That letter again

One letter leaked to the media distorts what happens daily in Parliament. People write to me pointing out that that Mr Penrose’s letter did not cover all the issues, or left unsaid things they want said.
Rest assured that there are many Eurosceptic MPs regularly making the points many of you want made to their whips, to Ministers, to the PM but these have not been reported. MPs do want a new borders, fishing, farming and other policies as soon as we are out. The arguments put by the handful of Conservative MPs who do favour slowing down or watering down Brexit of course get massive airtime for a variety of reasons but they are far from representative of the backbench party. There are far more than 62 Conservative MPs who agree with the contents of Mr Penrose’s letter.

25 Comments

  1. L Jones
    February 22, 2018

    ”…. massive airtime for a variety of reasons…” all of which are provided by the BBC.

    1. Hope
      February 23, 2018

      JR, many of your blogs should not be necessary as we had these arguments before the referendum two years ago! Remainers will not accept the result and keep revisiting all the points particularly economic ones to change our minds. Unfortunately for them the polls remain the same or stronger to leave. May must be held accountable for her deliberate slowness, underhand behaviour and failure to act on the referendum to leave the EU in its entirety. There should be no debates two years after our decision to leave to remain in the single market and customs union. Both parties declared to leave the EU and single market and customs union.

      I have pointed out previously, May has failed to deliver or uphold many of the twelve points in the Lancaster speech. May capitulated in phase one, in stark contrast to her Lancaster speech and red lines, she was aware of the fake Treasury report to scare or force leave ministers to accept remain in another name or keep as close as possible to fool the public. Leave MPs made the veiled threat because she is failing democracy. Again, Letwin was right, upholding the public vote is more important than any issue before parliament. The traitors in both houses who want a foreign power to rule over our country, while they line their pockets with our money pretending to be in charge while managing EU rule, must be outed for what they are. A minister needs to be dedicated to ruthlessly force out disobedient civil servants trying to thwart the people’s decision. Far better than a loneliness minister FFS!

      1. Hope
        February 23, 2018

        JR, May’s capitulation at phase one shows you and colleagues having no pact on her behaviour, holding her to account or influence. Oust her now.

  2. Ian Pennell
    February 22, 2018

    Dear John Redwood,

    It is beginning to look like enough MPs will vote to ensure that Britain remains in the Single Market and Customs Union, I.e. a Brexit In Name Only. Jeremy Corbyn is about to make a speech on Monday declaring that Britain should stay in the Customs Union. The Conservatives do not have a Majority in Parliament to stop this being foisted upon Britain. Conservatives neither have the numbers to stop Leveson 2 being foisted upon Britain either!

    So, in view of these serious undemocratic threats to Britain that our minority Conservative government may be unable to stop, the time has come for Theresa May to be replaced, for there to be a new General Election and for the Conservatives to have a very appealing and popular Manifesto of Big Tax Cuts, more nurses and doctors, more Police and a million cheap new homes for first-time buyers along with a big increase in the Minimum Wage. This should be funded by slashing Foreign Aid, Green subsidies and ending EU Contributions plus tariffs on Steel and Car Imports. We should even promise to print money (a la’ Quantitative Easing) to fund the policies if economic growth doesn’t. The risk of a little inflation is as NOTHING to not squashing a dangerous undemocratic and frankly nasty Labour Party and making very sure that the Conservatives regain a much-needed Majority of Brexiteers very soon!

    It’s time for the Conservatives to really start fighting back, this time with a beefed-up CCHQ and Online Campaign complete with a Rapid Rebuttal Unit. Then these are the policies you will need to be sure of flattening Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour Party.

    Ian Pennell

  3. Voter
    February 22, 2018

    Thanks for the reassurances. The normal way is we vote for something and it comes to pass immediately. The ramifications good or bad come later. This time though we have people in Parliament who will not accept the very first step in democracy. They can argue about whether we were wrong to leave AFTER we leave.
    It has been like a two year drive to see the Queen by an incumbent PM with demonstrations and condemnations by the media and threats the journey might take a further two years to complete and not actually be the incumbent coming to be be PM as was voted.
    I would throw the Remoaner MPs and remoaner media heads in jail. Just what do you have to do in this country to be a traitor, not accept a democratic vote and conspire to annul it?

  4. The Prangwizard
    February 22, 2018

    It’s getting tense. Today is May’s last chance to save her skin and the nation from her betrayal.

  5. Peter
    February 22, 2018

    Thanks for this information Mr. Redwood.

    We donā€™t know what is going on and the PM plays her cards close to her chest.

    She also has a record of caving in to pressure from the EU and also her own subordinates e.g failure to move Mr. Hunt in the last reshuffle.

    Pressure from behind the scenes may be an effective way forward. However, I am sure you can understand why so many who just want a speedy and complete Brexit are nervous about her management of the project.

