Derry MP and SDLP leader Colum Eastwood tables series of amendments to Brexit bill

SDLP Leader Colum Eastwood MP said the amendments also seek to protect the Good Friday Agreement, North-South cooperation and establish a mitigation package that would provide assistance to businesses and communities impacted by Brexit.

Mr Eastwood said: “Brexit is the most significant economic, constitutional and social challenge facing people on these islands. In December’s election, people in Northern Ireland made their will clear again - we are not prepared to suffer economic ruin, the wholesale sell-off of our Health Service and declining food and environmental standards.

“Our people must not be trapped into a future we never voted for. It is right that we now have the power to shape our own path and protect our own interests.”

He said the SDLP will be in Westminster this week and every week to ‘demand that the wishes of our people are respected’.

Mr Eastwood added that the party will also table legislation ‘reserving the ultimate right for Northern Ireland to remain or re-enter the European Union. People here must have the opportunity to reject a path that offers nothing but economic self harm and damages the progress we’ve made over twenty years.”

The SDLP will be leading multi-party discussions this week to gather support for the proposals.