Last week, MPs voted on a motion that would have set aside Parliamentary time to debate ways to prevent a ‘no deal’ exit from the European Union. If the motion had passed the expectation would have been that opposition parties would have introduced legislation to Parliament that would prevent the next Prime Minister from pursuing certain options for Brexit.
I voted against the motion proposed by the Leader of the Opposition, which raised several dangerous constitutional precedents. Ultimately, it would have undermined the authority and the role of the Prime Minister.
It was, in essence, a power grab by Jeremy Corbyn which I could not accept, as it would essentially mean that if the Opposition was to take control of Parliamentary business on 25 June, any MP could table a motion which may have severe repercussions for the future Government. It was, in short, a point of principle about who controls the Order Paper – and I strongly believe that should be the Government of the day.
I understand that many individuals remain opposed to leaving the EU without a deal on 31 October. Leaving without an Agreement in place is not my preferred option either, although I receive a lot of correspondence from people who believe this is the best option. That is why I voted on all three occasions for Theresa May’s deal, which would have allowed us to leave the EU on 29 March as planned whilst protecting people’s jobs and our economy.
Unfortunately, the Labour Party, by failing to support the deal, aggressively whipping against it and by making Brexit a partisan issue, it has created this current impasse whereby we leave the EU by default on 31 October – deal or no deal.
Whilst it is not my preferred preference, I still believe it is important that the option is kept on the table, and that we should not tie the hands of the next Prime Minister or limit their negotiating strategy to secure us a good deal.
