Like many in the constituency and across the Labour party, I was devastated by the referendum result. Since the beginning of the Brexit process, I worked hard to represent my constituents’ overwhelming view that the British people must be given a final say on the detail of Brexit including the option to remain in the European Union.

I voted against the triggering of Article 50 and continue to believe that triggering Article 50 without reaching consensus within the country or Parliament on a path forward was a catastrophic mistake.

A no-deal Brexit would have been disastrous for our country and local communities. The Treasury’s own assessments forecast that this would contract the UK economy by as much as 9.1% and lead to widespread job-losses. A no-deal Brexit would also have posed a significant threat to the rights of valued EU citizens in our constituency and threaten peace in Northern Ireland.

I supported all efforts to prevent the UK leaving the EU without an agreement including motions to extend Article 50 and explicitly to oppose a no-deal Brexit. I also supported legal action to oppose the proroguing of Parliament when Boris Johnson tried to shut down democratic scrutiny of his negotiation.

I am pleased that a disastrous no-deal outcome was averted. Ahead of the final vote on the UK-EU trade deal, I consulted widely amongst my constituents. There was a clear consensus that a no-deal outcome must be avoided, but that the deal itself was bad for the UK. I therefore abstained in the final vote on the deal, resigning from my frontbench role to do so.

We are now seeing the impacts of Brexit, including increased red tape for business and delays at the UK border. Alongside my Labour colleagues, I am continuing to hold the Government to account for the impacts of its terrible deal.

The Brexit vote was devastating for the three million EU nationals living in the UK, and UK nationals living in the EU. Over the past five years, I have been contacted by many EU nationals who are understandably distressed about the impact Brexit would have on them and their families. I was alarmed by Theresa May’s insistence on using the rights of these groups as a bargaining chip in her negotiations with the EU, and Boris Johnson’s dismissal of their concerns.

As a member of the European Union, the UK benefitted both economically and culturally from skilled EU nationals moving here to work and live in our communities. I am concerned that since the Brexit vote, there has been a significant decline in EU nationals moving to the UK. This has already created significant staff shortages in the NHS, in our schools and in other crucial sectors such as construction and social care.

I consistently called on the Government to unilaterally guarantee the rights of EU nationals living in the UK and I have challenged the government on the fundamental flaws in the settled status scheme.

The UK’s withdrawal from the European Union and the Government’s meagre deal with the EU is already causing profound damage to businesses across the country. While the Government has sought to talk up the potential opportunities of Brexit that it hopes to deliver at some point in the future, UK businesses and consumers in the here and now have faced supply chain chaos, worker shortages and gaps on supermarket shelves. These problems were foreseeable and have been made worse by the Government’s own actions: through gaps in its deal with the EU, new barriers at the border and the lack of a workforce strategy.

The UK’s withdrawal from the European Union and the Government’s meagre deal with the EU is already causing profound damage to businesses across the country. While the Government has sought to talk up the potential opportunities of Brexit that it hopes to deliver at some point in the future, UK businesses and consumers in the here and now have faced supply chain chaos, worker shortages and gaps on supermarket shelves. These problems were foreseeable and have been made worse by the Government’s own actions: through gaps in its deal with the EU, new barriers at the border and the lack of a workforce strategy.