Ulster Unionist Leader Robin Swann MLA, has reiterated his call for the Prime Minister to extend Article 50 and recalibrate the UK`s negotiating stance.
Ulster Unionist Party Leader, Robin Swann MLA, said:
“Brexit is in a state of flux. People are rightly concerned about the lack of certainty and the possibility of a ‘no-deal’ Brexit. Its implications would be huge. With the uncertainty continuing over the festive period, the Prime Minister should seize the opportunity and seek to extend Article 50. The United Kingdom is being boxed in by its own timescales and needs to create room for further negotiations. I note that the extension of Article 50 is a position now openly supported by DUP MLA Jim Wells, when he appeared on the BBC`s Nolan programme. The Prime Minister should be seeking the views of all parties in Westminster.
“I want to see the Government and Parliament focusing on getting the right deal for the United Kingdom. It is absolutely vital that we expend all our energies on getting a deal with the European Union which preserves the UK`s economic and constitutional integrity and provides a pathway to a positive trading relationship with the EU in the future. If that means extending Article 50, then so be it. It`s time to recalibrate our negotiating stance.
“The United Kingdom is the fifth largest economy in the world so these are issues which cannot be addressed casually and recklessly. We have to get this right as the impact will last for decades to come.”