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MPs voting away our sovereignty

As most of the electorate in Swindon will know, both our local MPs are Conservative members of parliament, and both backed Boris Johnson for prime minister – presumably wishing to further their own careers in his administration.

Last week they both voted against a provision that would have stopped Boris Johnson dissolving parliament, thus allowing him to push through no-deal. I have written to them both to ask whether they believe in a parliamentary democracy given that they voted for its suspension.

No-deal, of course, was not in any party’s manifesto. Neither was it discussed by the Leave campaign during the referendum.

In short, we have two Conservative MPs, Justin Tomlinson representing Swindon North, and Robert Buckland Swindon South, who voted not only to suspend sovereign parliament – I cannot think of any greater peaceful way to undermine our democracy – but voted for economic harm and unemployment.

By supporting the suspension of parliament and no-deal they are going against the views of every credible business organisation, trade union, the Bank of England, university and scientific organisation in the country who view no-deal as a disaster.

The CBI, for example, compares no-deal to taking “a wrecking ball to our economy.” The fact we have local MPs voting for the economic and social harm of the country, is a microcosm of the unholy mess this country is in.

Steve Rouse, Wroughton

What the people voted for is off the table

I URGE readers to cast their minds back just over three years to the Brexit referendum.

What were we promised? The easiest deal ever, German car makers demanding that the European Commission give us everything we want, the same benefits that we enjoy now, staying in the single market and customs union like Norway. The list was endless. Those that said this wasn’t possible were called too negative or accused of project fear.

As it turns out Theresa May didn’t even try to negotiate the deal promised; instead she went for something more to her taste, in line with her “send them home” policies at the Home Office.

She managed a deal of sorts, but it wasn’t what was voted on. We will never know if what voters chose was possible, because it wasn’t attempted. Parliament rejected her deal because it was bad for the country.

Now Alexander de Pfeffel ‘Boris’ Johnson has been elected as Prime Minister by about 160,000 members of the Tory party. He wants a no-deal Brexit. So between those 300 MPs and a small proportion of the electorate want to force no-deal on the rest of us. Oh, he says he will renegotiate, but the European Commission have been clear that renegotiation is not possible now.

A tiny majority of the vote chose Brexit (not a majority of the electorate). What they voted for was impossible from the start and is impossible now. They did not vote for no-deal.

Parliament could end this now, but I believe only the people can make this decision.

We must have a confirmatory referendum; because what they voted for before is now off the table and this is the only way we can find if people want what we can actually have.

Howard March, Tudor Crescent, Stratton St Margaret