Julia was selected for the safe Conservative seat of Hornchurch and Upminster knowing it was solidly Eurosceptic. The 23rd June, 2016 Referendum forced the government to negotiate withdrawal from the EU. Julia, as a student of political thought from Cambridge University, relished the prospect of putting theory into action. However Theresa May had lost her leadership skills when implementing the Referendum. Immediately Julia knew this wasn’t a ‘strong and stable’ government and that her Brexit ideal was threatened.
Her speech began:
I recall, not long after the Chequers plan was announced, looking across the Chamber during Prime Minister’s questions and feeling a terrible sense of dread as I realised that the moment of reckoning was coming that could see this House completely out of step with the wishes of the British people. That moment is now upon us, with each and every parliamentarian facing a choice that could profoundly influence trust and faith in our democracy.1
Julia’s speech denounced the EU, the centralising power of the Euro and British politicians using Brussels as a get-out clause for their own failures. Julia’s speech didn’t discuss the economic consequences of withdrawal from the EU, which economists assume will result in us all being poorer. Julia’s argument is purely political. Britain should ‘take control’ of its destiny in her view. The speech is academic and entirely unworldly. Hornchurch and Upminster has a large number of people reliant on the City of London’s financial centre. They might prefer an MP in tune with reality.
1 For the full speech https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/2018-12-06/debates/6DF8A870-48CC-4304-9051-564F94D74E88/EuropeanUnion(Withdrawal)Act col 1166 following
Chris
Politics in Havering 