(Plenty more in this series elsewhere in my blog)
The Rt
Hon Anne Milton MP
House
of Commons
London
SW1A
0AA
3 March 2017
Dear Anne
Thank
you for your letter of 31 January 2017 and particularly for taking the time to
pen your post script describing your decision making process with respect to
the triggering of Article 50. While I acknowledge that, at this stage, no
argument about the conduct of the advisory referendum is going to change your
decision nor deflect the Government from its chosen course I do wish to make
one comment on your letter.
Language
You
state “the Country voted to leave the EU”. At the risk of going over old ground,
the Country comprises approximately 65.4M people. Of these approximately 51.4M
(78.5%) are of voting age and on June 23 last year some 46.5M of these (71% of
the population) were registered to vote. In the end about 33.6M (54% of the
population) actually voted; with 17.4M (26.6% of the population) voting
“Leave”. It is indisputable that, of those who were able, and chose, to vote
marginally more voted “Leave” than “Remain”. Never-the-less it has to be
acknowledged that almost ¾ of the population either could not vote or did not
vote “Leave”. To label 17.4M people as “the Country” is, I believe, a dangerous
misuse of language. If taken at face value, without careful thought about its
meaning, it may be read as a general agreement in the Nation to Brexit which is
manifestly not the case. I urge you to avoid all phrases such as “the Country
has voted” or “the people have decided” – they are insidious distortions of the
truth.
Now,
to look forward:
Respect
In his
speech on 27 February Sir John Major stated inter
alia “....in the afterglow of victory, their cheerleaders [i.e. of
anti-Europeans] have shown a disregard that amounts to contempt for the 48% who
believed our future was more secure within the European Union,.......They [the
48%] do not deserve to be told that....they must keep quiet and toe the line”. This
captures much of my feeling at the moment.
The 2015
Conservative Party manifesto promised to “respect the outcome of the [advisory]
referendum”. This surely should de
minimis acknowledge the hopes and desires of the 16.1M who voted “Remain”?
Recently, in response to a letter I sent to No 10 I received what appears to be
a standard reply from DExEU which is so hectoring in its tone that it felt more
like an edict from 1937 Germany than a communication from a 2017 UK Government
department. Sadly, the advisory referendum exposed deep division in our society
and unfortunately, the handling of the outcome is doing nothing to heal those
rifts.
Less
Haste More Speed
We
appear to be racing at a somewhat unseemly pace to trigger Article 50 within
the next few weeks. I am reminded of a recently heard anecdote from someone
with a private pilot’s licence who tells of one of the psychological factors
leading to poor piloting being what’s often called “press-on-itis”. This occurs
when a pilot is flying into steadily worsening conditions and subconsciously
wishes to get to his/her destination, land and be safe when the safer option
would be to return to his/her starting point or land as soon as possible at a
nearby landing site. All too often the outcome is “a controlled flight into
terrain” – a crash in which the pilot does not lose control of the plane, just
the situation. I do hope that the dash for triggering Article 50 is not an
example of this problem.
EU
Citizens’ Rights
Under
the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU I am afforded citizenship of the Union.
This confers upon me a number of rights, one of which is the right to move and
reside freely within the EU. This right is clearly in jeopardy in the Brexit
process although, as ministers have suggested, may be maintained through the
negotiations by using the rights of citizens from the other EU states as a
bargaining chip. This may be the logical approach from a gaming point of view
but I find it utterly un-British and morally reprehensible. I am therefore very
pleased with the amendment to the EU (Notification of Withdrawal) Bill passed
by the Lords yesterday. I trust that you will not be party to, nor support, its
reversal by the Commons.
The
Final Deal
I was
surprised to read one estimate of the UK’s exit costs being up to €60bn; that’s almost €1000 for every man, woman and child in
the country. Given the source of this estimate I suspect that it is something
of an exaggeration. However, there will be a cost and I suggest that many
“Leave” voters will not have considered this when they cast their votes.
Indeed, some may have regarded the process as costless or even, given the
unfortunate promises to repatriate £350M per week and redirect it to the NHS,
have thought that there would be a net cash benefit. Similarly others may have
anticipated a “soft” Brexit with the UK retaining full access to the single
market, or at least remaining in the customs union. How many expected the “hard”
Brexit that the Government is now pursuing? (I doubt that very many people at
all thought about other issues such as the UK’s position in Euratom). Will “the
People” have any say in approving the final deal? At the very least Parliament
should have frequent opportunity to scrutinise and criticise the Government’s
progress; and to be the ultimate arbiter of the final deal with a guaranteed
definitive vote. I do hope that you will press for this.
Yours sincerely
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