European Union (Withdrawal) (No. 5) Bill

Debate between Seema Malhotra and Ian Murray

Monday 8th April 2019 Commons Chamber

[Ian Murray]

I hate to quote the leave campaign, but I think Mr Hannan himself said that nobody was considering leaving the single market. Indeed, the whole campaign was predicated on having the easiest trade deal in history, on 40 trade deals rolling over by 29 March, on a Brexit dividend, and on an extra £350 million a week for the NHS, but none of that has come to pass.

[Seema Malhotra (Feltham and Heston) (Lab/Co-op)]

Does my hon. Friend agree that it is a sad indictment of where we have reached that Peter Oborne, who describes himself as a “strong Brexiteer”, said over the weekend:

“Now we must swallow our pride and think again”?

He was one of the 17.4 million who voted for Brexit but he now says:

“I have to admit that the Brexit project has gone sour”

and that it will “make us poorer”. It is not just remainers who support the Bill; leavers are also saying, “This isn’t what we voted for. This isn’t the state of a nation that we recognise.” It is time for us to take a step back and not rush to a decision that we will regret.