One of the country’s leading vets has called on MPs to “put the country’s future ahead of their own” in tomorrow’s vote on Theresa May’s Brexit deal.
Dr Jason Aldiss BEM
In a statement, Dr Jason Aldiss, Managing Director of Leeds-based veterinary services company Eville and Jones, argued that “petty political game-playing could lead to the United Kingdom sleepwalking into a no-deal Brexit” which, he said, would be “disastrous.”
He said: “I have a high regard for most of our politicians and believe that, in the main, they try to follow the right course on behalf of the people they have been elected to represent. But the current scenario in Westminster will put that theory to the test.
“We are constantly told that there is no majority for no-deal in the House of Commons. But as the clock ticks down to Brexit Day on 29 March, there also appears to be no majority for any other outcome.
“Theresa May’s deal represents the only fully worked-up solution on the table. It also has the support of the other 27 EU member states. Without something in its place, we will leave with no deal. That is the stark legal reality.”
Dr Aldiss made clear the food, agriculture and veterinary sectors were at particular risk from a no-deal Brexit.
He said: “A rejection of the Prime Minister’s hard-won deal will have a devasting impact across countless areas of our economy and national life.
“A torrent of extra regulation will rain upon us, crippling export tariffs will be imposed, there will be delays at ports, animal movements will be heavily restricted, many types of food will be unavailable and medicine shortages will be unavoidable.”
Dr Aldiss, who also serves as Secretary General of the Union of European Veterinary Hygienists, said it was imperative for MPs to cast their votes in the national interest.
He continued: “I was strongly opposed to Brexit and campaigned vigorously against it. But the potential damage any further delay to the Brexit process will cause has outweighed my huge reservations.
“The real challenge will come after Brexit has happened and work begins on recasting our relationship with the EU in a future trading arrangement.
“I’m sorry to say it, but too many of the ongoing Parliamentary skirmishes are about point-scoring and feeding egos. MPs have a duty to put the country’s future ahead of their own and support Theresa May’s deal.
“Petty political game-playing could lead to the United Kingdom sleepwalking into a no-deal Brexit, which would be disastrous for generations to come.
“Our country is better than that and good days can still lie ahead. The House of Commons must do the right thing and vote for the only plausible way forward.”