This is email from my MP the Tory wanker!
Thank you for your email regarding Brexit, I am very grateful to you for sharing your views with me.
It is very disappointing and reflects very badly on Parliament that the timetable for the UK to leave the European Union has been extended to 31 October, though there is a provision that the extension can be terminated earlier if Parliament has ratified the Withdrawal Agreement. This means that if we are able to pass a deal by 22 May, the UK will not have to take part in the European Elections and once this deal had been ratified, we will leave the EU on 31 May.
This is the objective that as an MP, I shall seek to work towards. I have always supported the Government’s Withdrawal Agreement as whilst it is not perfect, it delivers Brexit in an orderly, least disruptive way. We regain control of our borders, we resume control over our laws, we shall no longer make significant annual payments to the EU and we shall be able to agree our own trade deals around the world.
I have voted for Brexit on three occasions, though I have been in a minority in the House of Commons in doing so. Whilst I respect colleagues own individual opinions on Brexit, which has divided families, the country and Parliament, I believe that it is most unfortunate that some MPs haven’t been prepared to compromise, others have sought to prevent Brexit from happening at all and some have been motivated by the objective of maximising disruption to the Government. I also think that the Government should have presented their case far better and should have set out their strategy to Parliament at a much earlier stage than they have done, reaching out to MPs from all political parties.
When Parliament returns after the Easter Recess it is likely that we shall either have to consider a compromise proposal agreed between the Government and the Labour front bench or vote on a range of options which this time will be binding, rather than indicative and could take place on a preferential vote basis.
If a way is found of putting the Government’s Withdrawal Agreement to the vote for a fourth time I shall support it. In deciding what other approaches I support, I have taken into account the following considerations:-
I believe that it is vital that the UK honours the result of the 2016 Referendum and that we do leave the EU. Not to do so would cast a shadow over British democracy which would endure for a very long time. I do not support either the revocation of Article 50 or the holding of another referendum.
Neither do I support a long extension of Article 50. This would also continue a period of uncertainty and would have a negative impact on the economy, on business prospects and peoples’ livelihoods.
For reasons which I have previously stated I am reluctant to support leaving the EU without a deal and operating on WTO terms. There is a view, which I accept, that we should have been better prepared for a no-deal Brexit, though overwhelming feedback which I am receiving from local businesses, from those sectors which are important to our area, such as food processing, packaging, oil and gas, haulage, farming and leisure, is that leaving on WTO terms would be high risk and could have a negative knock on impact to them, their staff and their customers.
Various alternative options to the Government’s deal have been put forward, including remaining in the Customs Union, what has become known as Common Market 2, which involves remaining in the Customs Union and the Single Market, and the UK remaining as a member of the European Economic Area (EEA) and returning to the European Free Trade Area (EFTA) which we invented in 1959 and which involves neither a Customs Union nor a single Northern Irish backstop. So as to break the deadlock I voted for the latter during the indicative votes process, though it did not gain strong cross-party support.
There is a suggestion that in order to overcome the current impasse the Government may agree an arrangement with the Opposition which involves the UK remaining in some form of Customs Union.
The Customs Union as it stands has the drawback that we would not be able to have our own meaningful independent trade policy, though it would end significant contributions to the EU, it would put a stop to free movement and EU rules would no longer apply across the majority of the economy. It is unclear whether it will be possible to find and agree an arrangement where we will be able to have the benefits of the Customs Union whilst being able to operate our own independent trade policy.
Staying in the Customs Union would not prevent us leaving the Common Fisheries Policy and the Common Agricultural Policy and putting in place our own domestic fishing and farming policies; the former of which can provide the framework for revitalising the Lowestoft and East Anglian fishing industries.
That said there is a risk that in negotiations for a comprehensive trading agreement as part of a Customs Union, other European countries such as France and the Netherlands could seek continued access to UK waters on similar terms as at present, in return for access to their markets for our goods. However, this risk is already there with both the Government’s Withdrawal Agreement and a no deal Brexit. So far the Government has stood firm in not negotiating away these rights and it is important that they continue to do so.
In conclusion it is very disappointing that Brexit has been postponed, that Parliament has not been able to agree a way forward and that the Government have had to reach out at such a late stage to the Opposition front bench. I do not like the further concessions that I have outlined regarding a Customs Union. However, the whole Brexit process is very disruptive, both politically and economically, and we need to get on with leaving the EU as soon as possible. If supporting some form of Customs Union will achieve this then it might be the pragmatic way forward. From my perspective I shall give full consideration to any proposal put in front of MPs though I am disappointed that this may well be a worse deal than the one which Parliament has already rejected.
I shall keep you informed of developments once Parliament has returned and in the meantime, I wish you a Happy Easter.