Press Office | Sir Arthur S. Stanley

[Sir Arthur S. Stanley (CON)]

Press Office of the Rt. Hon. Sir Arthur Stanley
Member of Parliament for Altrincham and Sale West

[Sir Arthur S. Stanley (CON)]

The Rt. Hon. Sir Arthur Stanley
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THE FUTURE IS BRIGHT FOR BRITAIN

WESTMINSTER -- Foreign Secretary, Sir Arthur Stanley, took to the floor of the House of Commons today to champion the Government's record and to speak on his optimism for the future of the country now that Britain has left the European Union during a debate on a motion of non-confidence put forward by Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn. During his remarks, Sir Arthur highlighted an ambitious agenda for the transition period which would see Britain secure free trade agreements with Europe and other parts of the world, invest heavily in green technology, and become a world leader in soft power. This vision, he says, would be severely impaired if the leader of the opposition's motion were agreed to by the House.

"I do not need to tell the House that we are in a finite transitional period, during which there is no abrogation of trading relations between Britain and Europe," said the Foreign Secretary. "Once that period ends, Mr. Speaker, then trade will halt, tariffs will be charged, quotas will be imposed. That is, [. . .] if we cannot achieve a trade agreement before then. And we will not achieve that agreement if we are pressed into a general election by the opportunistic cabal opposite."

Sir Arthur spoke briefly to reporters outside of the House chamber following the debate, saying that "the future burns brightly for Britain and, now that the Brexit question has been settled, we can look to press on and make progress on the many exciting challenges and opportunities that we are facing. This motion, which is largely a political grandstand since nobody seriously thinks it will succeed, is simply a distraction from doing the important business that we are called upon now to do. I would say I'm disappointed in Mr. Corbyn and his followers, but I think his choice to put party politics ahead of national interest is predictable."

Should the motion of no confidence pass, then Labour's chances of putting together a government which would command the confidence of the House would be very slim, meaning that an early election would be triggered. "To conceive of entering into a general election while there are so many things which must be finalized during this transition period is frankly impossible," said Sir Arthur. "We need to spend our time pressing on with securing trade, enshrining workers' rights in our own, uniquely British way, and setting up a British environmental conservation programme; not with these silly party political squabbles. The only beneficiaries from these sorts of things are fleet street. I'm more worried about the local High Streets and Labour should be too."

ENDS

Sir Arthur Stanley is the Member of Parliament for Altrincham and Sale West and the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs. Any questions or solicitations for comment can be directed to his Press Secretary, Barclay Calhoun.