AN open letter to Neil Carmichael MP.

On October 7, Molly Scott-Cato MEP (Green) spoke to a packed room, the Sub Rooms, Stroud, on the topic of Brexit and the hard and soft options open to us.

The mood in the room was not cheerful, our country is split, Government rhetoric hardens over Brexit and the views of the 48.2 per cent who voted Remain are being ignored and marginalised.

It was recognised that an unhelpful story is emerging that the EU referendum was based on migration and strengthening our borders.

It is as if the £350 million/week for our NHS Bus never left the station.

We need as you have rightly pointed out to maintain our relationship with Europe, we need to stop using the rights of EU citizens already in Britain as bargaining chips, we need some realism and humility in the forthcoming negotiations and we need to ensure that any agreement reached is supported by the majority of the British people.

As an elected Green Party county councillor and former parliamentary candidate I disagree with you on many topics, however I support your work to maintain our ties and our relationship with Europe.

You are right, we must leave a route map in place to re-engage with the EU and more immediately, we must, through all-party oversight, ensure the negotiations to leave achieve the best deal possible for the UK.

If regaining sovereignty for Westminster has any meaning then Parliament’s view must be heard and not just the voice of three ministers and the PM.

Sarah Lunnon

Green County councillor for Stroud Central