Posted on 2017-04-24 | 12:34

Said Roger: "I regret the Prime Minister’s opportunistic and cynical decision to hold a snap General Election in an attempt to eliminate dissent and gain a larger majority for a hard right Tory agenda and her vision of the hardest possible Brexit.

"I voted to leave the EU, but I did not vote for Theresa May to be able to push through her version of Brexit without Parliamentary scrutiny or without opposition in either the Commons or the Lords. Both MPs and Peers have a duty to scrutinise the terms of Brexit and, where they do not believe that these are in the best interests of the UK, to oppose them. Taking dissenting voices into account is part of how democracy works, and it is disgraceful and deeply worrying that the Prime Minister is trying to evade this part of the democratic process. The 48% of people in the UK who are opposed to Brexit have every right to have their voices represented in Parliament, as do those of the 52% who voted for Brexit.

"The fixed-term Parliaments Act was brought into place to try and avoid this kind of misuse of general elections for party-political advantage by an incumbent Government. I did not vote for the motion to hold an early General Election, and I regret that more of my colleagues in the Labour Party did not do the same. If they had not supported the motion the Government would not have been able to get the 2/3rds of MPs needed to pass the motion, and it would have inflicted a humiliating defeat on the Prime Minister. This would have been a valuable opportunity to oppose the Conservative Party’s cuts to spending on health and education, which are having a devastating impact in my constituency and across the UK. Sadly, however, the Labour Party leadership chose not to take this opportunity and so we are now heading into a General Election – the third major national poll since 2015.

"I will be standing again in Birmingham Hall Green and will be arguing for properly funded public services; investment in social housing; and for a much fairer distribution of wealth within our society. I will also be campaigning for a version of Brexit which maintains our ties with the EU.