Next week sees a number of important votes on Brexit, which as
things stand is now less than a month away. Ahead of these votes I thought I
would set out my own position on what has recently happened and what will be
happening soon.
Last week we saw the Labour Party officially back calls for
a second referendum. This is something which their Leader has previously
opposed. However, he has now given into the pressure from many of his own
London based MP and party members to back another referendum.
My own views on a second referendum are well known and I
will not rehash them here. Suffice to say it is the last thing our country
needs at this time. It would do nothing more than prolong the period of
uncertainty we are currently in. I can clearly state that I would never back a
second referendum on our membership of the European Union.
Next Tuesday will see another vote on the Prime Minister’s
Withdrawal Agreement – ‘The Deal’. The Prime Minister has said she will go to
Brussels and attempt to secure legally binding changes to the Northern Ireland backstop,
the mechanism that as it stands could keep us indefinitely tied to the EU with
no say over it. When this deal was put before Parliament in January I voted
against it, and unless there is meaningful changes to this deal I will be
voting against it again.
Between now and then, the Attorney General, Geoffrey Cox MP,
an experienced QC who I have a lot of respect for, will be scrutinising the
revised Withdrawal Agreement and then giving legal advice to Parliament. As I
have said before, the removal of the backstop or a clause that allows us to
unilaterally remove it ourselves would bring me closer to supporting the
Withdrawal Agreement than I currently am.
If the Withdrawal Agreement does not pass, there will then be
a vote in Parliament on whether we should go ahead and leave on 29th
March without a ‘deal’. It remains to be seen how Parliament will vote on this
but I believe it is important we keep faith with our previous commitments and
leave on schedule even if that means leaving without a deal. Therefore, if this
vote comes to the House I will be voting to leave at the end of this month with
‘no deal’. Although we have to be realistic and note that previously Parliament
has voted to reject leaving without a deal.
If this happens there will then be a vote to extend Article
50 beyond 29 March – the Prime Minister has suggested until the end of June.
Again, this is not something I can support as it would just mean extending more
of the same uncertainty for weeks or months. What is needed is not more time to
talk but the political will and courage from both sides of the channel to find
an acceptable deal or walk away. We have not been able to achieve this in 2
years so I am not sure what a few more weeks will achieve.
Additionally there is no guarantee that the EU would agree
to a short extension or what terms that would demand for an extension. It would
see us going cap in hand asking for their agreement at a time when we need to
be in a strong negotiating position to determine our future relationship. This
is not something I believe would be in our national interest and is only being
promoted by those who wish to stop Brexit altogether.
We should also be clear that extending the Article 50 period
in this way does not prevent us leaving without a deal at a later date. It is
very likely we will find ourselves in the same position as we are now at the
end of June. The only argument for this that I can see is that we will then
have had more time to prepare for a no deal Brexit.
Finally, I would like to pay tribute to my Cornish colleague
George Eustice, who resigned as Minister for Farming and Fishing last week
because of his concerns about any potential delay of Brexit. A lot of what he
has since said resonates with me and many voters from Mid-Cornwall. I regularly
spend time knocking on doors around Mid-Cornwall and I have only seen our
resolve to leave the EU deepen, with no deal if that is what is needed. As a
country we are the fifth largest economy in the world and one with a
potentially bright and bold international future outside of EU. Parliament must
listen to the whole country rather than just the Westminster, London or liberal
elite bubble and have the courage to enact the positive Brexit that
Mid-Cornwall and the country voted for in 2016.
