After writing to Dan Poulter airing her concerns about the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement, Joan Roberts received this reply:
Dear Ms Roberts,
Many thanks for your e-mail.
As the deal proposed is nearly 600 pages long, it will take me a few days to properly read the text. When I have done so, I shall be seeking discussions with ministers and shall let you know my fully informed view in due course.
With regards to another referendum, I believe that it is important to respect the result of the 2016 referendum, and for MPs in Parliament to focus on getting the best possible outcome we can. I do not believe another referendum would be any clearer or well-informed than the last, and indeed, would be likely to be even more divisive. It is worth bearing in mind that, with Parliament having voted to leave the EU, and with our notice (via Article 50) having been submitted, there can be no return to the membership terms we previously had. If the UK tried to revoke Article 50 now, the likelihood is that the EU would only agree under very different terms – things have, after all, moved on. We would be likely to lose our opt-outs, including potentially to the Euro, and would undoubtedly no longer have the rebate, so would be paying far more into the EU budget.
As I say, we now have a proposed agreement on the table, which I will study carefully, and will be back in touch soon with an informed view.
Thanks again for your e-mail. With best wishes ,
Dan
To which I have responded:
Thank you for your reply. However, we have to put the National interest first and this agreement satisfies nobody’s best interest. There is no deal better than the one we have and are subject to until March 2019. You mention the EU and how they are making things difficult for us to leave. I cannot believe that they would make it difficult for us to stay if we change our minds, all the indicators point otherwise. If we cannot make a satisfactory leave arrangement then we should remain until the bullies in your own Party have a suitable plan which satisfies all the doubts and can get agreement to it in Parliament, which as you and I both know is Sovereign.
Joan Roberts
Reproduced with permission from a post on the SEUA Facebook page.