The Prime Minister’s attempt to silence Parliament and stop me, and my colleagues, doing our job triggered protests and outrage up and down the country. This new PM has no mandate for a no deal Brexit and as of now he no longer has a majority.
The risk posed by a no deal Brexit to Newport West, Wales and our whole country is too great for me to stand by and not act and so on Tuesday I voted to stop a reckless Prime Minister from taking our country over the cliff.
It is clear to all of us that Brexit has divided communities, families (as Jo Johnson MP’s resignation last week showed) and our country apart. I respect the voices of the people who voted to Leave and those who voted to Remain too – but I cannot, and will not, allow a No Deal Brexit. The impact on the people of Newport West and right across the UK is simply too great – I don’t want to see our NHS privatised and sold off, I don’t want to see peace in Ireland threatened and I don’t want to see Welsh farmers put out to pasture. As such, I will not be voting for an election until we know that no deal is firmly off the table.
It was a busy week in the Chamber:
On Tuesday, I contributed to a debate called by Jenny Chapman MP on the future of the sheep industry in the UK if we crash out of the European Union without a deal. I made clear that the fact that 96% of Welsh lamb goes to the 27 other EU nations shows the need for us to be wise and careful about how we approach Brexit. I have heard this from farmers in Newport West and I will continue to stand up for them in and the months and years ahead.
On Wednesday, we saw Boris Johnson’s first Prime Minister’s Questions and what a session it was. The PM didn’t answer any questions, he blustered and wittered his way through the session – to the frustration of MPs on all sides of the House.
On Thursday, I pressed the government to work alongside the Irish government, to ensure that peace is protected in Ireland. The new Northern Ireland Secretary, Julian Smith, failed to answer my question about discussions with the Irish government and it is another point that I will continue to press over the coming weeks.
The House returned this Monday and it extended into the Tuesday with a late night sitting, Votes concerned the release of The Government’s Yellow Hammer No Deal Contingency strategy documents and whether or not we should have an election prior to the current October 31st Brexit deadline.