October 2016
I respectfully accept the will of the majority of the British public and now I have the responsibility of working with my colleagues in parliament to ensure that the UK gets the best deal possible as we renegotiate our future relationship with Europe. I certainly hope that we can get access to the single market as part of the deal even if it means not being part of the single market and I personally hope we will be able to access the European labour market in a sensible manner even if we don’t have full freedom of movement. I don’t think it is in our interests or the other 27 member states of the EU to play silly games on these issues. More jobs in the EU are dependent on trade with the UK than jobs in the UK are dependent on trade with Europe.
I can also assure you that there is a great deal of debate going on in parliament about BREXIT within the Conservative Party and also with MPs from all parties. There will continue to be plenty of discussion on the implications of BREXIT on both the UK as a whole and on individual elements of the economy in parliament. In fact, I initiated one such debate last week when I led a Westminster Hall debate on the impact of BREXIT on the tourism sector. Hardly a day goes by without there being an adjournment debate, Westminster Hall debate, Main chamber debate or question time involving BREXIT. The secretary of State for Exiting the European Union is also held to account by myself and colleagues every couple of weeks when he answers departmental questions in parliament and I am in frequent contact with the civil service and ministerial team in the relevant departments to make sure the opinions, concerns and aspirations of my constituents are known.
But the Conservative Government's 2015 election manifesto pledged to "respect the outcome" of the EU referendum, whatever the result was. The Government therefore has a clear electoral mandate to implement the result of the referendum and reflect the will of the British people.
Article 50 will be invoked by the end of March next year. By this point, Britain will begin its formal negotiations to leave the European Union. Nobody should believe that the negotiation process will be brief or straightforward, however, with Theresa May as our Prime Minister, there is no one better to provide the strong leadership that Britain needs for this serious and complex task.
