May 22, 2019 (LBO) - The people of the United Kingdom will go to the polls on Thursday May 23rd to vote for who will be their representatives in the European Parliament. Sri Lankan born British member of the EU Parliament, Nirj Deva MEP, released the following message on the eve of the election where he will be contesting for a 5th term in the legislative body.
| Dear friends, Like me, you are probably dismayed at the paralysis with the Brexit negotiations. The people voted to leave and honour that we must; and yet the MPs in the House of Commons have sadly blocked the deal. Now Labour and the LibDems are seeking to reverse the majority view. |
| Only the Conservatives can deliver Brexit and then get on with creating what this new direction for our country is about: A rejuvenated Global Britain that puts free trade, enterprise and an entrepreneurial spirit at the heart of our British identity, and a low-tax, freer, prosperous, business friendly economic powerhouse with trade links to all continents. Under Corbyn, Labour has become a hard-left Marxist party that will: Hammer businesses with higher taxes and punish businesspeople, impose a second referendum mocking all those who voted in the original referendum, and enforce higher income taxes and renationalisation of all utilities at ruinous cost to the taxpayer: you and your family. The Brexit party, led by Nigel Farage, offers no coherent vision of what Britain should look like in the future. They will close Britain off to the world rather than expanding our horizons to new markets and opportunities. Farage’s candidates, an odd mix of the far left to the hard right, have no nuanced design for a Global Britain. A protest vote for them does not change the stalemate in the House of Commons. Farage and co will continue to have zero MPs and zero say in the British Parliament where this issue must be resolved. If you vote for the Conservative party tomorrow you are sending a clear message that you want the Brexit process concluded quickly and then the work to build a Global Britain to begin. This Conservative government has already been laying the foundation. Our economy is currently one of the best performing in Europe. We have the lowest rate of unemployment since 1975. We are increasing NHS investment to £394 million extra a week - £20.5 billion a year. The first step towards building a Global Britain is reconnecting with the Commonwealth. The combined economy of the Commonwealth has already overtaken the Eurozone. While Britain’s trade had been redirected and limited to ever declining European markets, nations within the Commonwealth such as India were witnessing the growth of an emerging middle class, who would be very receptive towards Britain’s high-end goods and services. The 2018 Commonwealth Trade Review predicted that trade between Commonwealth nations will be worth $700 billion by 2020. Within the UK, the value of our exports to fellow members is roughly double what it was twenty years ago. There is a huge scope for bilateral trade with these nations post-Brexit. With all my best wishes, |
| Nirj Deva MEP (The first Asian born, post-war Conservative MP elected to the House of Commons and the first Asian born MEP elected to the European Parliament) |
| Only the Conservative party has both the vision and the economic competence to turn the Brexit process into a catalyst for Britain’s future prosperity and global ambitions. Make your voice heard on Thursday. Vote for an ambitious vision rather than a cynical protest. Vote Conservative tomorrow! |