Former Northern Ireland Minister has said that he is “not worried” about the EU launching legal proceedings against the UK over the breach of the withdrawal agreement.
Indian-origin MP for North West Cambridgeshire believes that these legal actions does not necessarily mean that the EU are “right”. Addressing a Conservative Friends of India (CFI) conference on Thursday, 1st October, he said, “Just because the European Union have launched a legal action against the UK does not mean that the EU is right. I speak as a former Justice Secretary and Northern Ireland minister that we are not wrong. I am reasonably relaxed about the EU launching these legal proceedings against the UK for breach of withdrawal agreement. It is part and parcel of international relations and I would not worry too much about it.”
Earlier in the week the EU President Ursula von der Leyen had announced that the UK had been put on formal notice over the internal market bill which was tabled by prime minister Boris Johnson earlier in the month. Moderated by Councillor Ameet Jogia and Co-Chair Reena Ranger, the conference shed light on the political journey of Shailesh Vara, discussing how he was among one of the first Indian-origin ministers within the Conservative Party, combating racial attacks and eventually becoming a Minister for Northern Ireland in Theresa May’s government.
Besides his journey, Shailesh Vara also spoke about the diaspora’s concern and outrage on the formation of Conservative Friends of Kashmir. While Councillor Ameet Jogia emphasised that the said group is not an official or affiliated group of the Conservative Party, Shailesh Vara explained, “We need to recognise the role of the Member of Parliament. If you’re a member of the government then you follow the government line in every way. And if you disagree with the government policy then you resign like I did as Northern Ireland minister when I did not agree with Theresa May’s Brexit policy.
“But if you are a backbencher, as these six MPs then they are free to set up whatever groups they wish to provide they are not in breach of the law of the land and nothing illegal is happening. There are lots of groups within the Parliament including All Party Parliamentary Groups. There is no reason why each Party cannot set up their own groups. There is that freedom and that is why some MPs can vote against the government’s line. It does not automatically result in suspension from the Party.
“The Party does not dictate to a backbencher what they can or cannot do. Ultimately, they are answerable to the mandate in the next general election.”
