Conservatives 'Baffled' At Hounslow Labour's Call For 'People's Vote'
Say they should focus on local problems not on changing the government's mind
Local Conservatives have given their response to Hounslow Council Labour Group's call for a second referendum on Brexit.
The passing of the motion proposed by Labour Group Chair Cllr Salman Shaheen, by the 50-strong ruling Labour Group in a Council made up of sixty councillors, means that it is almost certain to be passed by Hounslow Council at its meeting next month.
The leader of the Conservative grouping on Hounslow Council, Sam Hearn
has issued their response, saying they are 'baffled' at the idea that
passing such a motion would have any real effect. They should be concentrating
on local issues such as the third runway or problems with waste and recycling.(
Labour have refuted these claims, see below for their response).
Cllr Hearn says: "We understand the frustration of those who would
like a second vote when the terms of the final Brexit deal have been set
out. We understand the fears of those who voted Leave and now have serious
doubts. However, it is important to ask what positive outcome could be
achieved by a second referendum and whether it is even possible to make
the necessary arrangements in the short time now available.
"The most important objection to a second referendum is that even by discussing it we undermine the British Government’s negotiating position with the EU Commission. If the decision on the final deal were to depend on the result of a six-week referendum campaign rather than on a vote in Parliament then the EU Commission would remain obdurate and inflexible. Why should it not? The worse the deal offered the greater the chance that it would be rejected in a referendum.
"There are serious doubts about whether there is time to prepare and pass the necessary legislation before the UK leaves the EU in March. Who exactly would decide the wording of the referendum question and what would we be asked to choose between? Some who voted Remain have subsequently claimed that allowing the matter to be decided by a simple majority was wrong. Should a second referendum perhaps require a two thirds majority of those who voted or just a simple majority of those eligible to vote? Indeed who will be eligible to vote? Not easy is it
"Finally, since we have already triggered the mechanism for leaving the EU what would happen if the British public voted to Remain in a second referendum? Would it be happy smiles and handshakes all round? Surely, we would have to reapply for admittance to the EU? Just a formality, you might say, but can we be certain? The EU Commission and the political leaders of the major EU economies are in no mood to do anything other than apply the rules. The chances are that the UK would be expected to adopt the Euro and that we would lose our hard-won annual rebate.
"So what would the local Labour Party do when the terms for readmission became clear? Pass a motion asking for a third referendum or just shrug its collective shoulders?
Hounslow’s Conservative Councillors are baffled as to why the Labour group have given notice that they intend to bring forward a motion at the next Borough Council meeting expressing support for ‘a People’s Vote’. We believe that councillors should be attending to the many pressing local issues facing us instead of pretending that passing a motion at Borough Council will have any impact on Government policy. As Shadow Foreign Secretary Emily Thornborough recently so succinctly put it, the suggestion of a second referendum is “for the birds”.
"The Councils appalling record on waste recycling demands urgent action. The 34% recycling rate achieved in 2010 under a Conservative led administration now seems like just a golden memory. 31% is all a Labour administration can achieve. The unnecessary new recycling depot built with your money is still operating at well below capacity. The 50% recycling target promised by 2019 is now just another pipe dream. Where will the money come from to fulfil Labour’s promised £2m additional spend on filling potholes? We were told to expect an answer in September.
"Meanwhile the financial performance data shows that Hounslow’s Labour administration is falling down on the job as it has in previous years. Budgets that they themselves set are again proving hopelessly optimistic. Promised savings and efficiency gains have not materialised. Once again spending will be brutally cut back in the second half of the year and no doubt blamed on ‘austerity’ when the real reasons lie much closer to home with Labour’s chronic financial incompetence.
"Do we want a referendum? Yes please. We want a local referendum on the third runway such as the ones that the residents of Richmond and Hillingdon have had. Labour still pays lip service to a “better not bigger Heathrow” but refuses to organise a referendum on the issue or join with the seven other London Councils fighting the environmental case against the third runway. Pollution from Heathrow impacts upon the health of virtually all residents. "
In response to this, John Stroud -Turp who stood as a Labour candidate
in the 2018 local elections has written the following:
"The Labour Group on Hounslow Council has proposed a motion calling
on both Jeremy Corbyn and Teresa May to support a People’s Vote
on the final Brexit deal. Sadly, it appears our Chiswick Conservative
Councillors may have decided to vote against the motion; hardly surprising
perhaps with the turmoil and divisions in the Conservative Party, largely
as a result of their disastrous handling of the Brexit process.
"During the recent local elections, the majority of our local Conservatives were all proudly proclaiming their Remain credentials – despite a morale boosting visit from Boris – now it seems they are not so sure. Good deal or bad deal, it's definitely a big deal - and that's why it should be put to a People's Vote.
"The People's Vote campaign seeks to ensure that the Government's Brexit deal is put before the country in a public vote so that we can decide if a decision that will affect our lives for generations makes the country better or worse off – however, from the tone of some of our councillors, not a choice Chiswick Tories want people to have, it would seem. "
September 26, 2018