Tories urged to hold their noses ‘against the stench’ and back Theresa May’s Brexit deal
Switcher Tory MP James Gray is urging Eurosceptics in Leave areas to support Theresa May’s EU deal - to avoid wrecking Brexit
EUROSCEPTICS in Leave areas were last night urged to support Theresa May’s EU deal - to avoid wrecking Brexit.
Switcher Tory MP James Gray is urging colleagues to back the PM “with our fingers crossed and holding our noses at its stench”.
Writing for The Sun on Sunday, he said: “It’s not how we wanted it to be, but it is now the only option available to us.” He said he will now be voting for the deal “warts and all”.
He added: “We must leave the EU. This is our only chance. The chance of a lifetime to achieve something for which I have longed for all of my political life.”
Many are concerned that ‘no deal’ has effectively been taken off the table combined with the EU offering a long extension if the exit plan isn’t passed.
Many Tories who are so far refusing to back the deal are in areas who overwhelmingly backed to leave the European Union.
FED UP WITH BRUSSELS
Eurosceptic Andrew Bridgen has also voted against the deal twice despite 60.7 per cent in North west Leicestershire wanting to leave in June 2016.
John Baron, whose represents Basildon, Essex, where 68.6 per cent were fed up with Brussels, said he would “await developments next week” before making up his mind.
Dr Julian Lewis, who has also refused to back the deal, represents the New Forest, Hampshire, where 57.8 per cent voted to leave.
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WHY I'M SWITCHING TO VOTE FOR PM'S DEAL
By James Gray, Eurosceptic Tory MP
'Campaigning to leave the EU has taken up a vast chunk of my political life.
The majority of the country clearly agreed with me – as we found out in June 2016.
Theresa May has offered MPs a route out of these institutions with an exit deal.
I despise many aspects of the deal that the PM has proposed.
I’ve spoken out at length against it since the agreement was struck at Chequers last summer.
Make no bones about it, it’s a bad deal and I am opposed to many aspects of it.
But the Remainers in Parliament last week voted to take the option of a ‘No Deal’ -which in many ways I support - off the table.
Not only that, but they voted to extend Article 50 so that we will not leave on 29 March as we had all hoped.
Those votes have forced me to change my stance on the matter.
We must leave the EU. This is our only chance. The chance of a lifetime to achieve something for which I have longed for all of my political life.
So I have now concluded that the only way we can escape from the EU’s despicable clutches is to support the Deal, which many of us detest.
We must now come together, support the deal, albeit with our fingers crossed and holding our noses at its stench. If we do that we will leave on 29 March or soon thereafter.
It’s not how we wanted it to be, but it is now the only option available to us. So warts and all, I shall be supporting the third vote on the PM’s Deal next Tuesday.'