A Brexit with a poor outcome will damage our country and lead to years of further division.
Very few MPs disagree with the need for a withdrawal bill to enable us to disentangle our 50-year relationship with the legal structures of the European Union and to enable us to function effectively outside of it.
We will not be thanked by anyone for dragging the country out of the E.U. on a deal for which the public have shown no enthusiasm. For MPs that would be an abdication of responsibility.
Paralysis in decision-making breeds frustration and contempt from the electorate, and provides the perfect seedbed for demagogues who fill the vacuum with populist simplicities, hatred of opposition and lies.
As an MP, my first duty is to act in the national interest, regardless of party affiliation.
All the main parties accept that the stated wish of the United Kingdom electorate to leave the E.U. must be respected. That must place on us collectively a responsibility to work together to find a solution.
Contrary to the myth that the U.K. respects decisions of the Strasbourg court but many other adherent states do not, the convention and Strasbourg court judgements have proved a highly effective tool in protecting and developing human rights in countries with no tradition of the rule of law.
Much as criticism can and has been made as to how E.U. law has been created, there is much in it that affects our daily lives for the better and is welcomed by many without them being necessarily aware of where it comes from.
Of course we should harness IT to strengthen public protection and public service delivery.
No politician can expect to escape criticism for a controversial decision and we have to be robust in justifying what we do.
The Good Friday/Belfast Agreement was a bilateral one between ourselves and Ireland and did not involve the E.U. at all. It just presupposed common E.U. membership as a facilitator of its successful operation.
The country needs leadership driven by the dictates of national security, not the ebb and flow of political fortunes.
We do ourselves as politicians no favours if we are seen to peddle unachievable moonshine.
I believe that MPs from all parties must work together to prevent a damaging hard exit.
Any politician can talk about resuscitating public trust.
I am a Conservative, so I don't wish to be seen as a rebel, particularly, at all.
This is bad for policy-making - if you cover up the problems, how can you solve them? It also corrodes public trust. Government must be much more honest about the challenges facing the country, if we are to begin to tackle them. Short-term spin must give way to proper long-term strategic thinking.
A careful examination of the information available, from previous counter-terrorism investigations, demonstrates that police have never come close to having to release any dangerous terrorist suspects as a result of time constraints.
In seeking to counter challenges such as terrorist threats, hostile state activity, or nuclear proliferation, we cannot work in isolation.
The failure to manage economic migration properly has put further pressure on transport and housing.
