by Robin Baker
Theresa May’s televised speech to the country was probably
the most dishonest that has been made since Anthony Eden and the Suez
invasion. I am sure that our Prime
Minster would not want to leave it in that dishonest state. So always being anxious to help, here I offer
her some suggestions, in red below, to make it honest.
“Nearly three years have passed since the public voted to
leave the European Union.
It was, the biggest
democratic exercise in our country’s history provided,
that is, that you consider holding a referendum on such an issue to be
democratic in a country that has consistently taken such decisions through the
established system of parliamentary democracy.
I came to office on a promise to deliver on that verdict.
In March 2017, I triggered the Article 50 process for the UK
to exit the EU – and Parliament
supported it overwhelmingly.
Unfortunately I then called an unnecessary
general election for the following June, thereby wasting 50 days of the two
years provided by Article 50 . Worse,
the result of the election was a hung parliament which is the worst possible
result for seeking an agreement that could command the support of the
parliament.
That is the principal reason why,
two years on, MPs have been unable to agree on a way to implement the UK’s
withdrawal. The
second reason is that I have been totally inflexible in the proposal that I
have put to the House of Commons, despite the fact that it has been
overwhelmingly rejected twice.
As a result, we will now not leave on time with a deal on 29
March.
This delay is a matter of great personal regret for me despite the fact that it is actually in the interest of the
country I lead.
And of this I am absolutely sure: you the public have had
enough.
You are tired of the infighting.
You are tired of the political games and the arcane
procedural rows.
Tired of me putting the same
question to the Commons when I and everybody else have known has had no chance
of being accepted because even the strongest pro-Brexiteers recognise that it
is worse than remaining an EU member.
Tired of MPs talking about nothing else but Brexit when you
have real concerns about our
children’s schools, our National Health Service, and knife
crime.
You want this stage of the Brexit process to be over and
done with.
I agree. I am on your side.
It is now time for MPs to decide.
So today I have written to Donald Tusk, the President of the
European Council, to request a
short extension of Article 50 up to the 30 June to give MPs
the time to make a final choice.
Do they want to leave the EU with a deal which delivers on
the result of the referendum –
that takes back control of our money, borders and laws while
protecting jobs and our
national security?
Do they want to leave without a deal?
Or do they not want to leave at all, causing what I am pretending would be potentially irreparable
damage to public trust despite the fact that the
pro-Brexit campaign was based on lies about the financial effects by a man whom
I subsequently rewarded by appointing him Foreign Secretary, a job in which he
showed himself to be incompetent, and the fact that the situation is now
totally different from what was expected when the referendum was held –
not just in this generation of politicians, but to our
entire democratic process?
It is high time we made a decision.
So far, Parliament has done everything possible to avoid
making a choice.
Motion after motion and amendment after amendment have been
tabled without
Parliament ever deciding what it wants, in part because I keep trying to get them to approve the same
deal they have already rejected.
All MPs have been willing to say is what they do not want.
I passionately hope MPs will find a way to back the deal I
have negotiated with the EU.
A deal that delivers on the result of the referendum and is
the very best deal negotiable.
I will continue to work night and day to secure the support
of my colleagues, the DUP and others for this deal.
But I am not prepared to delay Brexit any further than 30
June.
Some argue that I am making the wrong choice, and I should
ask for a longer extension to
the end of the year or beyond, to give more time for
politicians to argue over the way
forward.
That would mean asking you to vote in European Elections,
nearly three years after our
country decided to leave.
What kind of message would that send?
And just how bitter and divisive would that election
campaign be at a time when the country
desperately needs bringing back together?
Some have suggested holding a second referendum.
I don’t believe that is what you want – and it is not what I
want because clearly one should never put the same
question twice, - oh oops, no I cannot say that now can I? Actually it’s because you might give me an
answer that will show that I have been wasting my and the country’s time over the
past two years.
We asked you the question already and you gave us your
answer.
Now you want us to get on with it.
And that is what I am determined to do despite the harm it will cause to our country. But don’t worry too much, I have been
determined to do lots of things in which I have failed.”
Robin Baker
