Unsurprisingly, the debate received little coverage from mainstream media.
Macclesfield Labour MP Tim Roca has been praised for his ‘superb speech’ during a debate on a petition calling for the UK to rejoin the EU, which had gained nearly 135,000 signatures.
The debate was held on March 24, and saw MPs discussing the possibility of reversing Brexit.
Labour MP Stella Creasy condemned the UK’s departure from the EU, calling it a “disaster.” She took aim at Nigel Farage, saying: “If the member for Clacton was in the country I’m sure he would be telling all of us that we need some straight talking so let’s have some straight talking about all of this.
“Brexit is a disaster. It’s a disaster by anybody’s metric, not least those who purported that this was somehow the hallowed land.”
Creasy, who chairs the Labour Movement for Europe, continued: “The pandemic has spared some of the blushes of those people who still try to claim that we’ve got some elusive sovereignty as a result of leaving the EU but we can see the damage, our constituents can see the damage.”
Liberal Democrat MPs Manuela Perteghella and Wera Hobhouse also spoke out in favour of the EU. Hobhouse, originally from Germany, said she was “shocked and grieving when we left in January 2020 and I took it almost as a personal failure that we couldn’t stop Brexit.”
Perteghella, who was born in Italy before moving to the UK as a student, said: “I worked as a lecturer for many years and saw firsthand the importance of collaborative research projects with our colleagues in EU universities, the positive impact of Horizon (Europe) and of Erasmus plus.”
But it was Tim Roca who, for some, stole the spotlight.
The Labour MP for Macclesfield, who won the seat from the Conservatives in 2024, turning one of their safest constituencies red for the first time ever, received praise for his impassioned remarks.
Roca began by emphasising the importance of the petition system in enabling public issues to be debated in Parliament.
“An important debate that proves the importance of the petition mechanism to the public for getting important issues debated in this place,” he said.
He continued how his constituents in Macclesfield voted to remain part of the European Union.
“A referendum based as we know on imperfect knowledge. A referendum called because of the internal politics of the Conservative Party,” he continued, describing it as ‘vitriolic,’ influenced by the ‘Russians undoubtedly,’ and ended just a few days before the tragic death of Labour MP, Jo Cox.
He then outlined the far-reaching consequences of Brexit, referencing research from the London School of Economics that found 14,000 of 100,000 firms surveyed have stopped trading with the EU.
He spoke of small businesses in Macclesfield struggling with the barriers created by Brexit and warned that the UK economy would be 4% smaller in 2035 than it would have been had the country stayed in the EU.
The MP affirmed his commitment to Labour’s manifesto, which ruled out rejoining the EU. He acknowledged that reopening the Brexit debate would be difficult but argued that the process needed to continue.
“It was a group of people that would never be satisfied. Because Brexit meant different things to different people.
“It was so dangerous to let nationalist genie out of the bottle,” he said.
Roca welcomed the government’s efforts to reset relations with the EU, suggesting that the UK should go further by exploring initiatives like the Youth Mobility Scheme.
“I still wholeheartedly believe in us rejoining the EU that being our future. I believe this is part of our process.
“The future of this country in terms of security, prosperity, culture, our relationship with our neighbours depends on us having these difficult discussions, recognising the mistake that we made, the fraud that was committed on the British people and changing the course,” he concluded.
His speech was met with admiration from many observers. One commented, “Finally, someone called it out for what it was—FRAUD.”
Leeds for Europe said: “A superb speech by Labour MP for Macclesfield Tim Roca at the debate on the petition calling for the UK to rejoin the EU.”
Unsurprisingly, the debate received little coverage from mainstream media, though one outlet, the Express, often dubbed the “Brexpress,” did report on it with the headline:
‘Remainer MPs erupt at Brexit ‘disaster’ in debate on rejoining EU,’ was the headline.
Ah, the classic “eruption” headline. Always good for a bit of drama!
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