Gareth Snell Labour and Co-operative Candidate for Stoke-on-Trent Central
There is no better place for the Prime Minister to get an honest assessment of the problems with her Brexit deal than Stoke-on-Trent.
I am sure she will be given a fair hearing when she speaks to factory workers in my constituency but I am also sure she will hear first hand from my constituents why her deal needs significant improvements and why a no deal Brexit is unacceptable.
I have said all along that the Government should try to work in a cross-party way to produce a deal which respects the result of the referendum but also protects jobs, worker’s rights, consumer protections and our economy.
If these conversations had started 18 months ago, there may have been a majority in the commons for the Prime Minister’s deal on Tuesday.
But with less than 48 hours to go until MPs are asked to vote, this is too late and I will still be unable to support the deal on offer.
However, I sincerely hope that this visit to my constituency is more than a PR stunt and instead represents a change in attitude from the Government where they will listen to MPs from all parts of the country about how we get a better deal that can be supported.
The people of Stoke-on-Trent are worried about their jobs and for their future and it’s time for the government to listen and act.
If that process starts tomorrow, and starts in Stoke-on-Trent, then that is to be welcomed.