The vote to leave the European Union was a vote for change. MPs from all parties put aside the usual tribalism and came together to campaign for a once in a lifetime opportunity to change the direction of this country for the better. 17.4 million people, from all political persuasions voted to take back control - for decision making powers to be restored to elected MPs in Westminster and for them to have the say over policy and how we are governed.
Three years later, Parliament has failed to deliver on its promise to respect the result of the referendum and take Britain out of the EU. It has failed to make decisions on what our future policies on trade deals, immigration, workers right and our relationship with our neighbours should be. But it doesn’t have to be like this and MPs have one more chance to deliver on the promise so many of them made when they were elected in 2017 - to respect the result of the referendum.
I ask my Labour colleagues to respect the commitment made in our 2017 manifesto. This isn’t a vote along party lines, it’s a vote about delivering on the promise of Brexit and in doing so maintaining the integrity of our democracy and its institutions.
Two thirds of Labour MPs represent constituencies that voted to leave. In voting against this deal, Labour would be turning its back on the concerns of many of its most loyal voters in its traditional heartlands. Working class voters across the UK voted in large numbers to leave the EU and many already abandoned Labour in the European elections earlier this year. They know that a call for a second referendum is based on a false assumption that Labour’s Leave voters didn’t know what they were doing and should be given a chance to repent. They know that any further delay only helps those who want to overturn Brexit and frustrate the referendum result that Labour promised to respect.
The new Brexit deal negotiated by the Prime Minister will ensure that we take back control of our laws, trade, borders and money without disruption. It provides the basis of a new relationship with the EU based on free trade and cooperation. This deal is different from the one negotiated under the former Prime Minister, which still gave Brussels ultimate control and could have kept us bound to accept EU laws and taxes in perpetuity.
With this deal we leave the EU in two weeks’ time. Only once we have left will parliament get back to making decisions about our future, our infrastructure, our health service and our schools.
We will be leaving the EU’s Customs Union, and as one United Kingdom we will for the first time in over 40 years be able to shape our policies on agriculture and fisheries and to strike free trade deals with some of the fastest-growing markets around the world supporting British jobs and manufacturing.
Perhaps most importantly, the backstop has been abolished. Northern Ireland will be in the UK customs territory forever. There will be no hard border with the Republic or Great Britain. Northern Ireland will have access to the Single Market, but also be part of UK trade deals negotiated around the world. This arrangement will be underpinned by the principle of democratic consent, through the ability to leave the special arrangement via a democratic vote in the Northern Ireland Assembly.
This vote is bigger than party politics. Brexit does not belong to the Conservatives or to Labour – it belongs to the British people. The referendum was a once in a generation decision. It delivered the largest democratic mandate in our history and MPs on all sides of the political divide owe it to them to deliver on their promise by voting for the deal.
I urge Labour MPs to get behind this deal. It is time to keep our promise to the country. It is time to get this done.