Our MP, Karin Smyth, has sent the following email outlining her stance on Brexit:
Thank you for getting in touch about Brexit. I am regularly reading correspondence and appreciate the time people are taking to share a wide variety of views and perspectives. I know, however people voted, there is a great deal of frustration and anxiety in this constituency, as there is in the country. Bristol South voted 53% to 47% to stay in the European Union, and people remain divided on the best route forward.
The Government has now formally requested and received a short extension of Article 50, and I expect further twists and turns as the Prime Minister brings her Withdrawal Agreement and Political Declaration back this week. The purposefully slippery way in which the Government is bringing forward debates and motions means it is difficult to say exactly in which way I will vote from day to day. But as your MP, my position remains unchanged.
The Government is still asking us to leave the EU, and the established economic relationships forged over 40 years, without any indication at all of what the future arrangement will be. The Government has admitted Bristol South, like all of the UK, will be poorer, and also demonstrated time and time again that they cannot be trusted to act in good faith. Given all this, I cannot support the deal as it stands, and ‘No deal’ has never been a serious option.
I have stated my own position, before and after the Referendum, that for me the European Union is a tremendous achievement, establishing peace and understanding between the nations of Europe. As this process continues, as it will for many years, those of us who believe the United Kingdom should remain a core part of the European Union have to remake the political case for why and on what basis we seek co-operation with our nearest friends and neighbours. In the immediate days and weeks, amidst the ongoing political tumult, I will continue to seek a Parliamentary consensus for an outcome to this process. That such a resolution seems a distant possibility right now will in no way reduce my commitment to finding one.
It may not be my preferred outcome – it may not be yours.
That is why I think that whatever is agreed should then be voted on by the British people in a confirmation process.
I will continue to post updates on my Facebook and Twitter and welcome contact on this or any other issue.
The Government is still asking us to leave the EU, and the established economic relationships forged over 40 years, without any indication at all of what the future arrangement will be. The Government has admitted Bristol South, like all of the UK, will be poorer, and also demonstrated time and time again that they cannot be trusted to act in good faith. Given all this, I cannot support the deal as it stands, and ‘No deal’ has never been a serious option.
I have stated my own position, before and after the Referendum, that for me the European Union is a tremendous achievement, establishing peace and understanding between the nations of Europe. As this process continues, as it will for many years, those of us who believe the United Kingdom should remain a core part of the European Union have to remake the political case for why and on what basis we seek co-operation with our nearest friends and neighbours. In the immediate days and weeks, amidst the ongoing political tumult, I will continue to seek a Parliamentary consensus for an outcome to this process. That such a resolution seems a distant possibility right now will in no way reduce my commitment to finding one.
It may not be my preferred outcome – it may not be yours.
That is why I think that whatever is agreed should then be voted on by the British people in a confirmation process.
I will continue to post updates on my Facebook and Twitter and welcome contact on this or any other issue.
https://www.facebook.com/KarinSmythMP/
https://twitter.com/karinsmyth
Yours sincerely,
Karin Smyth
Labour MP for Bristol South