Last week the Government was sent a clear message by Parliament: it must deliver Brexit.
It wasn’t an easy decision – nobody relishes voting against their own Government. But we’ve now given the Prime Minister an opportunity to demonstrate to the EU that this capitulation is not acceptable to the British people and to start negotiating for the UK instead of merely accommodating the EU.
So the Prime Minister should return to the EU and demand the removal of the dreaded backstop, which would do so much to limit our post-Brexit trading opportunities. There are alternatives out there that don’t breach our manifesto, imperil our precious Union or give the EU a stick to beat and threaten us with during our future trade talks.
This episode has given us the chance to come together as a nation. The vast majority of MPs want to give effect to the referendum result, are passionate about honouring our manifesto promises and aware that 85% of votes in the 2017 general election were for parties that promised to give effect to Brexit.
And 498 MPs, of course, voted to trigger Article 50 to give effect to Brexit. Yet there are still some who, instead of using this moment to strengthen our country’s negotiating hand, are attempting – as they always have done – to overturn the referendum result. They are trying to upend centuries of UK constitutional and parliamentary traditions as they attempt to defy the referendum result. This is pretty desperate stuff.
They are so fed up with the views of ordinary voters that they have decided to take a wrecking ball to our constitution in order to impose their minority view and reverse the referendum result.
Their plans would fundamentally change the job of Parliament and pit it against the people. It would allow a minority of MPs to hijack the Government’s timetable and put any issue forward for debate in the House of Commons – even if the majority of MPs were against it.
And they’re doing this because their short-term desire to reverse the referendum result has become such a weak and unpopular position that they daren’t argue the case in the way that every other political debate has been had for decades.
They failed to win the case during the referendum, they voted for Article 50 and yet they now want to reverse their own votes as well as the votes of the 17.4million people who chose to leave the EU. They are showing complete contempt for voters and want to reverse the referendum result, even if that means they bring the entire British constitution crashing down with them.
People voted for Parliament to take back control. They did not vote to tear up the British constitution.
Good arguments win majorities. Poor arguments don’t. It would be a very bitter, twisted and dangerous development if a minority of MPs could overturn the will of 498 MPs who voted to trigger Article 50, not to mention the 17.4million who voted for Brexit.
This change would have far reaching implications that would go way beyond ordinary party politics or even Brexit. It would fundamentally undermine the Government’s ability to govern and create an alarming precedent. There would be nothing stopping this from cascading into all aspects of parliamentary procedure and law, or to stop the minority in Parliament from changing the rules to weaken any elected government still further.
On both sides of the Brexit debate, passions are running high. We all have our own views about what’s in the best interests of our constituents. But rushing through such significant constitutional reforms on the back of an envelope will not produce good law.
By extending Article 50, the Cooper amendment would simply delay Brexit and postpone the decisions we need to make. It isn’t more time we need – it is firmer and more resolute decision-making. An extension would simply kick the can down the road, lead to more corrosive uncertainty and disruption and ensure that we talk about Brexit - rather than the future of our schools and hospitals – for evermore.
It would also severely undermine the Government’s negotiating position. Just at the point at which EU member states are applying pressure as they, too, worry about the UK leaving without a deal, our Parliament would be sending out a message, loud and clear, that the EU shouldn’t budge or compromise. We all want a deal with the EU and this would make one harder to achieve.
There are no levels to which Jeremy Corbyn won’t stoop as he seeks to use every opportunity to propel himself into No.10. By ruling out no deal, the EU would feel a renewed confidence to dish out an even more appalling set of terms for the UK. Corbyn has always been a unilateralist, so this should come as no surprise.
Taking no deal off the table would leave the UK naked in the negotiation room, would neuter Parliament and require us to accept any terms the EU dictates. It would destroy our negotiating hand and make it impossible to secure a deal that can command cross-party support. This approach shows that Labour has no business acumen whatsoever and I hope our colleagues won’t fall into Corbyn’s trap.
It is hard to understand why anyone would want to be so unpatriotic and weaken our country’s negotiating hand in this way, at such a crucial time in our history, by tearing up centuries of British lawmaking traditions and paralysing the UK’s negotiating team. This will only give the EU more leverage against us during the negotiations and make a better deal harder to achieve. Shouldn’t we all be on the same side here?
The rejection of the Government’s Withdrawal Agreement echoed the hope and optimism demonstrated by the 17.4million people who voted to leave the EU in the 2016 referendum.
The 2016 result was a pivotal moment. It was the biggest vote for anything in the history of the United Kingdom. We should honour it and reject these dangerous political games.
Suella Braverman is the Conservative MP for Fareham
Michael Tomlinson is the Conservative MP for Mid Dorset and North Poole