Brexit might mean Brexit, but what does it really mean? It means a different thing to everyone—like beauty, it is very much in the eye of the beholder. One thing is absolutely clear, however: the EU referendum was a shout out from the British people that they want to be listened to and no longer to
be patronised and ignored. For the British Government to say that they know what the British people mean by Brexit is to betray the same patronising, arrogant, distant, know-it-all attitude that the EU vote was railing against. It is justly ironic.
As the right hon. Member for North East Bedfordshire (Alistair Burt) said in an excellent contribution, we have a duty to take people with us. Our duty is to listen to what real people say. Confusing and contradictory it may be, but it is very real. There is the local farmer who said to me that he voted leave but desperately wants to retain freedom of movement; the local businessman who said to me he voted leave but wants to retain full access to the single market; the local grandmother who said to me she voted leave but wants her grandchildren to enjoy the freedoms and peace of the last 60 years in their future; and the local steelworker who said to me he voted leave because he thought it would provide more protection for the steel industry, although as we have heard from my hon. Friend the Member for Redcar (Anna Turley), that has been put at risk by the statements of the Secretary of State for International Trade.
The reality is more contradictory and nuanced than the Europhobes would have us believe. People want to come out, but they do not want to lose out. For all their healthy scepticism and doubt about their politicians—us—they have high expectations of us. They expect us to marry these contradictions and to square the circle in their interests. That is our overwhelming responsibility. That does not mean rushing headlong for a hard Brexit in some vainglorious, jingoistic charge of the Light Brigade, damaging our country and our people. We, the sovereign Parliament of this United Kingdom must listen to all our citizens—the 48% who voted remain, as well as the 52% who voted leave; the 65% of eligible voters who did not vote leave, as well as the 35% who did. We must bring about Brexit in a way that delivers for the people.
Standing in front of a full class of 16 and 17-year-olds last week at John Leggott College, where I used to be principal, the subject turned to the EU referendum. I asked the class how many of them would have voted leave. Not one hand went up. I said, “Come on, don’t be shy—put your hands up.” They said, “No, no, we would all have voted remain.” So I said, “How many of your parents voted leave?”, and half of them put their hands up. We have an obligation to deliver for those people who did not vote, as well as for those who did.
That does not mean we should overturn the judgment of the British people to leave the European Union, but it does mean we need to listen and that we should interpret and deliver that judgment in a way that benefits us all for the future. I went to—I think that will do, actually, Mr Speaker.
6.14 pm