Dear Sir,
I find I need to respond to Alistair Walsh and the allegations he makes in his letter regarding Phil’s Brexit position.
To say Phil did not honour the result of the EU referendum is not true. He did. He voted to trigger article 50 which set in train the process of leaving the EU and allowed time for the Government to negotiate a deal because his constituency had voted to Leave.
His stated position is, he would vote in Parliament for any deal the Government agreed with the EU, as long as it was put to the people for them to have the final say. They have the right to compare the reality of Brexit with what they were promised during the 2016 Referendum campaign. If the people agree with the deal, then it would be implemented because the legislation would be in place. Of course, people would also have the right to change their minds. There would be no more Referenda and Brexit would be done.
I think that is fair and shows local people great respect. Yes, Sedgefield constituency voted Leave, but they weren’t allowed, and never have been given, the chance to vote on how we leave. That is wrong.
Phil believes the final decision shouldn’t be left to MPs in Parliament, but to the people. Brexit started with the people and should end with the people. And that’s how you get Brexit done.
And finally, yes Phil has stood up for what he believes. He is aware his constituency voted Leave more than three years ago. And yes, he voted Remain in that referendum. But, if we are asking MPs to act like delegates to Parliament rather than representatives, but Tories like Liam Fox, Chris Grayling, John Redwood and Dominic Raab (the Foreign secretary) all arch Brexiteers should be delegated to vote the same way as their constituencies, which in their case was to Remain.
One thing is for certain. If Boris Johnson, helped by Nigel Farage, gets his way, Brexit will not be done after this General Election. It will go on and on. If people are sick of Brexit now, imagine what they’ll feel like in a year’s time.
Yours sincerely
Paul Trippett
Agent to Phil Wilson, Labour Parliamentary Candidate for Sedgefield.