Having previously declared a personal and prejudicial interest in this item, Councillor Phill Brightmore vacated the Council Chamber and did not take part in the voting thereon (minute 14 refers).

Councillor Allan Brame moved and Councillor Dave Mitchell seconded the following Motion submitted in accordance with Standing Order 7 –

“Council notes that two years have passed since the EU Referendum and little concrete progress has been made in negotiating the terms of the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the EU.

Council:

(a)  recognises the significant support it has received through EU funding over many years;

(b)  recalls that a clear majority of Wirral residents voted to remain in the EU;

(c)  notes the stark warnings from companies such as Airbus, Vauxhall Motors, Jaguar Land Rover and BMW about the impact of Brexit on British manufacturing;

(d)  recognises the mounting popular concern at the prospect of leaving the EU with either a bad deal or no deal at all;

(e)  notes the participation of over 100,000 people in the march for a People’s Vote in London on 23 June;

(f)  shares the anxiety of EU citizens living in the Wirral who feel unwelcome in the land where they have made their homes, and uncertain about their future;

and accordingly supports the call for a People’s Vote on the final Brexit deal with an option to remain in the EU, and urges Wirral’s MPs to join the campaign for a People’s Vote in the interests of the residents and businesses on Wirral”.

Councillor Stuart Whittingham moved and Councillor Steve Foulkes seconded the following amendment submitted in accordance with Standing Order 12(9) such that the Motion be approved subject to the deletion of the final paragraph and its replacement with –

“Council believes that it is of grave concern that, when challenged by business over the threat to jobs and investment, a Cabinet Minister should use a four letter expletive to describe his apparent approach towards this country's business interests. The Financial Times summed this up in that: "It may have been a casual aside but it was also a revealingly contemptuous one, not least in its indifference to the fate of Airbus's [and other industrial] UK staff. This is the strategic nihilism of a spoiled child lashing out."

Council is therefore of the view that an open joint letter should be sent from the leaders of the Wirral political parties to Theresa May, stressing the importance of employers such as Airbus, Vauxhall and Jaguar Land Rover to Wirral, the wider region and the potentially devastating effect on those businesses, the wider supply chain and our local economy in the event of the UK leaving the EU with a bad deal or no deal. The letter should also set out that any deal with the EU must encompass the following:

(a)  Put the national interest first

(b)  Prioritise jobs and living standards

(c)  Protect rights at work

(d)  Protect environmental standards

(e)  Provide certainty to EU nationals living here in the UK and UK nationals who have chosen to live elsewhere in the EU

(f)  Give a meaningful role to Parliament throughout negotiations.”

Having applied the guillotine the Council did not debate this matter.

The amendment was put and carried (35:24) (One abstention).

The substantive motion, as amended, was put and carried (36:23) (One abstention).

Resolved (36:23) (One abstention) –

Council notes that two years have passed since the EU Referendum and little concrete progress has been made in negotiating the terms of the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the EU.

Council:

(a)  recognises the significant support it has received through EU funding over many years;

(b)  recalls that a clear majority of Wirral residents voted to remain in the EU;

(c)  notes the stark warnings from companies such as Airbus, Vauxhall Motors, Jaguar Land Rover and BMW about the impact of Brexit on British manufacturing;

(d)  recognises the mounting popular concern at the prospect of leaving the EU with either a bad deal or no deal at all;

(e)  notes the participation of over 100,000 people in the march for a People’s Vote in London on 23 June;

(f)  shares the anxiety of EU citizens living in the Wirral who feel unwelcome in the land where they have made their homes, and uncertain about their future;

Council believes that it is of grave concern that, when challenged by business over the threat to jobs and investment, a Cabinet Minister should use a four letter expletive to describe his apparent approach towards this country's business interests. The Financial Times summed this up in that: "It may have been a casual aside but it was also a revealingly contemptuous one, not least in its indifference to the fate of Airbus's [and other industrial] UK staff. This is the strategic nihilism of a spoiled child lashing out."

Council is therefore of the view that an open joint letter should be sent from the leaders of the Wirral political parties to Theresa May, stressing the importance of employers such as Airbus, Vauxhall and Jaguar Land Rover to Wirral, the wider region and the potentially devastating effect on those businesses, the wider supply chain and our local economy in the event of the UK leaving the EU with a bad deal or no deal. The letter should also set out that any deal with the EU must encompass the following:

(a)  Put the national interest first

(b)  Prioritise jobs and living standards

(c)  Protect rights at work

(d)  Protect environmental standards

(e)  Provide certainty to EU nationals living here in the UK and UK nationals who have chosen to live elsewhere in the EU

(f)  Give a meaningful role to Parliament throughout negotiations.