I am very disappointed that the EU Withdrawal Agreement was voted down by the House of Commons again today. This was our last opportunity to guarantee some certainty about the Brexit process and I know how urgently my constituents and businesses in my constituency, as well as across the country, need clarity on where we go from here. Unfortunately, too many of my colleagues decided to not take this opportunity, and voted against the Withdrawal Agreement. This includes the Labour frontbench, who don’t actually disagree with the content of the Withdrawal Agreement itself but voted against it anyway. This is significant because the vote today was not about our future relationship, but specifically on the Withdrawal Agreement that would enable us to leave the European Union.
As it stands, the default legal position is still for us to leave the EU on April 12th but after today’s vote, if we leave on the 12th we will be leaving without any deal or agreement on our future relationship in place.
Following on from the indicative votes that took place earlier this week, the attempts to find an alternative deal to the Withdrawal Agreement will continue on Monday with further indicative votes likely to take place. As I have said before, my preferred option is leaving with the Prime Minister’s deal but I owe it to my constituents to give due consideration to the alternatives on offer. But the practical reality of our current position is that is no longer just up to the UK what happens next – any alternative to the Withdrawal Agreement will require the approval of each of the 27 EU Member States.
Things are likely to move quickly and I will spend the next few days reflecting on which of the available options that will enable us to leave the European Union, will be the most beneficial to my constituents and the country as a whole.
