I have agonised over how I should vote on May’s Brexit deal
If all goes to plan, and the Prime Minister does not have another rush of blood to the head, I shall be rising to my feet this evening in the House of Commons to explain how I shall be voting on the EU withdrawal deal, and why.
I think that, in this most momentous decision for my generation, it is also appropriate to explain it here.
By that I do not mean the party position or the politics of it, but how, as MP for Edinburgh West, I have made my decision.
The debate over our future relationship with the European Union has dominated my elected career
– it was the Prime Minister’s decision to go to the country over Brexit which led to my election.
In fact, I was elected on a platform of keeping Scotland in the UK, the UK at the heart of Europe and calling for the public to have the final say on whatever deal was negotiated.
That position has not changed. But that does not mean that I have not agonised over how best to be true to that and to reflect the views of those I represent. What do my constituents, or at least the majority of them, feel I should do?
The atmosphere at Westminster has at times been what is best described as ‘febrile’. Much more experienced colleagues tell me they have known nothing like it.
Since the start of the week, however, and three straight defeats for the government, it’s probably been much more about mutual, crossparty team spirit and comparing notes.
Team spirit may seem like an odd phrase to use about a place much more used to tribalism. But that is exactly what has been happening.
I’ve had snatched conversations with colleagues from other parties, sharing our confidence that we might still be able to pause this economic disaster long enough to give the people the chance to have their say. A final say. A people’s vote.
But, and I shall come back to this later, I have also spent hours reading the hundreds of e-mails, letters and postcards that I’ve been sent by constituents eager for me to know their views.
I appreciate that many of you will be worried that a referendum on the deal could create yet more divisiveness. But, at this point, with parliament in gridlock and no majority for any deal, going back to the people might just be the best option. By far.
Our five days of debate in the Commons have, so far, been long, tiring and, at times surprising. There is no cohesion on the Government benches.
A Tory rising to their feet is as likely to be criticising their own party for either falling short on delivering Brexit or for ignoring the national interest as they are to be attacking the opposition. Even the Cabinet is unpredictable.
And for each of us individually, there is the thought that this is a decision we cannot afford to get wrong. The country cannot afford for us to get it wrong.
Which brings me back to the correspondence I have had from my constituents.
I take the privilege of representing the people of Edinburgh West more seriously than any role I have ever had, outside parenting.
And for me that has meant taking every opportunity to check that their views have not changed since the referendum on 23 June, 2016.
On that night, I left the count at Meadowbank with the figures ringing in my ears. More than 70 per cent of the voters in Edinburgh wanted to stay in the European Union. The support in Edinburgh West was among the highest in the country.
Now, 19 months later, I have little reason to doubt the solidarity of that opinion.
Out canvassing, I have listened carefully to what both myself and my colleagues have been told on the doorsteps.
I have kept a careful log of what those who have written to me have had to say.
I also have my own reasons, of course, for thinking our national interest is not well served by the current proposals.
I do not think this, or any deal, can deliver the continued economic stability we have in the European Union. Our industries and businesses need an end to the uncertainty.
Even the Chancellor Philip Hammond said recently that we will not be as well off economically outside of the EU.
I have also argued consistently that the people should have the final say and that is now, I believe, even more pertinent.
The issue of Northern Ireland, the problems created for a still-fragile peace process and the fact that the Government seems content to let them drift away from the UK in this agreement has also been a factor.
And then there are my constituents. Their future and their views.
Of the several hundred who have taken the time to share their views with me, more than 80 per cent want me to vote against this deal.
That, if you believe in representative democracy, is a strong argument.
The people who elected me, to whom I will answer at the next election, do not like what this govern- ment has presented as our future. If all the other arguments were put aside that would still be enough to persuade me of what I should do.
So tomorrow night, I expect to go through the lobbies to vote down the proposals for our departure from the European Union.
I shall hold fast to my promise last year to the people of Edinburgh West and keep faith with all of those who are looking now to Westminster to sort this mess and then give them the final say.