BREXIT MAYHEM: PM HUMILIATED BY THREE DEFEATS IN COMMONS
As the crucial vote approaches and Britain’s future hangs in the balance, four MPs explain what they think the options are
MAY’S DEAL BY IAN AUSTIN, LABOUR MP
Labour MPs should not be too quick to rush to judgment on the PM’s deal.
Honouring the vote in a way that does not cause chaos means leaving with a deal. A deal always means compromise.
MPs must ask themselves two questions. For all its imperfections, will this deal deliver Brexit in a way that protects jobs and public services? And is a better deal waiting to be struck?
This one might not be perfect, but it commits to maintaining “high standards of free and fair trade and workers’ rights, consumer and environmental protection” and a level playing field.
It probably satisfies as many of Labour’s six tests as can be combined with actually leaving.
The answer to the second already looks to be a clear “no”. The EU is not going restart negotiations.
Another referendum would increase division. And a general election looks the most unlikely outcome of all.
That means the most likely option would be crashing out – a disaster for workers in Labour constituencies.
Strip away the sound and fury of those who want to leave with no deal and those who want a referendum rerun and this could be a middle way. We must think very carefully before rejecting it.
CLEAN BREAK BY STEVE BAKER, TORY MP
The British public does not scare easily. Frightening the people into agreeing with this deal it is not the mark of a strong government, and it is only strengthening our resolve against this terrible offer.
The backstop will trap us indefinitely under the EU’s thumb. Unable to strike trade deals, we’d be a satellite of the EU, obeying its laws without a say. And it will cost each British family in excess of £1,400, with no trade deal in return.
A vote against the deal is a vote for our Government to return to the negotiating table. We could demand a unilateral right to end the backstop, so that our UK Parliament is truly sovereign.
We could insist that the political declaration grants us a free trade agreement, rather than committing us to “build and improve on the single customs territory”.
We could keep our £39billion and use it to negotiate a Canada-style trade pact, which the EU has offered to us already.
And we can leave under World Trade Organisation rules if the EU continues to block a deal. Yes, there is a risk of shortterm disruption, but it is better than surrendering on such pathetic terms.
The 17.4 million Leave voters spoke clearly. It’s time for Parliament to step up and deliver the Brexit people voted for.
2ND REFERENDUM BY ALISON McGOVERN, LABOUR MP
Does this Tory Government see the country as we do? Do they care that young families are living off foodbanks?
How do they explain to their kids why more and more people are sleeping on our streets? Can we trust the Tories with the future of our country? No.
And that’s why Labour MPs will vote against this Tory Brexit next week. Until the need for foodbanks has ended and people are off the streets, no one should trust the Tories with our future.
Worse still, May’s deal isn’t even a proper plan. Brexit has already taken up two years, in which the
PM couldn’t get her own Cabinet to agree, let alone her MPs. Commons is in deadlock.
That’s why all she is offering now is a vague “political statement”, which tells us nothing about the future. If we vote for it, we will be voting for two more years of wrangling and more uncertainty.
It will drag on and on. Many Labour members and voters are coming to the conclusion that the only way out of this mess is to let the public have the final say.
Parliament has ground to a halt. Meanwhile, poverty is rising.
If we can’t boot the Tories out with a general election then let’s take the power from their hands and give the final verdict to the public. PLAN Alison McGovern
NORWAY OPTION BY STEPHEN KINNOCK, LABOUR MP
THE PM’s dogs-dinner deal looks almost sure to fail, not least because MPs know it hands far too much power to the EU.
With no appetite for no-deal, Cabinet must persuade her to pivot to the only feasible Brexit option: Norway Plus.
It is a strong compromise for the silent majority – leave or remain – who recognise we must leave the EU but maintain a close working relationship.
Joining the European Free Trade Association and European Economic Area would mean an exciting future, free from pressure to join the euro or a European army, but with access to the job-saving Single Market.
Some claim we would be a “ruletaker”, but the EFTA court is preferable to the European Court of Justice. EFTA can diverge from ECJ rulings and, crucially, respects national sovereignty.
Norway Plus would also be a big step forward on immigration: the agreement has an emergency brake on freedom of movement and a chance for reform.
And EEA nations simply pay for the EU institutions they access, which seems fair, and pay far less per head.
Norway Plus is a sensible bridgebuilding Brexit that can and will re-unite our deeply divided country.