Hounslow Council Joins Calls For People's Vote On Brexit

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Conservative councillors abstain on vote saying Parliament should decide

Hounslow Council has voted to support a motion from the 51-strong ruling Labour group calling for a People’s Vote on Brexit. The nine Conservative councillors abstained on the vote, after speaking against the motion at last Tuesday night's (30 October) Borough Council meeting.

The Conservative councillors, who all represent Chiswick, said they did not believe that as councillors they were mandated to make such decisions on behalf of residents on national issues.

The motion proposed by Labour Group Chair, Cllr Salman Shaheen and seconded by Cllr Tom Bruce, Cabinet Member for Education and Children's services, makes Hounslow the latest in a small but growing number of London Councils now calling for a People’s Vote.

The other Councils calling for a People's Vote, are Hammersmith & Fulham, Richmond upon Thames, Merton, Tower Hamlets, Lewisham, Lambeth, and Waltham Forest. Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan has also thrown his weight behind the call for a second referendum on leaving the EU.

Hounslow Council will now write to Prime Minister, Theresa May urging her to call a People’s Vote. It will also write to Leader of the Opposition, Jeremy Corbyn asking him to support the move, after September’s Labour Party conference made clear this is an option on the table.

The motion was passed with the support of all the Labour Councillors in attendance.

Cllr Steve Curran, Leader of the Labour Group said, "I have no doubt that to protect residents from austerity and the pain and misery of further public service cuts, we must do everything we can to avert Brexit and for that reason Councils should support a People’s Vote.

"Hounslow voted to Remain in the 2016 referendum and with the national polls swinging behind Remain and a People’s Vote, I am confident this Labour motion is in the best interests of our residents. It is only a shame that the Conservative councillors representing Chiswick did not support this motion when well over 70% of Chiswick’s residents voted to Remain.”

Cllr Salman Shaheen, Chair of the Labour Group said: “A no deal Brexit would be a disaster for our economy. This week, the government’s negotiations hit rock bottom when it became clear that we cannot even fast track to World Trade Organisations (WTO) rules upon leaving the EU. We should be in no doubt as to what this means. It means that the government cannot even negotiate the worst deal previously thought possible."

The motion passed by Hounslow Council reads:
This Council:
1) Wishes to formally add its voice to those calling for a public ‘People’s Vote’ on the final Brexit deal or lack thereof.
2) Agrees to liaise with the official ‘People’s Vote’ campaign on ways in which it can help promote its petition.
3) Resolves to write to Prime Minister Theresa May urging her to call a People’s Vote, and to write to Leader of the Opposition Jeremy Corbyn urging him to support a People’s Vote on the final Brexit deal.

The Conservative councillors said in their statement, "Hounslow's Conservative Group of Councillors chose to abstain on Tuesday evening in the vote on a motion supporting the calls for a referendum on the terms of the final Brexit deal. We do not believe that as councillors we are mandated to make such decisions on behalf of residents on national issues. This is the role of Parliament. In addition we understand the actions set out in the motion are beyond the legal powers and duties of any local authority.

"Emotions are running high on this issue and residents of the borough have expressed strong views on both sides of the argument. We have concluded that it would not be right for the Conservative Group to claim to represent the views of all local residents on such a matter of national policy were opinions are so divided.

"Holding such a national referendum at this time would of course raise a huge number of practical issues and would be hugely distracting for the Government and the Civil Service as they focus on delivering the best possible deal for the UK. We do not believe that those proposing this motion have given any serious consideration to these potential problems and have instead sadly focused on short term partisan advantage.

"There are many matters of direct local concern that we could be debating at borough meetings. For example, the chronic failure of the Labour Administration to deliver against budgets and performance targets that it has itself set, and the failure to make any improvement in waste recycling rates for the last ten years. Time and again Labour has blocked or curtailed discussion of the impact of CS9 on Chiswick residents."

October 31, 2018