I am outraged that two Yorkshire & The Humber Labour MEPs effectively tried to block Brexit by voting against moving on to the next stage of the negotiations between the UK and the EU. In a vote in the European Parliament, Richard Corbett and Linda McAvan voted in favour of a motion which claimed that there had been insufficient progress in the talks, so far, to move on to the trade negotiations.
It was a clear attempt to derail the whole process. The Brexit negotiations are the most important negotiations our country faces. The Conservatives want to move negotiations on from discussing withdrawal issues to talks about the substance of the future relationship we want with the EU. This will cover, for example, the rules our businesses trade under, the way the police work across borders to keep us safe, and how we get control of our borders. As I said during the Prime Minister’s statement on Brexit on Monday, I believe that not only should we get on with the talks, but if we do not set and meet a deadline for significant progress, we should simply walk away from the negotiating table. The Prime Minister agreed that we need to leave flexibility in our negotiations.
Although the European Parliament vote was not binding, as it is up to the European Council to decide whether enough progress has been made, it is quite obvious that these MEPs are not looking after the interests of the British people. Most people now want to make Brexit work, however they voted in the referendum last June, and this means negotiating the best deal for families and businesses in Thirsk and Malton. However, it looks like Mr Corbett and Ms McAvan are more interested in frustrating Brexit than delivering the decision the country made and getting the right deal.