Responding to the triggering of Article 50 today, Glenis Willmott MEP, Labour’s Leader in the European Parliament, said:
“It is time for Theresa May to be honest with the British public and to challenge the Right of her party who have been leading Britain down a perilous path. We've seen a change of tone from the prime minister today, but while the rhetoric may have been toned down, we don't know anything more about her actual plans for Britain's future.
"The prime minister has set herself a mammoth task to achieve the objectives laid out in today's letter – a task made harder by the actions and rhetoric of her and her ministers to date.
"If we are to avoid a no-deal or poor-deal disaster, the PM needs to convince EU leaders that she is serious about securing a ‘deep and special partnership’, and they currently need a lot of convincing.”
Glenis Willmott MEP added:
“Theresa May needs to stop pandering to the Tory Right, who have been consistently lowering the bar of what British people can expect from the negotiations – we’ve gone from promises of £350 million extra per week for the NHS and membership of the Single Market to no extra money and potentially punitive WTO tariffs in just nine months.
“And that is why, over the next two years, Labour MEPs will work to hold this government and its ministers to account for the promises made during the referendum and since. Many people who voted for Brexit did not vote for higher prices, fewer jobs and less money for our public services, all of which risk happening if we fall out of the EU with no deal.”
ENDS