As you can imagine, my office is receiving a large number of emails about Brexit, in some cases (which accounts for the volume) identically worded or with a small variation. They include the full range of opinions and views. I am therefore sorry if you have had a delayed response but we only have finite resources and we have to prioritise casework over campaigns which I am sure you would understand.
The situation on the negotiations for the UK’s withdrawal from the EU changes on a daily basis but I thought it would be helpful for you to have an update. Please forgive me if you have not raised these points but I hope that this response will be of use to you.
I read the draft withdrawal agreement and accompanying documentation and have raised questions with my colleagues. I thought it was important to have answers before making any decision on the meaningful vote. I was due to speak in the House of Commons on 10 December 2018 but the government delayed the vote until the New Year as negotiations are still continuing.
The Prime Minister has said that the debate will continue in the week beginning 7 January 2019 and the vote will not take place in the week of 14 January 2019. I plan to speak in that debate.
I am the Vice Chair of the 1922 Committee and in the vote of no confidence in the Prime Minister I acted as a Returning Officer. It is therefore not appropriate for me to express an opinion in public on how I voted or whether I sent in a letter to Sir Graham Brady MP.
The Prime Minister secured confidence in her leadership of the Conservative Party by 200 votes to 117 votes.
I do not currently support a second referendum not least because I have spent 9 months working on UCL Independent Commission on Referendums and I attach the link here –
https://www.ucl.ac.uk/constitution-unit/research/electionsandreferendums/icreferendums
If a second referendum was going to be called it should have been discussed at length and included in the original legislation.
You can watch the full statement from the Prime Minster from 17 December 2018 here -
https://parliamentlive.tv/event/index/efd0e6e9-2b59-4d8b-b740-7162afa5a…
You can see my question this week to the Prime Minister and her response using the following link -
https://parliamentlive.tv/event/index/efd0e6e9-2b59-4d8b-b740-7162afa5a…
In order to manage our workload I will post any future updates on my website. I continue to welcome people’s views on this rapidly changing situation and would thank you for your input which is very much appreciated but you may not receive an individual response because of the current weight of correspondence.