weeks have flown by but it has been really good to be home in
Cornwall and getting around the constituency. One of the real benefits of the
summer recess is not only the chance of spending time at home but also to have
time to meet local people, visit businesses and charities and catch up with all
that is going on locally.
Thank you to everyone who, as always, has made me welcome
and taken the time to meet with me.
But now thoughts return to Parliamentary business and what
lies ahead and there is no doubt that one issue will dominate as it has done
for the past 18 months – Brexit.
Whilst the negotiations for the UK to leave the EU continue,
we are expecting to debate and vote on the legislation that will pave the way
for us to leave and incorporate current EU legislation and regulation into the
UK – what has become known as the Great Repeal Bill. The actual name of the
bill is, however, the European Union (withdrawal) Bill 2017-19 and is due to
begin its 2nd Reading on 7th September.
This Bill will be one of the most significant and
potentially complex pieces of legislation to pass through Parliament for many
years. It is bound to be hotly debated and contested but it is essential that
we pass this bill in order to ensure continuity and that we are not left with a
legal vacuum. By taking all EU laws into the UK law we can provide the certainty
businesses will need when we actually leave and then over the coming years
decide what changes we wish to make in order to suit the UK.
As we have become custom to, there have been the usual
political debate in recent weeks from both sides of this issue. The Government
has issued a number of position papers which have provided a clearer picture of
the way forward in our negotiations to leave. We have also seen the Labour
Party change their position once again and now say that they wish us to remain
in the Single Market for an undefined period of time after we leave.
I continue to hold the view that this is not what people
voted for on 23rd June last year – especially the 62% of people in
our constituency who voted to leave. We voted to regain control of our laws,
borders and money. The single market is at the heart of this and if we continue
to be a member of the single market we may as well remain in the EU entirely.
We would have to continue to be subject to free movement of people and the EU
courts and very little would actually change.
Although there is talk of a short transition period to allow
business to adjust once we know what our new relationship with the EU will be,
I believe this needs to be for as short a period as possible. We need to press
on and make a clean break. Anything else would be a denial of the democratic
decision our country made in the referendum.
