29 March 2018
Thursday, 29 March marks the midpoint between the triggering of Article 50, on 29 March 2017, and the date on which the Government has said the UK will leave the EU, 29 March 2019.
Green MEP Keith Taylor is using the ‘Brexiversary’ as an opportunity to reiterate his commitment to fighting for the people of Britain to have the final say on any Brexit deal in a ‘People’s Poll’.
Mr Taylor has also moved to reassure voters that, although “the point of no return might be near,” there is still time to “change course”.
The senior Green politician, who also recorded a video addressing supporters directly, said:
“Brexit, of any type, is not in Britain’s interest.
“It inevitably means cutting ties with our closest friends and neighbours and abandoning a project that has delivered much positive social and environmental change in Britain and across Europe. More than that, it means departing from a union that has fostered solidarity and proven one of the most successful peace projects in recent history.
“Brexit, of the type a bitter and divided Tory government is dragging us towards, is a monumental calamity.
“The Government’s approach to negotiations has been unforgivably shambolic. The result is that we, the people of Britain, will have no idea what kind of post-Brexit future we’re heading for when we leave the European Union.
“All that we can be sure of as we approach the point of no return is that any and all Brexit outcomes will have hugely damaging economic impacts, according to the Government’s own (secret) studies. The fact the transition period delays the worst of these impacts until 2020 is of little comfort when the fundamental question of what our future relationship with the EU will look like remains unanswered.
“In the meantime, it’s clear that any notion of “taking back control” has been hijacked by the Tory Government planning to give itself, as part of the Withdrawal Bill, unprecedented powers to bypass Parliamentary democracy.
“What is more, almost every day new details emerge about vital information being kept from the public while allegations about a potentially illegal disinformation campaign run by Leave groups continue to mount.
“The referendum was supposed to signal the start of a democratic process, not the end of democracy.
“I campaigned for and voted Remain, as did voters in Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, and Oxfordshire and Surrey, East and West Sussex; across the region, more than 48% of people voted Remain. These voices are being increasingly sidelined by a Government desperately afraid of its own Brextremist fringe and in hock to the DUP.
“I stand committed to the ‘Green Guarantees‘ I set out after the referendum: safeguarding environmental laws, defending freedom of movement, supporting young people to study and work across Europe; guaranteeing workers’ rights, jobs, food safety and animal welfare by advocating single market and customs union membership.
“Above all, I still believe that we are fairer, greener and safer inside the European Union. It is why Greens are fighting for a People’s Poll on the final terms of any deal – with remaining in the EU an option on the ballot.
“The point of no return might be near but we still have the chance to change course.”
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