Borough MPs set to vote down Brexit deal

MPs from the borough are all set to vote down the prime minister's Brexit withdrawal agreement this week.
MPs will vote down Theresa May's proposed dealMPs will vote down Theresa May's proposed deal
MPs will vote down Theresa May's proposed deal

Not one of the Labour or Conservative parliamentarians whose constituencies are partly or wholly in the borough say they will support the deal for Britain’s departure from the EU, albeit for very different reasons.

Commentators are predicting a resounding defeat for Theresa May in the Commons, potentially plunging the country into deep political uncertainty.

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Labour MPs said the withdrawal agreement was unacceptably unclear about the borough’s future and also emphatically ruled out a no-deal departure.

Wigan MP Lisa Nandy said: “Theresa May is asking MPs to vote through the withdrawal agreement in order to allow her to negotiate a future trading relationship with the EU but without any clarity about what that will look like.

“This future trade deal will have profound implications for Wigan.

“At the most extreme it could cause serious harm to our local economy and cost us significant numbers of jobs in food manufacturing and the service sector.

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"Alternatively we could choose to safeguard those jobs and protect the rights at work we currently have.

“While there has been some movement from the prime minister this week in response to pressure from me and other Labour MPs around vitally-important issues like health and safety law and environmental regulations, we have made far too little progress and I will be voting against the withdrawal agreement next week.

“For two and a half years the prime minister has refused to reach out to parliament, the Labour Party and trade unions and ignored the very real concerns we have raised about the impact of her plans on towns like Wigan.

“She must now begin to take a fundamentally different approach.

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“She and Parliament owe it to the country to come together around an alternative plan to leave the EU, or we face a disastrous no-deal Brexit that will have severe repercussions for Wigan.”

Her colleague representing Leigh Jo Platt MP said: “Theresa May has brought back a botched withdrawal agreement that fails to protect our local jobs, rights or our economy.

“She promised to go away over Christmas with new assurances but has come back from Brussels empty handed. I therefore simply cannot support this failure of a negotiation.

“The prime minister also promised to conclude a future trade deal and form our relationship with the EU that will last for generations to come.

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“She came back with a flimsy 26-page long wish list of vague hopes and aspirations and failed to give us the assurances we need locally to ensure Leigh can thrive in a post-Brexit Britain.

“Throughout this process I have been clear that there has been a good deal to be reached with the EU – but this is far from a good deal. I will therefore be voting against this proposal, and

against a no-deal Brexit, fulfilling my promise at the general election last year to respect the result of the referendum but also act in our best interests locally.”

Brexit-supporting Conservative MP for Bolton West Chris Green, whose constituency includes Atherton, said the withdrawal agreement was not a conclusive EU exit.

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Mr Green said; “When we voted to leave the EU, we voted to take control of our money, our borders, our trade and our laws.

“This is what the vast majority of people in the Wigan borough voted for and members of parliament must deliver that decision.

“The proposed EU withdrawal agreement does not deliver this outcome for my constituents, therefore I cannot support this deal.”