A no deal Brexit does not just mean a no deal on trade. A no deal Brexit is not just about if you want to go on world trade organisation rules. A no deal Brexit means a no deal for everything.
A minority of people are asking me to support a no deal. Having a no deal means no arrangements on security, aviation, consumer protection, animal welfare, medicines, transport and no arrangements for Northern Ireland amongst many other things.
Everyday our police and security services use and share intelligence with Europe. A no-deal Brexit means that overnight our security and police services will not have access to this information. This information has been crucial in the past to convict child sex traffickers working across Europe.
A no deal Brexit will impact health providers . This includes inability to access medicines and a shortage of health professionals. There is a very deep and significant concern about access to supplies which have a short shelf life such as radioisotopes used in cancer care.
A no deal Brexit would mean that farmers and food producers could face a delay of 6 months before they are certified as approved exporters to EU counties. That’s 6 months without an income and many businesses will not survive.
There are many other examples. A no deal Brexit is so much more than just a matter about trade.
Labour’s 2017 manifesto recognised that, “leaving the EU with ‘no deal’ is the worst possible deal for Britain and that it would do damage to our economy and trade. We will reject ‘no deal’ as a viable option.”
I promised to fight for the best Brexit deal for Hull West and Hessle and I have consistently and repeatedly supported amendments to try and improve Theresa May’s deal. Last week I voted for Labour’s Brexit deal and I hope to have the opportunity to vote for it again.
I fundamentally believe that a no deal Brexit would have a damaging impact upon people living in Hull West and Hessle and so I cannot support it.