“Tonight I will vote against the Second Reading of the European Union (Withdrawal) Bill.
“I do however still believe firmly that we will leave the European Union as voted for by the country and my Stockton North constituents.
“But I cannot vote for this Bill as presented by the Tory Government, designed as it is to hand wide-ranging powers to Ministers to amend legislation themselves without proper Parliamentary scrutiny.
“I am voting against what is their desperate attempt to grab power and deny Parliament a say on everything from the protection of the environment to the rights of people in the workplace.
“They are trying to use our withdrawal from the European Union to benefit their own party, and I will not support that – and I am sure the vast majority of my constituents would agree with me.
“Labour will be voting against the Bill, and instead table a Reasoned Amendment saying that we respect the outcome of the EU referendum, but we are rejecting the Bill as it now exists as it fails to protect Parliamentary sovereignty, allows the minority Government to bypass the rest of the MPs, risks weakening human rights by failing to transpose the EU Charter of Fundamental Human Rights into UK Law, and does not allow Parliament to do its job of scrutinizing the Government.
“This isn’t the Bill that the UK deserves – we deserve better – and Labour will fight for a fair and just withdrawal from the European Union.”
ENDS
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