Brexit: 'Get on with it!' Black Country MPs call on Government to forge ahead with EU withdrawal
"Get on with it!" - that was the message from Black Country MPs who say it is time for the Government to push on with its Brexit plans.
It comes after Parliament voted overwhelmingly in favour of Theresa May's plan to trigger Article 50 by the end of March 2017, following support for a Labour motion calling for scrutiny of her Brexit proposals.
Labour's deputy leader Tom Watson said the vote showed that the vast majority of MPs were committed to respecting the result of the EU referendum.
"At this stage it would be very difficult for the Government to show the full details of its plans, but it is quite reasonable to expect them to show the basic outline, such as how our businesses will trade in Europe, how workers' rights will be protected," he added.
The West Bromwich East MP said it was now time for the Government to 'press on' with its plans for Brexit.
"The most important thing is that we have now got to the position where MPs can debate the issues around our exit from the EU while still respecting the will of the people," he said.
"That is the way our democracy should work."
Labour's Walsall North MP David Winnick, said: "It is time for them to get on with it. It has now been made perfectly clear that the Government must stick to its deadline on Article 50.
"There is now no excuse for it to be broken.
"I voted for it without hesitation, but as a party we were right to insist on the Government's plans being put to Parliament."
Emma Reynolds, the Labour MP for Wolverhampton North East, was unable to cast her vote due to attending a meeting of the Brexit Select Committee.
She said: "The priority now must be to secure the best deal. The Government needs to make clear what its overall objectives are by presenting a plan for our new relationship with the EU."
Meanwhile Dudley South MP Mike Wood criticised MPs who had voted against the Government's plan.
"It is disappointing to see that there are still some MPs who are trying to make excuses over why Brexit shouldn't happen," he said.
"Thankfully the vast majority have voted in favour of the Government. The voters gave us a very clear instruction in the referendum and we have to implement that."
