Thank
you for writing to me regarding my vote on the Lord’s Amendment 19 to the EU
Withdrawal Bill.
I
voted to leave the European Union in the June 2016 referendum. Since becoming
your Member of Parliament in 2015, I have always made my Eurosceptic views
clear.
I
am of the view that by leaving the European Union, the British people will be
taking back control of our own borders, laws, trade policy, and avoid being
part of an ever-closing union, which has yield nothing but social and economic
disaster for many of its members.
I
believe that adding my name to this amendment would have undermined the public’s
trust in our nation’s democratic institutions to deliver the referendum
results, tie the Prime Minister’s hands in her negotiations with the EU, and
add further unwanted uncertainty to an already uncertain situation.
The
EU Withdrawal Act has now received Royal Assent, requiring the UK to leave the
European Union on Friday 29 March 2019.
In
the scenario that no deal is reached by 21 January 2019, the Government would
have to make a statement to Parliament setting out what its next course of
action is, and Parliament will then have an opportunity to vote on those plans,
on a motion that would be expressed in either neutral or non-neutral terms, as
determined by the Speaker of the House of Commons.
I
am afraid this is an issue that we may well have to agree to disagree on.
Nonetheless, I would like to thank you for taking the time to write to me.
