Ruth George’s Letter


If you are a High Peak resident then this is the likely reply if you have asked her for a People’s Vote. If you’ve not received one then write and let her know you want her to support a People’s Vote.

Thank you for contacting me about the campaign for a second vote on the UK’s relationship with the European Union.

I know that many people continue to be understandably disappointed with the outcome of the June 2016 referendum. In the run up to the referendum, I sought to set out a positive case for why I believed the UK should remain a member of the EU. However, the majority of people who took part in the referendum voted for the UK to leave the EU.

While I respect the referendum result, I believe no one can respect the way the Government has handled the Brexit negotiations over the past 18 months.

In my view, the Government has no credible plan, no solution to prevent a hard border in Northern Ireland and no majority in Parliament for the Chequers proposals it is pushing ahead with. This divisive approach is threatening our country with either a bad deal that would harm jobs, rights and living standards, or no deal at all.

Parliament’s choice cannot simply be between a bad deal or no deal. I believe no deal would be a catastrophic outcome to these negotiations and the Government does not have the right to subject our country to chaos because of its own failure. However, there is an alternative.

I have long been calling on the Government to negotiate a new customs union with the EU that allows us to have a say in future trade deals, to protect jobs and manufacturing. I have also been calling for a new single market deal with rights and protections guaranteed. I consider these to be the basis of a sensible Brexit deal that would avoid disruption to our trading relationship with the EU, protect jobs and the economy, and ensure no hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. Unfortunately, the Government has refused to work with these proposals.

I will not support a bad Brexit deal in Parliament, nor will I support a vague agreement that gives no detail about the terms of our future relationship with the EU. I believe that would be giving the Government a blank cheque to go down the reckless path it is set on at present.

When a deal is finally presented to Parliament, I will weigh it very carefully, particularly against the concerns that many businesses in High Peak have raised with me. If the deal will not protect local businesses and jobs then I will not be able to support it, and I know many other MPs of all parties feel the same way about their local economy.

The government does not have a mandate for No Deal. It is not what people voted on in 2016.

As I have stated publicly, if the government is unable to negotiate a deal that can be agreed by Parliament, I believe that the British people should be able to vote to decide whether they would prefer to leave the European Union with no deal, or to seek to negotiate a better deal for the UK within the EU.

That would be the only way to ensure that the momentous decision made – whichever way it is decided – has the support of a majority, and that we have voted in full awareness of the consequences of our decision.

Thank you once again for writing to me and for sharing your views.

I’d like to send you an update on local issues in High Peak and my Parliamentary activity once a month.  If you’d like to receive this, please just reply YES to this email.
 
Kind regards
 
Ruth George MP
Member of Parliament for High Peak
 

Working for you in High Peak and Westminster 

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