Agenda item

7.48pm – Councillor Alan De’Ath moved, seconded by Councillor Asif Siddique, the special motion in their names:

“The Council agrees that Brexit is the biggest and most long-lasting change facing our borough, our country and our continent at this historic moment so it is incumbent on all our elected representatives to properly represent the views and needs of our constituents and our great country.

It is therefore a matter of regret that the Council votes to censure the Rt Hon Greg Hands MP for his increasingly damaging position on Britain’s exit from the European Union, which is strongly at odds with the vast majority of his constituents.

The Council notes that in the June 2016 referendum, voters in the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham voted Remain by 70 per cent. Similarly, voters in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea voted Remain by 69 per cent.

The Council understands that the country narrowly voted differently but recognises that nobody in the country voted for the chaos that has plagued the government’s negotiations with the EU and its broader approach to Brexit ever since. The Council notes that the government is itself publishing warnings that Brexit will seriously threaten the strength of the British economy and wellbeing of its citizens across the UK.

The Council recognises that, as an International Trade minister, Greg Hands MP was party to and partly responsible for the government’s botched approach and the resulting chaos.

The Council regrets Greg Hands MP’s ill-judged attack on the Electoral Commission for sanctioning the Vote Leave campaign – publishing two articles which undermine the statutory authorities responsible for guaranteeing the safety and integrity of UK elections. The Council agrees that Mr Hands’ articles rightly earned him a public rebuttal from the Electoral Commission.

The Council is dismayed that, in September 2018, Greg Hands MP supported the Institute of Economic Affair’s proposal for a Free Trade Agreement with the EU and notes this would necessitate border controls between the EU and UK. This would devastate the UK’s manufacturing sector, much of which is integrated into “just-in-time” supply chains stretching across EU Member States, and it would necessitate a hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. Short of ‘no deal’ this is the harshest and most economically damaging form of Brexit and is the furthest removed from what the people of Chelsea and Fulham voted for.

Furthermore, the form of Brexit now championed by Greg Hands MP fails to protect the service sector, which makes up 80% of the UK economy and employs many of Greg Hands MP’s constituents. Many constituents are already being informed that their jobs are being relocated to Frankfurt, Paris or Dublin in order to remain within the Single Market and retain financial services passporting rights. House prices are falling as people relocate.

The Council notes that Greg Hands MP called for any future trade deal to sweep away existing Rules of Origin designations thus undermining food safety and quality standards at home and undermining many valuable UK exports such as Scotch whiskey.

The Council notes that instead of recognising the damage that the current chaotic approach of government is causing and calling for more time for the economy to transition to new arrangements, in March 2018 Greg Hands MP argued that “Calls to extend the Brexit Implementation Period (IP) are ill-judged. From Referendum to end of the IP is already to be 4 1/2yrs - historically, that’s longer than World War One. It’s time to get on with it.” Aside from the crude comparison to a tragic conflict, the comment highlighted Greg Hands MP’s lack of comprehension of the complexity of the issues he had been charged as Minister to deal with.

The Council calls on Greg Hands MP to respect the wishes of his constituents and not those of a narrow hard Brexit clique within the Chelsea and Fulham Conservative Party.

The Council further calls on Greg Hands MP to demand and vote for a confirmatory ballot of the people on the final terms of Brexit, with the option to retain the current deal (membership of the European Union).

If Mr Hands feels he cannot agree to whole-heartedly campaign to remain and vote for a people’s vote with the option to remain, the Council calls for him to immediately resign and trigger a by-election so that the people of Chelsea and Fulham have an opportunity to be consulted and ensure they have an elected representative who represents them on the most important issue facing all of us at this historic point in time.”

Speeches on the special motion were given by Councillors Alan De’Ath, Asif Siddique (who gave his maiden speech), Rachel Leighton (who gave her maiden speech), Lisa Homan, Matt Uberoi, Christabel Cooper, Andrew Jones, Max Schmid, Ben Coleman, and Stephen Cowan (for the Administration) – and Councillors Matt Thorley and Andrew Brown (for the Opposition).

