Marsha De Cordova

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Edward. I thank the many tens of thousands of people, including hundreds of my constituents, who signed the petition to rejoin the EU. Today’s debate is timely and important. In my constituency we are proud Europeans, and during the referendum that took place 10 years ago, Battersea voted overwhelmingly to remain, with 78% of voters choosing to stay. The UK’s relationship with Europe is essential, and the Prime Minister was right when he said he believed leaving the European Union had done “more harm than good” in the UK. Many people voted for Brexit because they were promised greater prosperity and opportunity. However, those promises have simply not been realised. In my opinion, the UK leaving the EU has been an unmitigated disaster and has left us poorer as a result. If we are serious about growth, prosperity and opportunity, we must look at our relationship with Europe. The economic case is clear, despite what many Members have already said. Rejoining the EU would significantly boost the UK’s GDP. Indeed, much research has shown that, including research from Best for Britain on UK-EU integration, which found that full membership would unlock between 2.5% and 3.6% growth in UK GDP. Moreover, rejoining the EU is an issue that many constituents, including mine, continue to raise with their parliamentarians. As the co-chair of the UK-EU Parliamentary Partnership Assembly, I work closely with colleagues here in Parliament and with Members of the European Parliament. Those conversations demonstrate our shared values and our steadfast commitment to work closely and constructively. They also show how much effort has gone into managing many of the unnecessary barriers and complications that did not exist before Brexit.