Tory MP quits over government's handling of Parliament Brexit vote

A Conservative MP has quit on Friday over the government’s approach to parliamentary involvement in Brexit negotiations.

Stephen Phillips, a former barrister, resigned due to “irreconcilable policy differences with the current government”.

Philips, the MP for Sleaford and North Hykeham, campaigned to leave the EU in June’s referendum, but believes Parliament should be involved and was not for leaving the single market.

The government said on Thursday that it would appeal the ruling by the High Court that said Parliament must be consulted before Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty, which starts a two-year clock of negotiations with the EU, is triggered.

Prime Minister Theresa May previously said she would trigger the clause by the end of March 2017.

Earlier, May called German Chancellor Angela Merkel and EU Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker to tell them that the March date had not changed despite the court ruling.

In October, Phillips wrote in the Guardian that the campaign to give parliament a vote is not about reversing the referendum result, but “about the sovereignty that I and others cherish, a sovereignty that resides principally in the House of Commons and in its ability, when given the opportunity, to inform and direct the government of the day.

“Not giving parliament the chance, before Article 50 is invoked, to say where it thinks these negotiations should end up is, at its core, undemocratic, unconstitutional and likely to exacerbate the divisions in our society to which the referendum gave rise. It also ignores the views of nearly half the people who voted in the referendum, who were perfectly content with our place in the EU.”

In the 2015 general election he won the Lincolnshire seat, which overwhelmingly voted to leave the EU, with a majority of more than 24,000 over the Labour party and 56.2% of the vote.

The Conservative party will more than likely to contest the seat, as opposed to the upcoming Richmond by-election where they are not fielding a candidate against Zac Goldsmith, who resigned over the government’s decision to go ahead with building a new runway at Heathrow airport.