Plaid MP backs cross-party pact for a soft Brexit
APLAID Cymru MP has reacted positively to a suggestion from former Tory Minister Anna Soubry that “sensible” parliamentarians from all parties should come together and form a UK government able to defeat hard Brexit.
Ms Soubry says she has come to the conclusion that Theresa May has effectively lost power to Jacob Rees-Mogg and other members of the so-called European Research Group (ERG), which insists the UK should leave the Single Market and Customs Union.
The MP for Broxtowe in Nottinghamshire said there needed to be cross-party collaboration on a new Brexit deal, but she said Labour had the “old Trotskyists in charge”.
“I personally would abandon the Labour frontbench and I would reach beyond it, and I would encompass Plaid Cymru, the SNP and other sensible, pragmatic people who believe in putting this country’s interests first and foremost,” she said.
Responding to Ms Soubry’s comments, Plaid Cymru Treasury spokesman Jonathan Edwards said: “Over a year ago, in an article for the Western Mail, I warned that when the crunch point comes, the House of Commons would face paralysis on Brexit. There is no majority in Westminster for a hard Brexit that would do untold damage to people’s standard of living.
“Should Theresa May lose a vote on her deal, then there is little doubt that a vote of no confidence will immediately follow. Under the Fixed Term Parliaments Act, it would then be possible for a government made up of MPs from all parties that support a sensible resolution to come together under the banner of staying within the Single Market and the Customs Union.
“The British Government is in a state of complete chaos and paralysis. The House of Commons has become a circus of ideology. In the last few days, the Prime Minister has reneged on promises made to the EU in terms of the ‘Irish backstop’ and supported amendments which have undermined her own Brexit White Paper, published only last week.
“Even if the Prime Minister was able to secure the support of the EU for her proposals, which is highly unlikely, it is difficult to see how they will be accepted by the House of Commons, particularly as the Labour Party has one strategy only – to force an early general election. There is simply no point in having another general election when the Labour Party shares the exact same Brexit policy as the Tories.”
Mr Edwards said it made sense that those “sensible” MPs who have been voting against the Tory Government and the Labour front bench consistently since the referendum could come together in the window after a vote of no confidence, and apply their efforts at an executive level as well as on votes in the chamber.
He said: “No doubt the Labour Party will spin the pragmatic suggestion as evidence that Plaid wants to jump into bed with the Tories, but the reality is the opposite – we would be working against the Tories.
“Tory policy, just like Labour policy, is to leave the Single Market and the Customs Union, and we have a duty to work with whoever is willing to work with us to make sure that doesn’t happen, for the sake of our economy.
“If it were to happen, it would be a short-lived arrangement, with a new prime minister to take charge of the negotiations with Europe, and our only objective would be to get the best possible deal.”