Dear Ms Milton,
I have refrained from writing to you upon the subject of
Brexit for some time not because I have little to say; nothing could be further
from the truth; but because the unedifying sight of government members
bickering among themselves and the demonstrations of apparent ineptitude, ignorance
and lack of judgement on behalf of some ministers and other MPs have so angered
me that I feared any missive from me might descend into mere invective.
However, the UK now stands at another crossroads and it is
right that you should hear the opinions of your constituents.
It is quite obvious that the transition deal and the vague,
wishy-washy political statement about long-term relationship attached to it,
promise an outcome manifestly worse than the UK’s present arrangements with the
EU. A no-deal Brexit would be even more damaging.
I am reminded that item III.6 of the House of Commons Code
of Conduct reads “Members have a general duty to act in the interests of the
nation as a whole; and a special duty to their constituents”. I have yet to
hear a cogent argument explaining how opting for the so-called “least worst”
position, i.e. Mrs May’s “deal”, fulfils that duty, particularly in a
remain-voting constituency like Guildford.
Please don’t respond with rationalisation along the lines of
“the will of the people” and “protecting our democracy”. I recall that even Mrs
Thatcher was inclined to agree with Lord Atlee that a referendum is a device of
dictators and demagogues. The 23rd June 2016 referendum had little
to do with our representative democracy and a lot to do with naked political
expediency.
I believe that now is the time for MPs to exercise that duty
outlined above and to ensure that the whole sorry saga of Brexit is called off.
To do so would be a true demonstration of our representative democracy. If you
and your colleagues are unwilling to do so you should at least ensure that the
British people have the opportunity to say whether they wish to continue on a
path that will inevitably leave the country poorer and, particularly with respect
to Europe, distinctly marginalised.
Rescinding Article 50 would be mortifying for many; not to
do so would be a permanent and serious mistake.
Yours sincerely
Richard Bawden
No comments:
Post a Comment