News

Chocolate oranges, Great Repeal Bill and Euratom

Thanks so much to everyone who has been getting in touch to offer your time and expertise at Best for Britain HQ. It’s wonderful to see so much enthusiasm for our campaign — your support gives us confidence that, together, we can move the dial and stop Theresa May’s Brexit madness.

Thanks so much to everyone who has been getting in touch to offer your time and expertise at Best for Britain HQ. It’s wonderful to see so much enthusiasm for our campaign — your support gives us confidence that, together, we can move the dial and stop Theresa May’s Brexit madness.

Today is an important step in that process. The “Great Repeal Bill” provides the first opportunity for MPs from both sides of the house to challenge May’s Brexit plans. The Bill will incorporate over 20,000 EU laws into UK law. It will also grant ministers “Henry VIII powers” to escape parliamentary scrutiny and rush through Brexit on their own terms. Labour is already threatening to vote against the bill. If Labour, the Lib Dems, Greens and the SNP vote against the Bill, all it would take are 7 rebel Tories and the Bill is history.

The cracks in the government’s Brexit strategy are getting bigger. Yesterday, the UK’s public spending watchdog criticised the government’s chaotic approach to leaving the EU, which is at risk of falling apart like “a chocolate orange”. Billions of pounds of public money are being needlessly thrown away. They say the negotiations in Brussels have all the makings of a “horror movie”. We couldn’t agree more — you can read their damning verdict in full here.

Other recent developments include the government’s decision to leave the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom), which spells disaster for nuclear power facilities in Britain. Leading scientists say it will also limit access to medical treatments and equipment for critically ill cancer patients. May’s government is hellbent on a Hard Brexit without a second thought for industry and science — we must not turn our backs on them, even if our government has.

In parliament, we’re supporting a new cross-party group of pro-EU MPs who are working together to defeat an Extreme Brexit. Like us, the group want “the best possible deal for Britain”: one that “requires MPs to be players, not just spectators, in the Brexit process.” Debate around Brexit is changing and our politicians are beginning to listen to their voters — they are realising that it doesn’t have to be this way. Find out more about the group here. We are also working with other MPs across Parliament – we don’t belong to any sub-group and will continue to work with any group that wants to challenge Brexit. 

The election showed that nothing is decided. We are as committed as ever to a deal that is best for the NHS, for the environment and for people’s livelihoods — we believe that no Brexit is better than a bad Brexit, and with your support, we will fight for that option to stay on the table.

Let’s keep pushing for change – we’re getting there.