MP applauded as he attacks Prime Minister's 'atrocious' Brexit deal

MORE than 200 people joined a public debate hosted by Christchurch MP Sir Chris Chope in the run-up to the House of Commons Brexit vote on Tuesday.

The pro-Brexit Conservative organised the meeting at West Parley Memorial Hall on Saturday morning to answer questions about the “atrocious” withdrawall deal, which he had promised to vote against.

The packed event was the largest public meeting in recent years, said Sir Chris, as he gave his views on the situation and then opened up the floor to questions.

He gained applause for his claim that “no deal is better than a bad deal”, and he attacked concerns over leaving the EU without an agreement as “project fear”.

Prime Minister Theresa May was criticised for committing to pay the EU £39bn as part of departure, which Sir Chris likened to throwing away the UK’s strongest negotiating card.

Answering a question from the floor about whether the government could be trusted to leave the EU without a deal, if nothing else was agreed, Sir Chris said he believed it would happen as the default position, despite widespread warnings of chaos.

He said that a second referendum would not clarify the matter and attacked the broadcast media for spreading only “bad news”.

However, he was challenged by a member of the audience who said he ran a pharmaceutical company and would suffer “irreparable damage” from a hard Brexit, which he feared would harm tax revenue and public services. He called for the entire process to be revoked.

Reaction from the audience was mainly in support of Sir Chris, although three questioners referred to loss of the UK’s reputation and integrity and Britain being an international “laughing stock”.

As reported in the A&T, Christchurch was one of only two constituencies in the UK to back the withdrawal agreement, according to modelled polling by YouGov in December – despite Sir Chris claiming in the Commons it was “anathema” to local voters.