Brexit: MPs should vote on talks, says Labour"s Starmer

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MPs should vote on the terms of Brexit negotiations, Labour"s shadow Brexit secretary Sir Keir Starmer has said.

Sir Keir told the BBC the referendum result "has to be accepted" but accused the PM of trying to "manoeuvre without any scrutiny" on how to achieve it.

It follows reports of a cross-party move including Labour"s Ed Miliband and Lib Dem Nick Clegg to seek a stronger role for the Commons on Brexit.

The government intends to trigger Article 50 by the end of March 2017.

Article 50 is the official process for exiting the EU and could take up to two years.

"No re-run"

At the Conservative Party conference, Prime Minister Theresa May said the government would strike a deal with the EU as a "sovereign, independent" UK but her speech has raised concerns among some that the UK is headed for a "hard Brexit" – without unfettered access to the single market.

Sir Keir, who returned to Labour"s front bench last week in a reshuffle following Jeremy Corbyn"s re-election as Labour leader, told BBC One"s Andrew Marr Show: "The referendum is clear and has to be accepted and we can"t have a re-run of the question that was put to the country earlier this year.

"But, and it"s a big but, there has to be democratic grip of the process and at the moment what the prime minister"s trying to do is to manoeuvre without any scrutiny in Parliament and that"s why the terms on which we"re going to negotiate absolutely have to be put to a vote in the House.

"Because if we can"t get the opening terms right we"ll never get the right result," Sir Keir said.

"I accept that freedom of movement was a major issue in the referendum but nobody, whether they voted to leave or to remain, voted to take an axe to the economy.

"And the prime minister"s stance on the single market is making it nigh-on impossible for us to… have access to the single market. That"s a huge risk to the economy, to jobs and to working people."

Cross-party moves

It follows an article in the Observer in which former Labour leader Ed Miliband said: "There is no mandate for hard Brexit, and I don"t believe there is a majority in parliament for it either. Given the importance of these decisions for the UK economy… it has to be a matter for MPs."

Former Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg told the same paper it was not "remotely acceptable" to leave it to the government to decide the terms of Brexit.

The prime minister has said that immigration controls are a post-Brexit priority, but other EU leaders have said that would be incompatible with the UK remaining in the single market.

It has been reported that Mrs May is against holding a Parliamentary vote on the process. She has said MPs should be informed "at various stages" but told the BBC last week the government had to be able to negotiate but be sure that "we don"t set out all the cards in our negotiation."

She added: "Because as anybody will know who"s been involved in these things, if you do that up front, or if you give a running commentary you don"t get the right deal."

Original Article

Brexit: MPs should vote on talks, says Labour"s Starmer
https://latiendadejm.com/blog/brexit-mps-should-vote-on-talks-says-labours-starmer/

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