John Glen voices his shock that a majority of MPs have voted to block No Deal

I am absolutely shocked that a majority of Members of Parliament have voted to give time tomorrow to effectively tie the hands of the Prime Minister as he seeks to secure a better Brexit deal from the EU.

I voted Remain in 2016 but my side lost in what was a divisive and unedifying campaign.

Nevertheless, as a democrat, I have always believed duty bound to implement the outcome of the 2016 Referendum.

I voted for the previous deal on three occasions. I judged that “deal” to be imperfect but that it would provide the basis for an orderly exit from the institutional framework of the European Union as the majority had decided.

Ultimately, Parliament disagreed, Theresa May resigned and the new PM has sought to secure improvements to the deal in order to implement the decision of the majority of my constituents and the country. My judgement is that to do this he needs to maintain the prospect of a No Deal scenario.

If Parliament effectively forces him to seek yet another extension, then there is no reason for the EU to offer any improvements to that deal by October 31. We are in uncharted territory. In responding to the vote, the Prime Minister signalled his intention to call for a vote in Parliament, using the Fixed Term Parliaments Act, to seek a General Election.

Jeremy Corbyn and Jo Swinson both indicated they are not ready for a General Election at this point, so at the time of writing it seems we are at an impasse. The opposition parties believe they are faithfully honouring the interests of the electorate to avoid No Deal, whilst the vast majority of Conservative MPs believe they are seeking to enable the PM to maximise the chances of an improved deal.

I hope a way forward can be found. Whatever happens, I will continue to seek to respond to many constituents’ emails on this subject.

Thank you to those who maintain their courtesy at this highly-charged time in our nation’s history.