Long signs “Brussels Declaration” alongside 40 MEPs to work against no-deal Brexit

Alliance Leader Naomi Long MEP has signed a Joint Declaration alongside a cross-party group of UK MEPs as a commitment to work together to stop a no-deal Brexit.

The “Brussels Declaration” calls a potential no-deal Brexit “unacceptable” and asks that colleagues in the European Parliament assist in “keeping the door open” to the UK.

Mrs Long met with representatives of the Green Party of England and Wales, Labour, Liberal Democrats, Plaid Cymru/Party of Wales and the Scottish National Party in Brussels this week to work on cross-party plans for the months ahead and said that, “the enthusiasm in the room was reassuring during a week of chaos in Westminster.”

The full Brussels Declaration is as follows:

We, the undersigned UK Members of the European Parliament, representing England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, declare as follows:

The proroguing, or shutting down the UK Parliament in order to limit scrutiny of the implications of a potential no-deal Brexit is completely unacceptable. Limiting the opportunity for MPs to debate, vote and crucially, to legislate, cannot be the response to a referendum in which Leave campaigned for the UK Parliament to “take back control”.

In the continuation of the spirit that UK MEPs have worked in since the 2016 Referendum we commit ourselves to continue to work across party lines and declare that it is vital that MPs do likewise.

We were all elected just four months ago with clear mandates. We are working together. We call upon our European friends and colleagues to assist domestic efforts in keeping the door open to us.

The Declaration was signed by:

Alliance Party (Renew Europe)
Naomi Long MEP

Green Party of England and Wales (Greens/EFA)
Molly Scott Cato MEP, Alexandra Phillips MEP, Magid Magid MEP, Scott Ainslie MEP, Ellie Chowns MEP, Gina Dowding MEP, Catherine Rowett MEP

Labour Party (S&D)
Richard Corbett MEP, Seb Dance MEP, Jude Kirton-Darling MEP, Neena Gill MEP, John Howarth MEP, Theresa Griffin MEP, Jackie Jones MEP, Julie Ward MEP, Rory Palmer MEP, Claude Moraes MEP

Liberal Democrat Party (Renew Europe)
Catherine Bearder MEP, Caroline Voaden MEP, Chris Davies MEP, Phil Bennion MEP, Jane Brophy MEP, Judith Bunting MEP, Dinesh Dhamija MEP, Barbara Ann Gibson MEP, Antony Hook MEP, Martin Horwood MEP, Shaffaq Mohammed MEP, Lucy Nethsingha MEP, Bill Newton Dunn MEP, Sheila Ritchie MEP, Irina Von Wiese MEP, Luisa Porritt MEP

Plaid Cymru / Party of Wales (Greens/EFA)
Jill Evans MEP

Scottish National Party (Greens/EFA)
Alyn Smith MEP, Aileen McLeod MEP, Christian Allard MEP