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Guildford’s Rebel Tory MP Anne Milton Outlines Her Stance on PM’s No-Deal Brexit
Published on: 3 Sep, 2019
Updated on: 3 Sep, 2019
Rt Hon Anne Milton MP
After the Commons victory tonight (September 3) over Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s no-deal Brexit programme, Guildford’s Conservative MP Anne Milton has issued a statement outlining her position.
Ms Milton, a veteran NHS nurse, former junior Health minister and deputy chief government whip, is among a group of Tory MP rebels who defied the No 10 threats of deselection to rebel against a no-deal Brexit.
In a letter to constituents, she said: “As many of you know, I have never been in favour of leaving the EU without a deal in place.
Anne Milton’s letter to constituents
“I voted for the Withdrawal Agreement three times, as I believe this would have allowed for a secure, smooth and orderly transition, minimising disruption and giving as much certainty as possible when we left the EU.
“It is with great regret, much consideration and a heavy heart that I have voted against the Government Whip tonight. Following the Government’s decision to prorogue (suspend) Parliament, I believe supporting the motion tonight was one of the last opportunities to try to rule out a no-deal before October 31.
“This is not a decision I took lightly, and today I met the Prime Minister and made quite sure I was briefed on all the information that has been recently made available. However, I believe the country’s interests and those of Guildford should be my first consideration.
“In Guildford, views on Brexit are very mixed and I have received thousands of pieces of correspondence over the year. I am extremely grateful for all the emails, letters and phone calls I have received.
“Many of these messages have been supportive. However, I know my actions may have left some disappointed.
“As always, I will keep you in touch with events.”
After the vote, Downing Street said those Tory MPs who rebelled would have the whip removed, effectively expelling them from the parliamentary party.
If, as expected, the Conservative whip has now been withdrawn from Ms Milton it is understood that the Party Chairman will give notice to her and the other rebels that they can no longer stand for the Conservative Party should a general election be called, as many feel is increasingly likely.
Anne Milton’s reselection as Guildford’s Conservative candidate was confirmed at the Guildford Conservative’s Association AGM in March this year. At the same AGM, a motion was adopted that said: “…taking no deal off the table or not leaving at all would betray the 2016 People’s vote and damage democracy and our party for a generation.”
The motion passed at the GCA AGM in March.
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Responses to Guildford’s Rebel Tory MP Anne Milton Outlines Her Stance on PM’s No-Deal Brexit
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Robin Grantham
September 4, 2019 at 6:07 am
Well Said Anne!
Adam Aaronson
September 4, 2019 at 7:48 am
“Briefed on all the information that had recently come available” I wonder whether the decision was based on the quality of the briefing or the quality and content of the information. Or both? If it was anything like the quality of the Prime Minister’s speech in the debate last night, nobody in their right mind would touch it with a barge pole.
Well done, Anne Milton. A pity that Sir Paul Beresford, my MP, didn’t show such good sense.
Valerie Thompson
September 4, 2019 at 8:45 am
So we are now going to have a General Election with the threat of Corbyn and his far left supporters. What have Conservatives done?
Brexit was a national decision. Members of Parliament are meant to represent the people. They may not personally agree with the public vote but now they have split the party and opened the door to even greater chaos than a “no-deal Brexit”.
David W Wragg
September 4, 2019 at 9:21 am
So, not only did she side with a Labour leader of extreme left-wing views, she also ignored her constituency association. It is good that she will not be able to stand as a Conservative in what looks like a forthcoming general election. The big fear is that Corbyn would object to a general election unless “no deal” if off the table, in which case we will have a political stalemate.
What people don’t realise is that “no deal” becomes the default position if negotiations end, and 31 October comes without an agreement being reached. As always, the EU has the whip hand.
The EU has reached free trade agreements with Canada and Japan recently, but has refused to negotiate with the UK.
Richard Carpenter
September 7, 2019 at 11:14 am
Actually, the EU can’t negotiate deals with its own member states. That would be negotiating with yourself. Canada and Japan are not EU member states, which is why the EU can negotiate unilateral deals with them – even though it took years to get there.
John Perkins
September 7, 2019 at 8:47 pm
If the UK is still a member state with equal rights, why can it not veto the Withdrawal Agreement?
David Pillinger
September 10, 2019 at 4:59 pm
The UK did veto the agreement after its Parliament rejected it. I understand the EU will allow the UK to accept it still if it wishes to Brexit, as was apparently decided in the Referendum.
Roslyn McMillan
September 4, 2019 at 10:31 am
Anne Milton has set a fine example of courage and principle in very difficult circumstances. Far from siding with the extreme left, she has joined a group with widely different political ideologies who wish to maintain decent standards of democracy and integrity.
We need to remember that the 2016 referendum was designed to protect the interests of the Conservative Party against the threat from UKIP. The interests of the country as a whole were not genuinely the agenda.
Dave Fassom
September 4, 2019 at 1:46 pm
By voting for the bill that she and the Labour party have agreed upon effectively cedes all control of the UK’s ability to leave the EU at the complete discretion of the EU. So I am now in favour of a referendum. The two questions on the ballot paper should be:
1. Do you wish to abolish the UK Parliament and move all representation to the EU Parliament ensuring the UK has no control over most of its laws, trade agreements, fishing rights etc? (This is effectively what will be achieved by pushing through the bill to disallow a no-deal Brexit.)
or
2. Do you wish to leave the EU, keep our Parliamentary Sovereignty and ability to make our own laws and trade agreements?
Pete Brayne
September 4, 2019 at 1:56 pm
Well done Anne! Thanks for both listening to your constituents as well as your conscience.
John Schluter
September 4, 2019 at 7:24 pm
Well done Anne, as principled a stand as I’ve seen in a long time. All the nonsensical and incorrect Brexit arguments against “unelected bureaucrats” and No. 10 policy is now being dictated by the unelected, Dominic Cummings.
