Leaving with a deal is best for our country - the best way to send that message is to vote Conservative
2 min read
A vote for the Conservatives is a vote for leaving the European Union with a good deal that helps us move on to a better brighter future, says Helen Whately MP.
We never wanted to fight these elections. We wanted to leave the EU on 29 March, honouring the referendum result - as both Labour and the Conservatives pledged to do. And if Parliament had voted for the Brexit deal, negotiated by the Government and agreed with the 27 other countries of the EU, then we would have been out. But so far Parliament has not done so.
I understand the frustration of voters with politics in Westminster at the moment. In fact, I share it. I am lost for words to express my own frustration that Parliament has failed to come together and do what people voted for in 2016.
Many people will use these EU elections to send a message to politicians about what they want - to tell us they want to leave on ‘no deal’, or to signal that they want to stay in. But in between there are many who would like us to leave, but leave with a deal, because that is best for our country. The best way to send that message is to vote Conservative.
And that includes people who voted Remain but recognise that the referendum result should be honoured.
Labour, the Lib Dems, the SNP, won’t deliver Brexit - they have voted against legislation to leave the EU again and again. And though Nigel Farage makes a great deal of noise, his Brexit Party can’t actually deliver Brexit - but they do risk creating further division in our country.
We must not let Brexit drive us further and further apart; instead, as a country we must come together, stay the course, and deliver Brexit in the national interest. Then we can move on and get on with all the other important things we want Government to do, like supporting the NHS and schools, backing British businesses and entrepreneurs, investing in infrastructure and skills, boosting wages, making sure people can afford homes - and looking after our natural environment.
The Conservative party is the only party that has shown good faith in trying to reach agreement and deliver a deal that honours the referendum result. A vote for the Conservatives is a vote for leaving the European Union with a good deal that helps us move on to a better brighter future.
Helen Whately is Conservative MP for Faversham and Mid Kent.
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