Phillip Lee MP has used a television interview to attack both the prime minister and the Brexiteers in his party for their willful blindness to the mess that has unfolded.
Asked on Sky News for his view on Brexiteer Michael Fabricant who appeared on the channel before him to claim that trade deals will open up and that it ‘won’t be terrible’ he suggested he had his head in the sand.
He said: ‘Because it’s obviously going so swimmingly well to date, isn’t it? I just listened to Mike then and I think ‘where have you been the last two and a half years?’
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‘The European Commission isn’t going to budge; it really hasn’t moved much at all, nothing that comes out Brussels is going to change the arithmetic here.’
The People’s Vote supporter was also scathing about the lack of decision-making process from the government, saying he was getting ‘frustrated’ by the dithering.
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‘This deal is not passing so if it is not passing can everyone just wake up and make a decision about what comes next because I’m personally getting a bit frustrated. Let’s just get on with it!
Lee said there was not a single solution to Brexit that would pass in the House and that it was time to ‘pivot to the people’ with the two legal options of either Theresa May’s Brexit plan or the option to Remain in the EU.
He asked: ‘How on earth can it be undemocratic to ask the people whether they want to proceed with this form of Brexit because it’s not the Brexit they were promised?’
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When asked for his opinion on Theresa May, he left Sky News presenter Adam Boulton briefly silenced as he criticised her for ruling out a People’s Vote, and said it was a ‘disgrace’ to have delayed the vote.
He said: ‘She’s getting it very wrong – I do wonder who’s advising her now.’
He added: ‘I honestly don’t know where the prime minister thinks this will end up.’
‘There’s an impasse here, everybody knows it. Delaying the vote is a disgrace, it should be taking place this week, if it doesn’t take place this week and it goes to January the result will be the same!’
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Explaining why he is speaking out, he continued: ‘I refute the suggestions that parliamentarians should vote against their best judgement to deliver the people’s ‘will’. We have responsibilities here not to screw up our country.
‘And if we can see this deal – or no deal which is even worse – is going to do that then I’m quite happy to turn around to my electorate and say in my judgement is that it is not in our interest.’
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