Town’s MPs will not be backing Theresa May’s Brexit deal

With just a week to go until the crunch vote in the House of Commons, an amendment tabled by Labour MP Hilary Benn has been gaining support in Westminster.

The amendment opposes the Prime Ministers' deal but rejects a no-deal Brexit.

In addition, it would ensure Parliament gets the chance to debate what should happen next, if Mrs May's deal is defeated.

Warrington North MP Helen Jones has thrown her support behind the amendment.

She says: "The Brexit deal Theresa May has negotiated won't protect jobs, workplace rights or environmental standards, it won't ensure frictionless trade for UK businesses and it provides no certainty about our future relationship with the EU.

"I will be supporting the amendment tabled by Hilary Benn, which sets out the flaws in the Prime Minister's deal and would prevent the UK crashing out of the EU with no deal which would be disastrous for jobs in Warrington."

Warrington South MP Faisal Rashid says he will be voting against Mrs May's deal next Tuesday because it is 'bad for the UK and bad for Warrington'.

He also believes the deal put forward 'will leave us in a worse situation than we are currently in'.

"I accept and respect the result of the 2016 referendum and I am committed to ensuring that the Government achieves the best possible deal for Warrington South and the UK as a whole," he added.

"It is clear to me, from the correspondence I have received to date and the conversations I have had throughout the constituency, that people do not support the Brexit deal that the Prime Minister has put forward.

"The deal fails to protect manufacturing, offers no firm protections for services and fails to protect workers' rights and the environment.

"Frankly, I do not accept the choice is between this deal or no deal.

"If this deal is voted down, Labour will work across Parliament to block no deal.

"Leaving the EU without a deal would be the worst possible outcome to this process, with severe consequences across many areas.

"Labour's preference is for there to be a general election but, if that is not possible, we will keep options on the table to prevent no deal – including campaigning for a public vote.

"I will be voting against the deal when it is put before Parliament.

"I will also be supporting Labour's frontbench amendment, which sets out the reasons Labour oppose this botched Brexit deal and calls on Parliament to use all options to ensure we do not crash out with no deal."

Warrington was one of the areas that voted to exit the EU in the referendum in 2016, with Leave winning 62,487 votes in the town, which amounted to 54.3 per cent.

However, Hope not Hate and Best for Britain have claimed that in depth research, which they commissioned, has revealed that both would now vote to stay in the EU.

However, UKIP Warrington chairman Ian Wilson has dismissed the findings.

He says: “The survey questioned 8,000 people in 632 seats in England, Wales and Scotland.

"On the surface, that sounds impressive. But as an average, that suggests that only around 13 people were asked for their opinion in Warrington North and South.

"It’s puzzling that local Remain campaigners are getting excited about such an unreliable survey.

"What we can conclude is that there are still a number of unreconciled Remain supporters who do not respect this democratic result.

"So, why should we trust them to respect any future referendums?

"They fervently believe that the people of Warrington made poor uninformed decisions during the referendum, but yet they are arrogantly convinced that they know better.

"Warrington residents are very astute and deserve more credit than that."