  6. duncan
    February 22, 2018

    Thank-you

  7. Ron Olden
    February 22, 2018

    FOURTH QUARTER GDP

    Remainiac fifth columnists have been in festive mood today over the slight downward revision in Fourth Quarter 2017 UK GDP growth figures today.

    I’m sorry to spoil their celebrations, but the main North Sea Oil and Gas pipeline was shut for nearly all of December 2017, owing to some hairline cracks having being discovered in it.

    The supply of oil was so badly affected that it pushed up the global price of oil.

    This crack was bound to affect the final quarter output figures, because the original estimate barely included actual December data at all. In fact it omitted the data for the entirety of the time the pipeline was down, coinciding with point at which it first closed.

    I’m surprised the downward revision wasn’t greater.

    So unless the Remainiacs are claiming that being in the EU, affects the physics associated with the fate of a metal pipe sitting on the North Sea, sea bed, perhaps they’d like to shut up.

  8. fedupsoutherner
    February 22, 2018

    Thank you for that explanation John.

  9. Jagman84
    February 22, 2018

    “There are far more than 62 Conservative MPs who agree with the contents of Mr Penroseā€™s letter.”

    There may well be, Mr Redwood, but obviously not enough to add their signatures. Cabinet ministers, I can understand but for other unknowns, it seems more like self-interest than what is best for the UK.

  10. Bob
    February 22, 2018

    Do the Royal Navy have sufficient resources to enforce the fishing boundaries?
    I hear that they have more admirals than ships these days, thanks to Messrs Cameron & Osborne.

    Time to start rebuilding the military. It could be funded from the foreign aid budget with the justification that the military are the ones who are expected to deal with international humanitarian disasters. The BBC could also be sold off to fund some new patrol boats.

    1. The Great Ear
      February 23, 2018

      Would you wish to buy the BBC when a Ā£300,000 salary there is regarded as discriminatory? It would be viable perhaps if all staff we sacked and offered re-employment later . What’s the going rate for reading aloud in front of a camera with pre-prepared text written by someone on far less money?

    2. Turboterrier.
      February 23, 2018

      Bob

      The BBC could also be sold off to fund some new patrol boats.

      Not could Bob, but should

  11. Miss Brandreth-Jones
    February 22, 2018

    I hope we are not going o give the 35 Billion before any deal is finalised. That is really bonkers!

    1. miami.mode
      February 23, 2018

      Maybe I’ve missed it, but I’ve not heard an explanation of whether our normal payments during the implementation period are included in the Ā£35bn or whether it is an simply an ex gratia that is in addition to these payments.

      Additionally, as our rebate seems to be deducted from the following year’s payment, will they be sending a cheque in the post?

    2. jack Snell
      February 23, 2018

      Whatever monies was agreed to last December is to do with our exiting the EU and not about any future deal. All exiting accounts will have to be met if we are to move forward to a future relationship which at this stage looks very like a Canada plus deal, probably minus Northern Ireland which will have to be included in some kind of Customs Union agreement to avoid a hard border. The hard border will then be in the Irish Sea and the English Channel.

    3. Hope
      February 23, 2018

      It is a Ā£100 billion not Ā£35 billion.

  12. getahead
    February 22, 2018

    As you say John, that is not the picture that the pro-EU media like to give us. The problem is that the Prime Minister seems to favour the opinions of the handful.
    Thank you for your diary.

  13. Adam
    February 22, 2018

    Those MPs who vigorously oppose Brexit may be far from representative of the backbench of the party, but they are representative of anti-democracy, whom voters should vote out.

  14. The Great Eye
    February 23, 2018

    BBC Question Time tonight was all about looking at huge waving light blue finger nails.

  15. jerry
    February 23, 2018

    The real questions are not how many MPs agree with Mr Penroseā€™s letter but how many will defy the whip, and what effects such behaviour will have, both in the immediate and in the longer term.

    If Mrs May has the support of Labour then what she proposes will pass, but having said what if she then feels that she doesn’t hold the support of her own party, at best she resigns as PM, worse she asks the country for a post Brexit mandate…

  16. Helen Smith
    February 23, 2018

    This was very welcome news, I trust you and IDS and JRM etc. completely btw.

    Today the MSM is full of Labour committing to keeping the country in the Customs Union, the Indy et al are gloating that May will lose the fight to get us out of the CU, it’s almost as if leaving the EU was just Conservative policy and the country never gave instructions via a referendum at all. What price democracy?

  17. nigel seymour
    February 23, 2018

    J, Who exactly are the brexit Tory rebels?

  18. Rien Huizer
    February 23, 2018

    The little that is transpiring from the Checkers thing is that the UK will be at a collision course with EU henogiators. That’s it then. Either a coalition of anti exit MPs with the Opposition in favour of a solution (that will sill fall short in EU eyes) or no solution and out in 2019. Very interesting for serious students of current affairs. Forget the shootings in the US. This is politics.

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