Another Day in Parliament

It is astonishing that following, arguably, the greatest exercises in democracy in our history, in which over 17 million people mandated the Government to leave the EU, that not a single government minister seems to have anything positive to say in favour of leaving.  Project Fear, in flood flow continues completely unchallenged and there appears to be some sort of institutional hysteria taken hold.  Whatever happened to balanced debate? Clearly, their collective and individual hearts are not in it.  However, having invited the public to vote and promised to honour the outcome, their personal feelings are no longer relevant.  They should now just get on with doing what they were told, please.  This evening, there has been another series of votes in Parliament and some tactical manouvering by withdrawing amendments at the last minute.  It is not clear what message our friends in he EU will derive from this evenings pantomime but it would seem unlikley to shake their conviction that the UK will settle, on EU terms, come what May.

Against that background, tomorrow evening I have been invited, as a member of our constituency executive, to endorse the reselection of our sitting parliamentary representative.  The next general election is not due until 2022 so I shall be interested in hearing why he is rushing to seek selection so early.  He is now a government man, on the government payroll, and despite his earlier strong support for leaving the EU, the single market and the customs union, taking back control of our laws taxes and borders, he now sides with the Prime Minister in voting for her deal, “Remain Minus.”  If he has not studied the deal, and I know how busy he must be with Ministerial affairs of state, and is therefore unaware just how bad it could be for Britain – up to 45 months of purgatory with no say in the laws passed around us and no commitment by the other side to reach a conclusion, to say nothing of the £39 billion surrender – I shall forgive him and, if he can spare the time, put him straight on one or two important areas.  Otherwise, I shall assume that he is well aware of just how dreadful this deal will be for our Nation but, nevertheless, prefers to vote out of blind loyalty to the Prime Minister.  So, as far as his reselection is concerned, I shall invite him to re-present himself after exit from the EU has been secured.  We may then examine whether his voting record and commitment has been honourable.  Meantime, there will be no blank cheque from me.