You voted AGAINST national interest!' British MEP blasted over vote to block trade talks
A MEP who voted "against the national interest" defended his
controversial act and transferred the blame to the British government.Mary Honeyball, a labor deputy in London, was among the 26 British
representatives in Strasbourg who have been accused of betraying their
own country.
Mrs Honeyball and her colleagues voted in favor of a proposal put
forward by the European Parliament's head Brexit, Guy Verhofstadt,
urging the EU not to start trade talks with the United Kingdom.
The 26 were labeled "appalling" by a Conservative deputy, who accused them of deliberately voting against Britain's national interest in Brexit.
Nigel Farage said the vote represented how the EU treated the UK as a hostage and demanded its bailout.
Theresa May banned two of her own MEPs after they broke the party whip and voted in favor of a motion requiring the UK to do more to meet EU demands.Anushka Asthana, host of BBC's European policy this afternoon, challenged MEPs to work on their reasoning for the "unpatriotic vote".
Asthana asked: "It is the UK's national interest to push forward trade negotiations, so why did it vote against the national interest?"
Ms Honeyball tried to defend her movement by blaming her own country for forcing the vote.
She said: "We voted in favor of the resolution because we want the talks to continue.
"We are concerned that there has been a lack of progress, largely towards the UK side.
"The UK accepted the issues that would be solved first: the Irish border, the financial settlement and the EU citizens, we agree on that, and the problems have not yet been resolved."Ukip MEP Patrick O'Flynn, also a guest on the show, called the vote "hostility without remorse to the national interests of our own country".
He said the British could not believe how anyone could vote against their own national interest unless they wanted to badly sabotage Brexit.
O'Flynn added: "We have to enter into the trade agreement because we surrender all the issues we have leverage on."
Asthana added to this, claiming that the measure could be a "demolition tactic" of the remaining MEPs.
Ms. Honeyball rejected this: "My constituents in London come from Europe, they are real people, they are really worried.
"I'm not trying to ruin Brexit."
Mrs Honeyball and her colleagues voted in favor of a proposal put
forward by the European Parliament's head Brexit, Guy Verhofstadt,
urging the EU not to start trade talks with the United Kingdom.The 26 were labeled "appalling" by a Conservative deputy, who accused them of deliberately voting against Britain's national interest in Brexit.
Nigel Farage said the vote represented how the EU treated the UK as a hostage and demanded its bailout.
Theresa May banned two of her own MEPs after they broke the party whip and voted in favor of a motion requiring the UK to do more to meet EU demands.Anushka Asthana, host of BBC's European policy this afternoon, challenged MEPs to work on their reasoning for the "unpatriotic vote".
Asthana asked: "It is the UK's national interest to push forward trade negotiations, so why did it vote against the national interest?"
Ms Honeyball tried to defend her movement by blaming her own country for forcing the vote.She said: "We voted in favor of the resolution because we want the talks to continue.
"We are concerned that there has been a lack of progress, largely towards the UK side.
"The UK accepted the issues that would be solved first: the Irish border, the financial settlement and the EU citizens, we agree on that, and the problems have not yet been resolved."Ukip MEP Patrick O'Flynn, also a guest on the show, called the vote "hostility without remorse to the national interests of our own country".
He said the British could not believe how anyone could vote against their own national interest unless they wanted to badly sabotage Brexit.
O'Flynn added: "We have to enter into the trade agreement because we surrender all the issues we have leverage on."
Asthana added to this, claiming that the measure could be a "demolition tactic" of the remaining MEPs.Ms. Honeyball rejected this: "My constituents in London come from Europe, they are real people, they are really worried.
"I'm not trying to ruin Brexit."
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