A letter sent to my MP, Scott Mann, on the event of the Supreme Court judgment
ruling that the government must seek an Act of Parliament before triggering
Article 50.
Dear Scott Mann,
As you will undoubtedly know, the Supreme Court have this morning ruled that the
government must seek an Act of Parliament before triggering Article 50 and the
process to leave the European Union.
This is a critical juncture in our nation’s history. For the past 45 years we
have been members of an international Community and Union created to guarantee
the free movement of goods, capital, services and people within its borders, and
thereby to secure a lasting peace in Europe after two horrific world wars.
The European Union has grown to become the second-largest economy in the world,
and our nation’s largest trading partner by far (~53% of our trade in 2015,
compared with 20.4% for the US and China combined). At the same time, a
generation of young people have grown up with the freedom to live and work
anywhere in the EU, and who consider themselves European citizens.
Leaving the European Union to become merely members of the EEA or the European
Customs Union would be foolish: submitting ourselves to the legislative
requirements of the European Parliament without democratic representation in
that body. But to leave in the manner proposed by the Prime Minister will be
disastrous.
We have serious and important problems to address within the United Kingdom. The
drive to privatise parts of the National Health Service needs to be reversed and
this critical piece of national infrastructure needs appropriate funding. With
support, the burgeoning sustainable energy industry in the UK can become world
leading, boosting our economy and helping us achieve and exceed our targets
under the Kyoto Protocol. Income inequality cannot continue to grow in the UK
without causing extensive harm to our people and our economy.
We cannot afford to spend the next 5 to 10 years renegotiating bilateral trade
deals.
I recognise that you campaigned to leave the EU. I hope that you will also
recognise that now the full implications of this decision are clear, leaving the
EU smacks overwhelmingly of cutting off the nose to spite the face.
I urge you to vote NO on any bill to trigger Article 50 or leave the European
Union.
Yours sincerely,
Nick Stenning