MPs are being asked to ‘make constituents poorer’ says ex-confidant of Theresa May in brutal critique of Brexit ‘Without Brexit, we would have almost paid off the deficit and the age of austerity would be over’ said the former Tory minister

A former Tory Minister who was once an integral part of Theresa May‘s top team gave a brutal assessment of the choice facing MPs in the impending vote on the Withdrawal Agreement.

Former MP for Ipswich Ben Gummer was a Cabinet Office Minister and worked closely with the Prime Minister before he lost his seat in the 2017 election. He savaged the Brexit options on the table and said a second vote may be the only way to break the deadlock.

He told the BBC Radio Four programme PM: “This is a curious position for Members of Parliament to be in.”

The i politics newsletter cut through the noise Email address is invalid Email address is invalid Thank you for subscribing! Sorry, there was a problem with your subscription.

“I think it’s probably unique in modern Parliamentary history, because Members of Parliament are being asked to walk through the division lobbies to make the country, and their constituents, permanently poorer and less secure, not just in one generation, but in two or three, and MPs have never been asked to do that before.”

He claimed Brexit has already damaged the economy, taking a pop at his former Brexiteer colleagues who used to support Brexit as an “article of faith” but are not facing up to the reality of the last two years.

“If you look at what has happened over the last two years, the rate of growth of this country has been 1.5% less a year than it would have been had we not voted in this way. That means the government is £26bn a year less well off than it would be.

“That is half the defence budget and a fifth of the NHS budget. Without Brexit, we would have almost paid off the deficit and the age of austerity would be over. This decision means everyone will be poorer.”

Theresa May’s deal

MPs will soon have to vote on Theresa May’s withdrawal agreement when they return from the Christmas recess on the 20th December, after it was delayed in December when it became obvious she was on course for a historic defeat.

Mr Gummer said that he pitied MPs who will have to debate Brexit “for the next 10 to 15 years” saying during his time in the Cabinet Office it occupied “90 per cent” of the department’s work.

“I feel really quite sorry for my former colleagues, and people like Sandy Martin, who went into Parliament to make a real difference to their constituents and have ended up just being totally bogged down in the Brexit debate.

“And there is no chance of this ending. It will go on and on and on dominating British political life.”

Theresa May faces widespread opposition from within her party and her coalition partners in the DUP to the backstop aspect of the deal, that keeps Britain inside the Customs Union and Northern Ireland aligned with EU rules, if a new trade agreement is not decided by 2020.

He said that Parliament needs to find a solution to the deadlock but a second referendum might be the only way to break the impasse. “There need’s to be a means by which the people are consulted about what the future direction of the country should be,” he said.