AHEAD of tomorrow's vote in parliament, the Brexit Secretary has been answering questions from readers of The Bolton News about the deal

Stephen Barclay, who voted to leave the EU, explains why he believes this is a good deal for people who also campaigned for Brexit.

Q: Who are you?

A:"Well, keeping it simple Chris, I’m the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union. I have been an MP for eight years and before being appointed as Secretary of State I had a number of jobs in government. I also grew up not far from your neck of the woods. I was brought up in Lancashire, went to school in Lytham St Annes and played rugby for Fylde."

Q: It was two years ago so what’s the hold up? We voted to leave not to have a think about it.

A: "We’ve spent two years carefully negotiating a deal that offers certainty in key areas people care about. For the first time in more than 40 years we will make our own laws and run our country without interference or rules imposed on us from another jurisdiction, decide who lives and works in this country and stop paying the EU vast amounts of money every year. We now have a deal which delivers on the things people voted for in the referendum, and we will be leaving the EU next March."

Q: The referendum had two choices to a simple question: leave or remain. Nowhere did it have the word deal. What is so difficult to understand about yes or no?

A: "When the UK voted to leave, we then had to decide how to do this. As no other country has left the EU before, this was a complicated process and we wanted to make sure the interests of the UK were at the forefront of this process. We needed to agree a deal with the EU to protect our economy, end huge annual membership payments, and provide a skills-based immigration system. All of these were key concerns of the people, and the Government has worked hard to ensure they were acted on."

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Q: Why are politicians in government completely ignoring what the constituencies voted for?

A: "Well, I can’t speak for other MPs, but I’m a firm believer that this deal is a good one for our country now and for the future. I know that the people of Bolton overwhelmingly voted to leave. We listened to what people across the country - and indeed in Bolton - voted for: they wanted free movement to end, huge payments to the EU to end, and for us to make our own laws. In each of these crucial areas, the deal delivers. The deal we’ve negotiated is a good deal for the economy, protecting jobs and growth in Bolton and across the country."

Q: How can democracy be respected with another vote and how many votes can we have before it sticks?

A: "I agree. A choice was put to the people of the UK in the 2016 referendum and their decision was to leave. People turned out in record numbers - there has never been a bigger act of democracy in the UK - and that is something to celebrate rather than dismiss. It would be plain wrong to ignore the result, and we’ve been clear that there will be no second referendum. And we now have a deal with the EU that delivers on the referendum, will help our economy continue to prosper and will keep us safe - I’d hope that was a deal the nation can unite behind."

Q: What is the government’s Plan B if Theresa May’s deal is rejected in Parliament?

A: "Nobody should be under any illusions that the EU will be prepared to start all over again and negotiate a different deal. Anything other than straightforward approval of the deal will bring with it huge uncertainty for business, consumers and citizens. And as a committed Brexiteer, I wouldn’t have backed the deal on the table if I didn’t believe it delivered on the result of the referendum. We listened to what people across the country voted for: they wanted free movement to end, annual payments to the EU to end, and for us to make our own laws. In each of these crucial areas, the deal delivers."

Q: How will Brexit benefit the North specifically?

A: "Well, the deal will benefit the whole of the UK and of course that includes the North. We will leave EU regional funding programmes and set up a new way to make the spread of money fairer across all regions. With the Government delivering on its devolution agenda this means local people will be making the decisions that affect their communities, particularly in the Northern Powerhouse with four directly elected mayors of combined authorities. For rural communities where farming is an key industry, we will be leaving the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy and replacing it with our own system, designed to meet the UK’s needs and reward farmers for good stewardship, ensuring not only that land is productive but that our beautiful countryside is managed in a sustainable way. And we will leave the Common Fisheries Policy meaning a fairer deal for the fishing communities - the UK will decide who can fish in our waters."