My Withdrawal Agreement Bill will be a bold new offer to MPs
PM Theresa May writes today in Sunday Times that she will in June present a new bold version of the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement to the Commons. May says:
When the government puts the Withdrawal Agreement Bill — the law that will take the UK out of the EU, deliver Brexit and allow us to move forward after three years of hard work — before parliament in a couple of weeks, it will truly be decision time for MPs.
Before that happens, the British people will go to the polls in the European elections on Thursday. I hope that everyone who wants to see Brexit delivered in a responsible way as soon as possible will vote for the only party that can actually deliver that: the Conservative Party. The other parties standing in this election either cannot deliver Brexit or have so far refused to do so. Only the Conservatives can and will.
But whatever the result on Thursday, it will then be for MPs to take a decision.
On three occasions, Labour and the other opposition parties — and some MPs on my own side — have voted against the withdrawal agreement. On each occasion the majority against it has got smaller, with more and more MPs giving it their support, but a sizeable gap remained.
Because passing the withdrawal agreement is an essential requirement of any orderly negotiated Brexit, I did the serious thing and sat down with the opposition in parliament to try to build support for a deal across the House of Commons.
There were those who criticised me for doing so, but holding the talks was the right thing to do.
We have been able to find common ground with Labour on a number of issues, such as on rights and protections for workers and the environment, and on security. I believe there is also now a much deeper understanding among the Labour leadership about the fundamental economic issues that our deal addresses — and which any negotiated Brexit would have to address.
Some other issues have proved to be more difficult, in particular the question of a second referendum. The fact is that while nine out of ten Conservative MPs have backed the Brexit deal, there is a much bigger split on the Labour benches on a so-called “people’s vote”.
While many Labour MPs genuinely do want to deliver Brexit, a large number of others are wedded to holding a second referendum with the aim of reversing the decision of the first. That is not a course I have ever supported. We had a people’s vote in 2016 — and the people are still waiting for their decision to be implemented.
Doing so remains my focus. I still believe there is a majority in parliament to be won for leaving with a deal. As a result of the talks with Labour, and following our ongoing discussions with MPs from right across the House of Commons, the government now has a much clearer understanding of what it will take to get a deal over the line.
When the Withdrawal Agreement Bill comes before MPs, it will represent a new, bold offer to MPs across the House of Commons, with an improved package of measures that I believe can win new support. It will deliver a Brexit that honours the decision the British people took in the referendum with a Brexit that is good for jobs, good for our security, and which sets the whole UK on course for a bright future outside the EU.
The cabinet will consider the details of those changes next week. It will also consider whether holding votes in parliament to test support for possible solutions would be a useful prelude to MPs considering the legislation.
But whatever the outcome of any votes, I will not be simply asking MPs to think again. Instead I will ask them to look at a new and improved deal with fresh pairs of eyes — and to give it their support.
While the deal MPs are to vote on will be different, the dynamics of their decision will remain the same. A majority of MPs are against leaving without a deal; whatever you think of that as an outcome, parliament will do all it can to block it. The British people want Brexit resolved, so our country can move forward and address the many other issues that they care about. They will be looking to parliament to break the impasse. Backing the withdrawal bill is the way to do that. It is now high time we delivered.
Source: Sunday Times
You must be logged in to post a comment.