Leading figures from opposition parties will meet in Brussels today
[Thursday] to say the UK must remain within the Single Market and
the Customs Union.
The campaign to resolve Brexit through a People’s Vote will also
be discussed. The Liberal Democrats, the SNP, Plaid Cymru and the
Greens have all said they would support the public to have the
final say on any Brexit deal in a vote in the House of
Commons.
Last weekend saw hundreds of thousands of people march in London
for the People’s Vote and polling shows the option is
increasingly the preferred choice across the UK.
The group will open a cross-party line of communication to the
European Commission, so that officials are aware of Parliamentary
progress made on securing the People’s Vote, while continuing to
make the case for the UK to stay within the Single Market and the
Customs Union.
Those attending the meeting with Barnier will be: , Leader of the Liberal
Democrats; , Westminster Leader of the
SNP; , Westminster Leader of
Plaid Cymru; and Molly Scott Cato, Green Party MEP for the South
West of England and Gibraltar.
said:
“Our ‘unholy alliance’ has provided a sensible counterpoint to
the hard-line Brexiteers who have pushed the Conservatives and
Labour’s frontbench into senseless and fudged positions. It is
vital that and the European
Commission know that there is another view in Parliament, one
that has cross-party support and that can get the EU and the UK
out of this mess.
“I will also tell that there are also
brave Conservative and Labour rebels involved in leading this
fight to give the people a final say. As a result, there is now
tremendous Parliamentary and public pressure to hold that vote.”
said:
“Plaid Cymru will not stand by and allow the British Government,
along with their collaborators in the Labour party, to drag Wales
out of the Single Market and Customs Union. Negotiations between
the Prime Minister and have reached another
embarrassing stalemate. The only realistic option available to us
is to extend Article 50 and take the Withdrawal Agreement to a
People’s Vote.
“Leaving the key European economic frameworks will wipe £5
billion off the Welsh economy. In making the case for a People’s
Vote, I will impress upon the Chief EU Negotiator the full
gravity of the impact of Brexit on Wales. The British Government
has never had Wales’s best interest at heart.”
said:
“While the UK Government clearly still has no plan to break the
Brexit impasse, and Labour fail to act as an effective
opposition, it has been left to the 'unofficial opposition' to
speak up for a deal that would protect jobs and livelihoods. I am
grateful to Mr Barnier for meeting with us.
“Any Brexit deal that falls short of staying in the Single Market
and the Customs Union will not get through Parliament. It’s time
for to drop the jargon, quit
playing games and act to protect our economic future.”
Molly Scott Cato said:
"There is now Parliamentary paralysis on Brexit. The Chequers
plan is dead, but neither is there support for alternative
versions of Brexit being driven by a Brexit syndicate of
far-right think tanks.
"It is clear the only way out of this deadlock is to hand the
process back to the people. Last weekend 700,000 people marched
in support of the People's Vote; more than the combined
membership of the Tories and Labour. The momentum behind this
idea can no longer be ignored; it now looks unstoppable."
ENDS
