Fabricant: I'd rather have voted Remain than be out of EU but still following their rules
A leading Brexiteer MP has urged Theresa May to take her instructions from the British public and ignore the "Remainer Parliament".
Michael Fabricant says Commons Speaker John Bercow had torn up the rule book by defying parliamentary procedure in a bid to thwart Brexit.
The Lichfield MP called on the Prime Minister to do the same in order to block attempts to keep Britain in the customs union – which he branded "the ultimate betrayal".
Mr Bercow has faced allegations of bias against the Government over Brexit, having earlier this month defied convention to allow MPs to take control of Commons business by permitting a controversial amendment.
Mr Fabricant said the prospect of Remainer MPs passing a motion saying that after Brexit the UK must stay in the customs union was now "looming large".
"Many Brexiteers would regard continued membership of the customs union as crossing a red line. I certainly would.
"What would be the point of Brexit if, by remaining in the customs union, we stay locked into the EU’s agricultural trade policy and continue to forfeit our seat at the WTO, having no say on global tariffs, despite being the world’s fifth largest economy?
"Moreover, there are few greater expressions of Britain’s national sovereignty than regaining the ability to make independent, bilateral trade deals with the world’s burgeoning economies."
He said staying in the customs union would make such deals "a practical impossibility".
"It would be the ultimate betrayal of the people’s referendum.
"I would rather have voted Remain than find myself out of the EU but still having to follow their rules."
Mr Fabricant added: "I urge the Prime Minister: in the event that Parliament tries to take control, she should take a leaf out of Speaker Bercow’s book.
"Defy convention, ignore any resolutions by this Remainer Parliament and turn a blind eye to unwritten rules.
"The Prime Minister should take her instruction from the British people, who were clear in 2016, and not from the Remainer Parliament.
"The European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 is on the statute book and unless changed by further legislation, the UK will leave the EU on March 29, with or without a deal."
