Dear Sir,

Everyone is sick to death of Brexit. I know I am. I want Parliament to move on to discuss the NHS, education, jobs and all the things I know concern my constituents deeply.

But you can’t get away from the fact that Brexit needs to be resolved.

Parliament wanted to press ahead with a resolution to Brexit. But, as the Supreme Court has ruled this week, the Prime Minister unlawfully closed down Parliament for 5 of the 8 weeks leading up to the day we are supposed to leave the EU so we could not debate Brexit or any other issue. He misled the Queen in doing so. Boris Johnson cannot be trusted.

The Prime Minister has attempted twice to force a general election in order to avoid parliamentary scrutiny and put off negotiating with the EU, clearing a path for a no-deal Brexit. This is in spite of not supporting a no-deal Brexit during the 2016 referendum campaign.

I have voted against holding an early general election at this time because such a move would get in the way of resolving the most significant crisis this country has faced since the second world war. Regardless of who won, we still would not know what Brexit would look like because a deal would still need to be negotiated with the EU. And that’s if a party won a majority, what if a general election produced a hung parliament and we found ourselves exactly where we are now.

Brexit is a once in a lifetime decision, and it will affect our country for a generation. A general election sets a programme for a government for a maximum of five years. We cannot put the two together. They are two separate and distinct issues which deserve to be treated as such. It is inevitable that any general election campaign, which ought to be fought on issues like the crisis in our NHS, the cuts to our public services and the under-funding of local schools, will be poisoned by Brexit. That’s why I believe Brexit must be resolved before a general election is held. I believe to keep them separate is a principled position to take. Sort Brexit first and then hold a general election second.

The Prime Minister has recently said that Brexit should be put back to the people and I agree. I believe you have the right to a final say on how we resolve the Brexit deadlock. It is clear that Parliament cannot do this alone and nor should MPs be allowed to. If MPs push through a deal without consulting you first, you would have every right to say ‘I didn’t agree to this’ or ‘this isn’t what Leave looked like to me’. If we want to finally resolve Brexit and bring our divided communities and country back together, we must get the sign-off from the people in a final confirmatory referendum.

The Prime Minister has promised the British people a deal and it is time he returned to Brussels and got back to the negotiating table. He should then bring that deal back to Parliament and I hope Parliament will support the Kyle-Wilson compromise, designed by myself and Peter Kyle, the MP for Hove, which calls for any Brexit deal to be returned to the people in a final confirmatory ballot. You should have the right to compare the Brexit facts with the promises made during the 2016 referendum campaign. If they compare favourably and the people vote for the Deal, then fine. The deal will be implemented. On the other hand, the people have the right to change their mind and vote to Remain. Boris Johnson and Nigel Farage both said in the referendum, no-deal was off the table. Now they say it’s centre stage. If they have the right to change their minds, so do you.

Parliament has returned and MPs can finally get on with their day job of holding the Government to account and resolving the Brexit crisis. We must find a way through this, and I believe the Kyle-Wilson compromise may be the only way. I can’t guarantee we will succeed, but what I do know is a Brexit resolution must come first and a general election second.

Phil Wilson, M.P.