IN THE biggest ever government defeat on the floor of the House of Commons, all four MPs who represent Barnsley were among the 432 politicians who voted against Theresa May’s Brexit deal.
The country backed Brexit by 52 per cent to 48 in the referendum in 2016, however in Barnsley the margin was much more decisive, with 68 per cent of those who voted backing ‘leave’.
On Tuesday evening, after months of negotiation and debate, MPs were asked to vote on the prime minister’s withdrawal agreement. There were 202 who voted for the deal, but 432 against - including 118 Conservative MPs.
We asked all four of our local MPs how they voted, and why.
Dan Jarvis, MP for Barnsley Central, has said the defeat on Tuesday left Labour no choice but to put forward a vote of no confidence in the government.
He said: “How we exit the EU is the most important decision we have made in decades. It is vital that we do so in a way that works for both Barnsley and our country.
“I voted against accepting the prime minister’s withdrawal agreement. I did so because, having both respected the referendum result and voted to trigger Article 50, I do not believe that her deal would have served the best interests of the people of Barnsley, or our country.
“Since the outset of her negotiations with the EU, the prime minister has not only failed to build a parliamentary consensus on the best way forward, but has established unnecessary ‘redlines’, pursued the wrong priorities, and ignored the needs of communities like ours.
“As a result, her negotiations have floundered and her deal failed to deliver in four key areas: workers’ rights, regional and economic investment, our future trading relationship with Europe, and national sovereignty.
“Accepting this deal would have resulted in a withdrawal which fails to grasp either the opportunities that leaving the EU could bring, or mitigate the potential threats associated with such a major change. In short, the deal was not good enough and the prime minister must now reconsider her options.
“I do not have confidence in this government to deliver the withdrawal agreement that the people of Barnsley need.
“However, if this government does remain in power, it is now incumbent upon them to deliver a deal that can command support both in Parliament and the country.”
Stephanie Peacock, MP for Barnsley East, said she supports the results of the referendum but voted against the prime minister’s deal.
She said: “I understand this is a very important issue facing our community and country which many people feel strongly about, and I wanted to outline why I voted against the prime minister’s deal.
“To be clear, I respect the result of the referendum in 2016, and I do not support another referendum. We’ve already held a People’s Vote, and the views of people here in Barnsley were clear.
“So for me the current debate around Brexit is not about whether we leave the EU, but how.
“I’ve been very clear throughout this process that any Brexit deal must guarantee the jobs, rights and protections that so many people here in Barnsley rely on. It must ensure that workplace and environmental protections are safeguarded, and it must respect the decision expressed in Barnsley through the referendum in 2016.
“Unfortunately, the prime minister’s deal doesn’t do any of these things. It’s a bad deal for people here in Barnsley, and a bad deal for our country. It does not safeguard hard-won rights and protections, and it keeps us locked into EU rules with no say in shaping them. That’s why I voted against the deal.
“However, I also believe that we cannot leave with ‘no deal’, which would be catastrophic for people here in Barnsley something that has become increasingly obvious, particularly after speaking to local businesses in our community. I’ll do all I can to ensure this doesn’t happen. This position voting against Theresa May’s deal, opposing a second referendum, and opposing no deal was supported by a large majority of respondents to my recent Brexit survey.
“So, in my role as the MP for Barnsley East, I’m pushing for a better Brexit deal as we leave the EU, one which works for people here in Barnsley, which guarantees jobs, rights, and living standards, and honours the result of the 2016 referendum.”
John Healey, MP for Wentworth and Dearne, said: “I voted against the government because it has failed to negotiate a good enough Brexit deal.
“It fails to protect British jobs and business, it fails to guarantee British workers, consumers and environment standards will not be undercut in future and fails to secure terms on trade, security or immigration, leaving future negotiations wide open for a hard-line Tory prime minister to pursue an extreme Brexit.
“This was the biggest defeat for a government in Parliament for a century.
“It is an historic failure on the government’s central duty and purpose, to negotiate a good Brexit deal for Britain. And it is not just Theresa May’s failure but the failure of the Conservative Party in government, a direct result of their deep divisions and dysfunction.
“I believe this disqualifies them from office, and in any previous era such a failure to command the confidence and support of Parliament would rightly result in a fresh general election.
“It is clear to people the Conservatives are failing as a government on Brexit and on every other front from the NHS to real wages to housing. However, David Cameron passed the fixed-term parliament legislation after 2010 to lock himself into government for five years.”
Angela Smith, MP for Penistone and Stocksbridge, is the only one of the four MPs in the area who would be happy for the country to have another referendum and let the people vote again. She also voted against Theresa May’s deal.
She said: “At the last election I made it clear that I did not want to see a Brexit which made people in Penistone and Stocksbridge poorer. The deal the prime minister has negotiated, in my view will do just that.
“Since the referendum a lot has happened and we now know what Brexit will look like. I think in these circumstances it is only right the people have a final say on Theresa May’s deal, with the option of remaining in the EU on the ballot paper. I am therefore backing calls for a People’s vote, if the call for a general election fails.”
What happens now?
Following the government’s defeat, the prime minister now has until Monday to come back to Parliament with a plan for how the government intends to proceed.
Despite losing the vote on her withdrawal agreement, Theresa May defeated the vote of no confidence in her government on Wednesday which was proposed by the Labour Party following Tuesday’s historic defeat.
