Peterborough MP Lisa Forbes: No hijacking of our democracy

The last two weeks have been an extraordinary time in British politics, writes Peterborough MP Lisa Forbes.
Lisa Forbes THALisa Forbes THA
Lisa Forbes THA

In the Chamber, I have witnessed the Prime Minister humbled by more parliamentary defeats than Tony Blair was subject to throughout his entire time in government. 

Despite his bluster and bravado, he has not avoided parliamentary scrutiny by Labour and other opposition parties. We have actively sought to ensure that Boris Johnson will not be able to break the law and hijack our democracy.

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After suspending Parliament this week, it’s evident that he’s not the macho Brexit deliverer he wishes to portray himself as, but a scared, jilted Prime Minister who wants to bypass parliamentary democracy altogether for his own political survival.

Earlier this week, the Irish Taoiseach said that he had not received any workable plans from the UK government yet. Perhaps if Boris Johnson spent more time working on his Brexit proposals instead of trying to undermine parliamentary democracy he might have had more success.

Instead, he is pursuing a disastrous No Deal Brexit that puts our NHS at risk. Nobody wants to see US corporations get their hands on our national treasure.  I do not believe that the NHS is off the table for one second, especially given the fact that our Prime Minister promised he’d be ‘laying in front of bulldozers’ over the Heathrow expansion, and then abstained when it came to a vote.

Simply put, you cannot trust a word that Boris Johnson says.

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His actions during his tenure so far have been an affront to democracy, but I feel like people are wise to his duplicity.

His rhetoric of ‘taking back control’ means nothing when it’s stripped away from our own elected Parliament and leaves us in a weak bargaining position in which we’re forced to accept any trade deal with the US regardless of the risk to our NHS or food standards.

The behaviour shown by him and other hard-right Tories while he kicks out colleagues who have served his party for decades is something that will stain British politics for a long time to come.

As your Member of Parliament, I will not forget the arrogance and contempt aimed at us by the Tories for simply trying to do our job: scrutinising the government of the day. Whether Parliament is prorogued or not, that job continues.

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I have always maintained that I will not vote to make people in Peterborough poorer, and a No Deal Brexit would do just that.

Through their actions, this government is failing Peterborough.

With a No Deal Brexit still looming, the spending review announced funding packages that are a drop in the ocean compared to what we need as a city.

Our schools, our hospitals and other local services all desperately need huge investment, not a sticking plaster or a quick bribe ahead of a potential election.

While Parliament isn’t sitting, I want to assure you that I will still be speaking out and campaigning on the local and national issues that are important to you.