Three-quarters of region’s MPs voted no to May’s deal
YORKSHIRE’S MPS overwhelmingly rejected Theresa May’s Brexit deal when it was finally put to the Commons last night.
Three-quarters of the region’s 54 MPs opposed the Withdrawal Agreement, as the Government suffered a crushing defeat. Just 12 of the region’s MPs voted in favour of the deal, with 41 against.
Rother Valley’s Kevin Barron was one of only three Labour rebels to defy his party leadership and vote in favour of the deal.
Speaking on social media ahead of the Commons showdown, Mr Barron described Mrs May’s offer as “the only option that fulfils the promises I made to my constituents in Rother Valley and avoids the horror of a no-deal Brexit”.
Labour MP for Rotherham Sarah Champion, who remained undecided until the final hours of the five-day Brexit debate, eventually declared her opposition during a speech in the House.
“I want to support this deal,” she said, “but I cannot currently as it has fundamental flaws – not least, that it omits protections of workers’ rights”.
York Outer MP Julian Sturdy earlier surprised colleagues with a late change of heart as he branded the Government’s plan a “leap of faith” and revealed that he could not support it in its current form.
He said the backstop proposal that would kick in if no trade deal has been agreed by the end of the transition period in 2020 “risks placing our country at a significant disadvantage in negotiations on a comprehensive trade agreement with the EU”.
Speaking late on Monday during the fourth day of debate on Mrs May’s Brexit deal, he said: “I hoped that the Prime Minister would be able to present an agreement to the House after the pause with a formal guarantee and a mechanism that would give us power to leave the backstop.
“There are amendments that might be able to achieve that, and if that is the case, I will be prepared to change my position, but ultimately, as it stands at the moment, the agreement is unacceptable with the backstop.”
Of the 12 Yorkshire MPs that swung behind the Prime Minister, 11 were Tory loyalists, including Ministers Graham Stuart, Andrew Jones, Stuart Andrew and Rishi Sunak and Chief Whip Julian Smith, who represents Skipton and Ripon.
The six Conservative rebels in last night’s vote included former Brexit Secretary David Davis, representing Haltemprice and Howden, and Shipley MP Philip Davies.
In the aftermath of the vote last night, Normanton, Pontefract and Castleford MP Yvette Cooper urged Mrs May to secure an “immediate extension of Article 50”, while Wakefield MP Mary Creagh led calls for a so-called People’s Vote.
Labour’s Hilary Benn, Leeds Central MP and the chairman of the Brexit Select Committee, told The Yorkshire Post after last night’s vote: “This is an extraordinary and humiliating defeat for the Prime Minister. She says she will now reach out across the House, but the big question is whether she will listen.”
Doncaster Central MP Rosie Winterton did not vote due to her role as Deputy Speaker.
It risks placing our country at a significant disadvantage.
York Outer MP Julian Sturdy describes the PM’s deal