John Baron MP disappointed by Government EU defeat

MP says ‘red lines’ still in place

In the House of Commons last night, John Baron MP supported the Government over Amendment 7 tabled by Rt Hon Dominic Grieve MP, and also contributed to the debate. Amendment 7, potentially at a late stage, will allow Parliament to reject our EU exit deal, and would probably entail the Government returning to the negotiating table with the EU. The Government was defeated by 309 votes to 305.

In the Commons Chamber, during the debate before the vote, John said,

“Amendment 7 is fundamentally flawed because it leaves open at least the possibility – given that the EU does not, in reality, want any member to leave – that as there would be no incentive for the EU to negotiate a good deal, we could find ourselves in a permanent state of limbo, deadlocked in unproductive negotiations for months and months with no incentive for the other side to pursue a constructive deal.”

“This would be an outrage with regard to the result of the EU referendum, in which over 17 million people voted to leave with the best possible deal. Those 17 million people had no third option on the ballot paper. There was not an option of staying in a semi-permanent state of negotiating limbo while talks progressed over a period of months and maybe years; it was a very clear yes or no.”

“I believe the Prime Minister to be honourable in what she has said. Having known the Ministers involved for many years, I also trust them to deliver the best possible deal. I suggest that those who support proposals such as amendment 7 should trust the EU a little less and their own Government a little more.”

Afterwards, John said,

“The Government’s defeat on the amendment will make our exit more complicated, and there is now an incentive for the EU not to negotiate a good deal. However, this process was hardly ever going to be smooth, and we remain on course to honour the referendum result.”

“The ‘red lines’ are still in place – we will be leaving the EU in March 2019, and this includes the Customs Union and Single Market to ensure we can negotiate our own trade deals and control our borders. The European Court of Justice will no longer have precedence over British law. In addition, when it comes to the negotiation and any financial settlement, ‘nothing is agreed until everything is agreed’.”

Notes to Editors:

• John’s contribution to the debate is online at: https://goo.gl/PrBH2h.