Ousted Labour MP says Boris Johnson lied about 'getting Brexit done'
A Labour MP who lost his seat in the general election has said Boris Johnson will not “get Brexit done” - despite his campaign refrain.
David Drew, who had represented Stroud since 2017, said in a statement on Sunday Boris Johnson would not fulfil his much-repeated pledge.
The former Labour MP wrote on Facebook: "The failings of a remote Government in London, out of touch with ordinary people, has led to a Brexit which now jeopardises rural communities and manufacturing jobs.
"Despite the hopes of those who voted Conservative, Brexit will not ‘get done’.
“We face years of negotiations and our farmers, jobs, employment rights, and environmental and animal welfare standards will also bear the cost.”
The Prime Minister now has an 80-seat majority following his big election win, so his agreement with the EU should pass through the House of Commons easily before 31 January.
However, the Government still needs to negotaite a trade agreement with the EU - something Mr Johnson has promised to do within a year.
EU Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier recently said in a leaked recording that he didn not think a trade agreement is possible within the deadline
In a clip obtained by the Independent newspaper, he said: “We will not get everything done in 11 months. We will do all we can – we won’t do it all.”
The general election was called after Parliament initially approved Mr Johnson’s Brexit deal to proceed to its next stage - but blocked the timeframe he wanted to pass the bill.
The EU postponed Brexit until January 31 but if a deal is passed before then the UK can leave and move onto the next phase of negotiations.
Mr Drew, who also represented Stroud from 1997 to 2010, admitted in his statement the Labour party had to look at itself and learn lessons from its heavy defeat.
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and shadow chancellor John McDonnell have also apologised for the loss.
Mr McDonnell admitted he was partly to blame for the “disaster” during an interview on BBC’s Andrew Marr show on Sunday morning.
He said: “It’s on me, let’s take it on the chin, I own this disaster so I apologise to all those wonderful Labour MPs who have lost their seats and who worked so hard.”
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Mr Corbyn acknowledged in an open letter the party “came up short” in the poll on Thursday, adding: “I take my responsibility for it.”
But despite Labour suffering its worst result in more than 80 years – with dozens of seats falling to the Tories – he said he was “proud” the party had offered a message of “hope” in the election.