Responding to Boris Johnson bringing forward his Brexit Bill today, Luke Pollard said:

“I voted against today’s Bill because it’s a bad deal for Britain and a bad deal for Plymouth. I was re-elected last Thursday on the mandate of opposing Boris Johnson’s Brexit. I had to be true to my word.

“The guarantees that we saw in Theresa May’s deal on workers’ rights and environmental protections have been dropped. The additional safeguards that Labour MPs won before the General Election have been dropped. The rights of unaccompanied child refugees to be reunited with family in the UK have been dropped. Boris Johnson has decided to take them out of his deal.

“I’ll continue to oppose any bad deals that will mean people in Plymouth could well lose their jobs, that workers’ rights will be compromised and environmental protections are ignored. I will oppose any trade deal with Donald Trump’s America, to stop him getting his hands on our NHS, and lowering our food standards.

“We’re not at the end of Brexit, we’re at the very start of it. I think it’s time for politicians to be much more honest about what’s happening with Brexit, and that’s what I’m trying to be with you. I’m really worried about what’s going to happen to our city, and our country in the months and years ahead. We know that we’ll be leaving the European Union at the end of January. What happens after that, I don’t know for sure. We will have to renegotiate a trade deal with the European Union, and every one of the 70 countries around the world that the UK enjoys a trade deal with at the moment.

I’ll continue to fight for Plymouth, and to give a voice to all those people who are concerned about the Brexit process, and to all those people who want to see Brexit done right. Because the detail around Brexit matters more than the sound bites. No-one in Plymouth has their jobs based on three words like ‘Get Brexit Done.’ I’m going to make sure Boris Johnson’s Brexit gets the harsh scrutiny it deserves”