At the invitation of the Mayor, the Chief Executive advised that due to there being two similar motions on the agenda, items 10 and 12 would be debated together and then voted upon separately.  For ease of reference, they are listed in the minutes as they appeared in the agenda.

The Liberal Democrat motion was moved by Councillor McGrath and seconded by Councillor Kohler.

The Labour motion was moved by Councillor Allison and seconded by Councillor Lanning.

Councillors Moulton, Williams and Ward also spoke on the two motions.

The Liberal Democrat motion was put to a vote and was carried – votes in favour: 37, votes against: 0, abstentions: 19.

RESOLVED:

Council notes:

1.    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; and

2.    The mounting popular concern at the prospect of leaving the EU with either a bad deal or no deal at all.

Council further notes:

a)    That 63% of Merton residents voted to remain in the EU in the 2016 Referendum;

b)    That jobs are already moving from the City to other parts of the EU, and the stark warnings from companies such as Airbus, Vauxhall Motors, Jaguar Land Rover and BMW about the impact of Brexit on British manufacturing;

c)    The estimate by the Bank of England that households are already around £900 a year worse off because of lower growth due to Brexit;

d)    The participation of over 100,000 people in the “march for a People’s Vote” in London on 23 June;

e)    The uncertainty caused for the 2.9 million EU citizens living in the UK and the 1.2 million UK nationals who live elsewhere in the EU;

f)     The support for a “People’s Vote” – a referendum on the terms of any Brexit deal including an option to remain, by organisations such as Prospect, TSSA, the Royal College of Midwives, the Royal College of Nursing, the BMA and representatives of a million students and by Mitcham & Morden’s MP, Siobhain McDonagh MP (as expressed on social media).

Council therefore:

1.    Expresses its support for the work being carried out through the Scrutiny process into ways for Merton to better support citizens from the EU27 as Brexit progresses, particularly looking at what support can be given as their rights change and the related uncertainty created by that process, and encourages all councillors to engage with that review;

2.    Welcomes the news that the Council’s Risk Register is being updated with regards to Brexit, and calls on the Cabinet to ensure Register maintains a robust and up to date account of the risks of the UK leaving the EU with no deal, and to implement any recommended measures as soon as possible;

3.    Supports the call for a People’s Vote on any final Brexit deal with an option to remain in the EU; and therefore

4.    Requests that the Leader of the Council write Wimbledon’s MP, Stephen Hammond MP, to ask him to support a People’s Vote for the above reasons.