Councillor Alan De’Ath made a speech winding up the debate before the special motion was put to the vote:

FOR                            30

AGAINST                   11

NOT VOTING            0

The special motion was declared CARRIED.

8.47pm – RESOLVED

The Council agrees that Brexit is the biggest and most long-lasting change facing our borough, our country and our continent at this historic moment so it is incumbent on all our elected representatives to properly represent the views and needs of our constituents and our great country.

It is therefore a matter of regret that the Council votes to censure the Rt Hon Greg Hands MP for his increasingly damaging position on Britain’s exit from the European Union, which is strongly at odds with the vast majority of his constituents.

The Council notes that in the June 2016 referendum, voters in the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham voted Remain by 70 per cent. Similarly, voters in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea voted Remain by 69 per cent.

The Council understands that the country narrowly voted differently but recognises that nobody in the country voted for the chaos that has plagued the government’s negotiations with the EU and its broader approach to Brexit ever since. The Council notes that the government is itself publishing warnings that Brexit will seriously threaten the strength of the British economy and wellbeing of its citizens across the UK.

The Council recognises that, as an International Trade minister, Greg Hands MP was party to and partly responsible for the government’s botched approach and the resulting chaos.

The Council regrets Greg Hands MP’s ill-judged attack on the Electoral Commission for sanctioning the Vote Leave campaign – publishing two articles which undermine the statutory authorities responsible for guaranteeing the safety and integrity of UK elections. The Council agrees that Mr Hands’ articles rightly earned him a public rebuttal from the Electoral Commission.

The Council is dismayed that, in September 2018, Greg Hands MP supported the Institute of Economic Affair’s proposal for a Free Trade Agreement with the EU and notes this would necessitate border controls between the EU and UK. This would devastate the UK’s manufacturing sector, much of which is integrated into “just-in-time” supply chains stretching across EU Member States, and it would necessitate a hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. Short of ‘no deal’ this is the harshest and most economically damaging form of Brexit and is the furthest removed from what the people of Chelsea and Fulham voted for.

Furthermore, the form of Brexit now championed by Greg Hands MP fails to protect the service sector, which makes up 80% of the UK economy and employs many of Greg Hands MP’s constituents. Many constituents are already being informed that their jobs are being relocated to Frankfurt, Paris or Dublin in order to remain within the Single Market and retain financial services passporting rights. House prices are falling as people relocate.

The Council notes that Greg Hands MP called for any future trade deal to sweep away existing Rules of Origin designations thus undermining food safety and quality standards at home and undermining many valuable UK exports such as Scotch whiskey.

The Council notes that instead of recognising the damage that the current chaotic approach of government is causing and calling for more time for the economy to transition to new arrangements, in March 2018 Greg Hands MP argued that “Calls to extend the Brexit Implementation Period (IP) are ill-judged. From Referendum to end of the IP is already to be 4 1/2yrs - historically, that’s longer than World War One. It’s time to get on with it.” Aside from the crude comparison to a tragic conflict, the comment highlighted Greg Hands MP’s lack of comprehension of the complexity of the issues he had been charged as Minister to deal with.

The Council calls on Greg Hands MP to respect the wishes of his constituents and not those of a narrow hard Brexit clique within the Chelsea and Fulham Conservative Party.

The Council further calls on Greg Hands MP to demand and vote for a confirmatory ballot of the people on the final terms of Brexit, with the option to retain the current deal (membership of the European Union).

If Mr Hands feels he cannot agree to whole-heartedly campaign to remain and vote for a people’s vote with the option to remain, the Council calls for him to immediately resign and trigger a by-election so that the people of Chelsea and Fulham have an opportunity to be consulted and ensure they have an elected representative who represents them on the most important issue facing all of us at this historic point in time.