Stuart Barnes
September 4, 2019 at 9:50 pm
Rather sad really. She started off as quite a decent local MP but now has betrayed her constituents and possibly given the seat to the undemocratic Liberals as it is likely that the time available for the Brexit party to bed in will not be enough.
Susan Parker
September 5, 2019 at 6:46 pm
Good for Anne Milton. A brave and sensible decision.
As more information emerges, it’s clear that Boris Johnson hasn’t been trying to negotiate any kind of deal. He’s just planned to run down the clock to the disaster of no-deal. (The government’s own reports state we’d be short of fresh food and cancer medicines would be in short supply. Google Yellowhammer – a government report, dated August. No-deal would, however, mean profit for Mr Johnson’s supporters shorting [ie betting against a fall in value of] sterling.)
We should all be grateful to Anne Milton for standing up for us. She’s done exactly what we elected her to do.
Susan Parker is a GGG borough councillor for Send.
David Pillinger
September 6, 2019 at 12:51 pm
Glad to see the intelligent, principled MPs in our Parliament making a stand against cheap populist solutions and empty promises.
Well done Anne Milton.
D Bisdee
September 6, 2019 at 1:22 pm
Well done Anne Milton. The Conservative government has taken leave of its senses. A dishonest, unprincipled PM with a cabinet of no-hopers. I hope they all lose their jobs, whatever the result of any election. A government which can deliberately plot to do indescribable harm to the country it supposedly governs does not deserve to hold power and deserves no respect.
This behaviour has got nothing to do with the 2016 referendum: it’s just a power grab in the hope they can turn the UK into a Trump satellite state. Our MP has shown great courage and principle, and I applaud her.
Richard Carpenter
September 6, 2019 at 1:29 pm
Congratulations to Anne Milton. We can only hope that other Conservatives are inspired by her example and take a stand against this kamikaze minority government.
I’m an English bitter-drinking “Essex boy” who follows his football team around Europe. I despair when I read these Brexit diatribes. Do these people have such a fragile sense of their national identity that they insist on cutting their own throats to prove how “British” they are?
Dale Miller
September 6, 2019 at 2:31 pm
Congratulations, Anne Milton, for standing up to this hard-right, bullying, populist regime. I am sorry you have been subjected to their wholly unacceptable behaviour and tactics.
Thank you for your courageous stance against no-deal and the resultant chaos and damage to your constituency and constituents, and thank you for supporting a “Final Say” vote, the only democratic way to sort out the current mayhem.
Sue Fox
September 6, 2019 at 2:51 pm
Well done Anne Milton. We haven’t always seen eye to eye but that took courage.
Congratulations ma’am.
John Perkins
September 7, 2019 at 9:01 am
If Anne Milton’s attack of conscience is so heartfelt and courageous, how come she didn’t have it in May 2017 or even July of this year? Nothing has changed, except the leadership of the Conservative party and her own chance of re-election.
Martin Dowland
September 8, 2019 at 10:26 am
Thank you Anne Milton for standing up to the bullies and thus enabling a chance that they do not win.
In the same way, you have been a good constituency MP and unless a better candidate can be put forward in a general election by another party, you would deserve and surely get much following as an Independent.
I really hope that the talented and principled such as you in all parties can put informed principles in front of misinformed reaction and nepotism and lead us out of this mess which went the wrong way three years ago.
David Pillinger
September 8, 2019 at 5:19 pm
John Perkins may recall that the UK did effectively veto the agreement after its Parliament rejected it.
I understand that the EU will allow us in the UK still to accept the agreement if we in the UK still wish to Brexit, as was apparently decided by the British people in the referendum several years ago.
The problem is that, because those who proposed to Leave did not explain what this means (other than “having cake and eating it” and having £350m per week for the NHS fall from the sky), it is almost impossible to gain Parliament’s acceptance of any agreement because it will put the UK in a worse off position than it is today (as discussed endlessly in the media in relation to the ongoing negotiations), and this is not good for all those families and people struggling to pay the bills and so on, never mind peace in Ireland.
Most MPs, being fairly intelligent and informed people, can’t see how we can be better off after Brexit, so the whole thing is being re-thought and we may not Brexit after all.
This will have to be put to a “People’s Vote”, of course, so that we can be as democratic as we were in the last referendum. But at least with a People’s Vote, the British people would know what Brexit means and will be making an informed decision, which they were not able to do last time.
David Pillinger is a Remain Campaigner
Stuart Barnes
September 9, 2019 at 8:44 am
“So that we can be as democratic as we were in the last referendum.” Obviously Mr Pillinger is studying to be a comedian
Jim Allen
September 9, 2019 at 2:02 pm
Really? So the increase in trade in July is false news. The voters are idiots, or at least 17.4 million are, and the reclaim of over £19 billion will make us worse off. Sorry, does not compute.
John Perkins
September 10, 2019 at 1:01 pm
I was being facetious when I suggested that, as a member of the EU, the UK might be entitled to veto them making the offer. Parliament’s rejection of it is another matter.
How kind of the EU to still allow us to leave if we surrender our rights and money.
Again, the same tired nonsense about not being given reasons for leaving. Issues of sovereignty and democracy were explained and discussed in great depth, the money paid to the EU is real, and those supporting Remain endlessly claimed that leaving would be “catastrophic”. Nobody mentioned Northern Ireland because it wasn’t thought to be a problem until the EU made it one.
MPs have no monopoly on intelligence or information. More than 33 million people voted in the referendum and chose Leave, yet a few hundred MPs claim they know better and are the only ones who count.
Who will the “People’s Voters” be? Clearly not those who voted in the referendum, nor those in the general election.