Ian Austin: PM's deal could be the right one
Ian Austin says the Labour party should think 'long and hard' about its decision to oppose Theresa May's Brexit deal.
The Dudley North MP, who represents one of the country's highest voting Leave areas, said that although the deal was 'clearly not perfect', voters expected MPs to 'sort out' Brexit.
Mr Austin, a vocal critic of Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, said: "The Labour leadership is against the deal, most members hate it, and MPs are being inundated with emails from both hardline Brexiteers and passionate remainers urging them to vote it down.
"The strength of the Tory response has made it even more difficult. Why take a risk? But the party should still think long and hard."
He added that the Prime Minister had 'certainly not taken the easy option' when it comes to Northern Ireland, and had 'gone out of her way to ensure that there is no hard border', which he described as 'an achievement'.
He also claimed Mrs May's agreement with the EU delivered 'on the substance behind most, if not all' of Labour's Brexit stress tests, and spoke out against the prospect of a second referendum.
Mr Austin said defeating the deal would 'only make a chaotic no-deal Brexit more likely'.
"It is clearly not a perfect deal, but there was never going to be a perfect deal," he added.
"My constituents voted to leave. They expect us to sort this out and we in the Labour party need to think carefully before rejecting it."
