MP explains why he defied party leader
Ged: ‘Hard Brexit is a disaster’
Rutherglen MP Ged Killen has revealed to the Reformer that he’s received strong support from colleagues following his Westminster rebellion last week.
The politician was one of five Labour MPs who resigned from their frontbench positions to take a harder stance on the Brexit row.
Mr Killen (right) stepped down from his role in the party’s shadow ministerial team in order to back an amendment to the EU Withdrawal Bill to keep Britain in the European Economic Area (EEA).
Abstaining from the vote in line with Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn was not an option for the Rutherglen MP, and he explained why he left his position as Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) to Shadow Defence Secretary Nia Griffith.
He said: “A hard Brexit is a disaster for the country. More barriers to trade means higher costs for businesses, fewer jobs and a weaker economy.
“Businesses would have to put up prices to cover costs which means the average household would be worse off.
“The government’s own analysis suggests a no-deal Brexit could cost the UK public finances as much as £80bn per year. After a decade of austerity, communities like ours need investment and growth, not more cuts.”
He added: “I have had largely positive feedback. I think people appreciate it when their elected representatives take a principled stance and put the needs of their constituents first.”
In the House of Commons vote last week, Jeremy Corbyn suffered his biggest rebellion yet, with 89 Labour MPs going against the whip on the EEA vote. A total of 74 Labour MPs voted with the Lords EEA amendment, while the other 15 voted with the government in agreeing to reject the amendment. A political rival of Ged Killen heaped praise on the MP for his tough stance on Brexit. Rutherglen councillor Robert Brown, who was Ged Killen’s Lib Dem opponent at the general election in 2017, applauded the Labour politician’s move. Councillor Brown said: “The whole disastrous Brexit mess is above party and I congratulate Gerard Killen for having the courage to defy the party whip, to make his own decision. “However, he and his fellow Labour rebels need to go further. “If they believe, as I do, that the whole Brexit process is threatening the living standards of ordinary families and damaging the future funding potential of our public services, then the Labour pro-Europeans need to back a people’s vote on the Brexit terms, and give the electorate the chance to forge a new way forward.”