Speaking in advance of today’s recall of Parliament to discuss the EU (future relationship) Bill, Stephen said:
“My constituents voted to remain in the EU. That was my choice too. Unfortunately, in the Referendum, and in last year’s General Election, we lost that argument. The only choice now is to leave with the Deal that has been negotiated, or to leave without a Deal. I haven’t yet read all 1200 pages of the text, but it seems clear that leaving with this Deal is preferable to leaving without one.
“I’ve had a number of messages asking me to abstain in the vote. That would be the right thing to do if leaving without a Deal and leaving with the Prime Minister’s Deal were more or less as bad as each other. However, the latter is clearly preferable.
“Concerns expressed during the Referendum campaign will now become a reality. A massive new red tape burden will be imposed on UK businesses. The freedom of UK citizens to travel, work and live in Europe will be restricted. A big new barrier is being inserted between Great Britain and Northern Ireland. And there will be endless wrangling between Britain and Europe over petty details.
“But all these problems would be much worse if the Prime Minister’s Deal was rejected today. Leaving with a Deal makes a fresh approach to our relationship with Europe, to be developed by a Labour Government, much more feasible than leaving without one. I therefore intend to vote in favour today.”