TORY minister Philip Lee has quit the government so that he can vote against his party on Brexit.
Lee, a key-ally of Theresa May resigned as justice minister just hours before the start of a crucial 48 hours of debate and votes on the EU Withdrawal Bill legislation.
The Tory announced his resignation at an early morning meeting of Bright Blue, a think tank for “liberal conservatism,” it's not clear if he had warned the party that he was about to do so.
The minister said the “badly rushed” Brexit legislation, and his belief that MPs needed to have a meaningful vote on the final deal agreed with Brussels, gave him no choice but to walk away from his post at the Home Office.
In a statement on his website, Lee, a former GP, said it seemed inevitable that the “people, economy and culture of my constituency will be affected negatively” by leaving the EU, and he called on the government to give the country another referendum on the final Brexit deal.
He wrote: “If, in the future, I am to look my children in the eye and honestly say that I did my best for them I cannot, in all good conscience, support how our country’s exit from the EU looks set to be delivered.”
Lee added that he doubted that the UK or the EU would be ready in time from Brexit and “both would suffer from a rushed or fudged agreement.”
He said Parliament needed to be empowered “so that its role is not limited to making fake choices – such as between a ‘bad deal’ and a cliff-edge ‘no deal’.”
“Our Parliament should be able to direct our Government to change course in our interests. In all conscience, I cannot support the Government’s decision to oppose this amendment because doing so breaches such fundamental principles of human rights and Parliamentary sovereignty. A vote between bad and worse is not a meaningful vote. And I cannot bring myself to vote for it in the bastion of liberty, freedom and human rights that is our Parliament.”
The Tory stressed that he thought May was still the best person to lead the country, but his resignation will undoubtedly put pressure on the Prime Minister.
Responding to Lee’s resignation, a Downing Street source told the Guardian: “We will get a good deal that works for everybody in the UK. The government’s amendment today provides for a meaningful vote.”
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