Newcastle North MP, Catherine McKinnell, will be voting against the Government’s EU (Withdrawal) Bill at Second Reading this evening.

Speaking before the vote in the House of Commons, Catherine said:

‘Regardless of how people voted in last year’s referendum, there are now very serious concerns about existing rights and protections being watered down or weakened as a result of the Government’s approach to leaving the EU – whether employment rights, environmental legislation, consumer protections or human rights.

‘This Bill would give Ministers in a minority Government the power to make sweeping changes, without any real accountability or scrutiny by Parliament.

‘The Prime Minister has no mandate to do this, and it is far from the ‘taking back control’ that people were led to believe they were voting for last year.’