This is the speech that I made in parliament on the second day of the debates on the Withdrawal Agreement. I was not able to get through the final few paragraphs as a four-minute time limit was placed on speakers and I had to cut it down on the hoof. To watch my contribution, click here
‘Let’s get on with it’, concluded the Prime Minister in a recent letter to MPs selling the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement. It is a seductive sentiment, and one which government hopes will persuade exasperated voters and equally weary MPs to unite behind the deal in time for a happy Christmas.
Brexit presents a profound and complex challenge for our country and our politics. Yet seeing parliament reduce it at best to a problem to be mitigated, and at worst an existential threat that needs to be blocked, has been frustrating and dispiriting in equal measure.
I know that a number of constituents are concerned about pressures on the police following recent street crime in our constituency. I wanted to make you aware of some of the ways in which I am acting upon those concerns in my work as a parliamentarian.
This morning the team and I had the pleasure of visiting St Ursula's Infant and Junior Schools, and talking to head teacher, Mr Craft, and head of governors, Alex Kearns.
