Rayleigh and Wickford MP Mark Francois has voted in the House of Commons to support the EU (Withdrawal) Bill, which repeals the 1972 European Communities Act, and thus permits the United Kingdom to leave the European Union.
When MPs voted on the Bill, at slightly after midnight, it achieved a second reading by a majority of 36 votes, with most Labour MPs voting against it.
During the debate, Mark raised a point about the importance of British Law being decided by British judges in the Supreme Court, rather than the European Court of Justice. In response to a Labour member who had been arguing the merits of the European Court of Justice, Mark said:
“No, people will not be able to go to the ECJ—the hon. Gentleman is right about that—but they will be able to go to the British Supreme Court, just down the road from here, where decisions that affect them and their countrymen will be taken by British judges according to British law. What is wrong with that? “
The Bill will now progress to its committee stage this autumn, where it is likely to be debated at length by the House of Commons. Commenting on this important vote, Mark said:
“This Bill, which repeals the 1972 European Communities Act, is a fundamental part of our keeping our word to the British people that we will leave the European Union, as decided by them in the referendum in June last year. I was glad to speak in the debate and vote for the Bill on behalf of my constituents.”