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UK Parliament Must Be Able to Stop a 'Hard Brexit' – Shadow Brexit Minister

© Sputnik / Vladimir Pesnya / Go to the mediabankWorld's cities. London
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Although progress has been made in EU-UK Brexit negotiations, with the agreement of a transition deal earlier this month in Brussels, there are still concerns surrounding the prospect of the UK exiting the economic union without a deal in place, known as a “hard Brexit.”

Britain’s Shadow Brexit Minister Keir Starmer will say that parliament should be allowed to decide what should be done if the initial Brexit deal is rejected by parliament.  

He will make the comments during a speech in Birmingham today, according to an official press release published by the Labour party.

“If parliament rejects the Prime Minister’s deal that cannot give license to her – or the extreme Brexiteers in her party – to allow the UK to crash out without an agreement. That would be the worst of all possible worlds. Our amendment would make it clear that, should the Prime Minister’s deal be defeated, it must be for parliament to say what happens next, not the Executive,” Labour’s Keir Starmer will say at a speech today.

He will also add that, in the event of the initial deal presented before parliament being rejected, Labour believes that the UK’s delegates should be forced back to the negotiating table to ensure the UK exits the EU with a trade deal in place to prevent the union’s external tariffs and quotas hurting UK exports.

“We will not dictate what parliament should do in such circumstances. But Labour’s preference in that scenario is clear: the government should go back to the negotiating table and work towards securing a deal that works for Britain.”

The transition deal reached by negotiators earlier this month set the official end date for this period on December 31, 2020.

A UK Independence Party (UKIP) rosette (File) - Sputnik International
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Other key matters, such as Britain’s financial settlement and the rights of expatriates were also agreed, though the issue of the Irish border remains to be resolved entirely.

READ MORE: European Commission Must Not Be Allowed to Annex Northern Ireland — UKIP Leader

The UK voted to leave the EU via a referendum in mid-2016, with just over half of the votes cast in favor of such an exit. Then-PM David Cameron resigned, paving the way for Theresa May to become leader of the Conservative party and the UK.

 

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