John Baron MP votes against ruling out ‘no deal’

MP will vote against Article 50 extension

Yesterday in the House of Commons, John Baron MP voted against motions to rule out a ‘no deal’ exit from the EU. Today he will vote against motions calling for an extension of the Article 50 date, and (if selected by the Speaker) in favour of a motion ruling out a second referendum. On Tuesday, John voted against the Withdrawal Agreement because the Attorney General’s legal advice on the potentially indefinite nature of the backstop remained unchanged.

In the Chamber, John said,

“Many of us prefer a good deal to no deal, but I suggest that WTO rules are not the so-called disaster that everyone is suggesting. We trade profitably with the rest of the world outside the EU on largely WTO, no deal terms. What people can forget is that investment is about comparative advantage. If proof were needed, we have only to look at how well the country is doing economically in the face of so-called concern that we could be leaving the EU on no-deal terms.”

“We have been told by our own Government that the preparations for no deal are in full swing. On 12th February, I asked the Prime Minister whether the Government are ready. Her response was just three words: ‘We are indeed’. So the preparations have been made, and I think we should take some comfort from that.”

“Ruling out no deal makes a bad deal more likely. There needs to be an element of moderation across the House when describing no deal. He economic reality is at variance with the various doomster forecasts that were proved so wrong back in 2016, and we should take note of that fact.”

Afterwards, John said,

“I am disappointed the House voted in the way it did last night – the first motion was only lost by four votes, and sending a message that no deal might be removed as an option will not help our negotiating position. Nevertheless, unless Parliament passes further votes, the legal default remains that we leave on 29th March without an agreement.”

“I will be voting against extending Article 50. I do not see any need to defer our exit date, and businesses and people alike need an end to the uncertainty over when our departure from the EU will take place. I hope we leave with a good deal, but we should bear in mind the Government’s assertions that the necessary no deal preparations have been made.”