Theresa May rebuffs sceptical Shropshire MPs during visit to Royal Welsh Winter Fair
Prime Minister Theresa May has delivered a direct message to Shropshire MPs thinking of voting down her Brexit deal, saying it’s all about a vote in the national interest.
North Shropshire MP Owen Paterson has said he will vote against the deal, while Shrewsbury MP Daniel Kawczynski is considering voting against it.
Speaking at the Royal Welsh Winter Fair in atrocious conditions, Theresa May said a failure to secure the Brexit deal would lead to more uncertainty and division.
She said the vote would be a ‘very important moment’ and ‘a significant responsibility’ for MPs.
Mrs May said: “Each MP when they think about voting, must consider the importance of delivering on the Brexit vote and doing it in a way that protects people’s jobs, security and livelihoods and their futures and this deal delivers on that.”
And she said the message farmers and people at the showground in Llanelwedd near Builth Wells had given her to take back to the House of Commons, is that they want more certainty to secure their jobs, and undertake development and investments in the future.
She said the farmers she had spoken to had talked about the importance of getting a deal including a good trade deal with the European Union.
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"They support the deal, believe it’s right that the deal is done and the free trade area in the deal will allow them to continue exporting," she said.
Welsh Secretary Alun Cairns, who was travelling with the Prime Minister, said there had been an excellent response to her and her message around the showground.
He said there had been spontaneous applause at times and people were very positive about her message.
When asked what would happen if she did not get the deal through Parliament, Mrs May said she was focused on getting the deal done for the people of Great Britain.
Mrs May said that for a long time people had said they would not even get a deal but they have it. She said government had given people the vote, they had voted to leave the European Union and now it was the government’s job to deliver on it.
Mrs May landed at the showground in a Chinook helicopter in very cold, breezy and rainy conditions. It was her first stop of the day before she was due to fly on to Northern Ireland to set out how the deal agreed with the EU delivers for every corner of the United Kingdom.
She had a whistlestop tour of the showground meeting new entrepreneurs in the new start-up farmers' market. There she spoke to Karen Davies of Aga Farm, South Wales and asked about their products, before moving onto speak to Jess Goodwin of Hindwell Farm, Presteigne, who presented the Prime Minister with good quality Welsh beef.
Poultry
Mrs May said: “I would be delighted to have them, I should come around here more often, I now have enough for my tea.”
The Prime Minister was also presented with some poultry.
She spoke to children who were singing at the show and to three year-old Arthur Hammond who was celebrating his birthday. He told Mrs May that he had a big balloon with a three on it back in Carmarthenshire.
During her tour she went to the cattle building, spoke to farmers and producers and viewed their prize-winning livestock and produce. Profitable Welsh exports including Welsh lamb and Caerphilly cheese will be protected under the Withdrawal Agreement.
She then met with Welsh political leaders, and reiterated how hard she has fought throughout negotiations to ensure that taking back control of our own laws is at the heart of our Brexit deal.
Responsibility for more than 150 areas of policy will pass to the devolved parliaments, meaning they will be taking more of the decisions that impact people’s lives in areas from agriculture and fisheries, to air quality and organ donation, she said.
The Prime Minister added: “Having been told by the EU that we would need to split the UK in two, we are leaving as one United Kingdom. My deal delivers for every corner of the UK and I will work hard to strengthen the bonds that unite us as we look ahead to our future outside of the EU.
“Throughout negotiations, I have fought to ensure that powers returning from the EU will be restored to the National Assembly for Wales, the Scottish Parliament and the Northern Ireland Assembly.
“This deal delivers for farmers in Wales, who deserve better than the Common Agricultural Policy. After we leave the CAP, we will be free to design a new policy that works for agricultural producers in all four nations and we are taking that work forward.
“This deal avoids a hard border between Northern Ireland and Ireland. This has been at the forefront of my mind throughout the negotiations. It has been especially clear to me when I have visited communities along the border in Northern Ireland and seen first-hand how important it is that the unique circumstances local employers face are recognised in any agreement.
“They need to be able to trade freely across the border with Ireland and have unfettered access to the rest of the United Kingdom’s market. This deal makes that possible and that’s why, across Northern Ireland, employers large and small have been getting behind it.”
Report by Karen Compton
