Read Sharon's latest Sunderland Echo column below or find the published column on the Sunderland Echo website.
Last Thursday, saw months of campaigning culminate in the result of the EU Referendum being declared for the UK to leave the EU.
This was one of the most important decisions our country has had to make in recent decades, and it was welcome to see so many people in our City take part and vote; many for the very first time.
The vote across the country was close, showing just how divided we are on the issue of the membership of the EU.
However, here in Sunderland, voters turned out in unprecedented numbers and came to the decision that we should leave the EU.
As politicians we must listen, learn and move forward accordingly. Though many voters are facing leavers remorse, we must accept that the vote has now been cast and our focus must be on negotiations.
I am not in favour of invoking Article 50 immediately - which will begin the official negotiations of our divorce from the EU - instead believing that economic stability must be ensured by having a blueprint of what our plans going into these negotiations will be. Our economy, especially here in the North-East, is already fragile and we cannot risk weakening it any further.
That is why it is time for leadership which sees us getting the best deal possible out of the EU exit negotiations, which will detrimentally hit our communities and businesses who relied upon support from the EU and access to the single market.
We also need leadership that addresses the reported increases in hate crime towards ethnic minorities and migrants over the weekend and into this week. I appeal to the better judgements of the people of Sunderland to not allow such a divisive campaign and outcome to rip our communities apart.
In the coming months ahead, I will be keeping a close eye on the developments of the negotiations and will ensure that after listening clearly to the decision of our City that I will work to get the best outcome for us here in Sunderland and those people up and down the country who need it most.
ECHO COLUMN: We must work to get best deal out of the exit talks
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Sharon Hodgson MPs report - Apr-May 2016 - number 85
Read Sharon Hodgson MP's report - News from Westminster - Apr-May 2016 - number 85
Sharon Hodgson MP's report - Apr-May 2016 - number 85
Read Sharon's latest Sunderland Echo column below or find the published column on the Sunderland Echo website.
Over the past few weeks, we have seen the Government limp from one crisis to another which all comes against the backdrop of the Tories ripping themselves apart over our continued membership of the European Union and who will eventually succeed David Cameron when he steps down as Prime Minister.
Firstly, we had the ultra-shambolic Budget which saw the resignation of the then Work and Pensions Secretary, Iain Duncan Smith because of the divisive measures in the Budget and the Government’s failure to support the most vulnerable in society.
This was then followed by the decision by TATA Steel to sell off their entire UK Steel business, which sent shock waves right through the steel industry and its supply chain, and connected industries, all whilst the Business Secretary was away in Australia on a business trip knowing full well that crunch talks in Mumbai would be happening at the same time.
With nearly 40,000 people employed in our steel industry, it was deeply shameful of the Government to look complacent in the wake of such a devastating blow to one of our most important industries – especially after their failure to save Redcar steel works last year.
There have been countless opportunities for the Government to step in and save our steel industry including supporting, rather than blocking, reforms in the EU that would have alleviated the problem of cheap Chinese steel swamping the market and could have helped save this vital industry.
Instead of putting their heads in the sand, government ministers must publish a full industrial strategy that includes procurement measures to support British steel wherever possible with publically funded infrastructure projects.
To top it all off, we then had the release of the Panama Papers – which showed the Prime Minister’s father’s company was linked to the revelations which showed what we all knew was the case, tax avoidance is rife in British Overseas Territories and Crown dependencies, and after four days of misleading statements, the Prime Minister finally admitted to benefitting financially from his father’s company’s tax avoidance.
The Government has continually failed to deliver on collecting the missed income that would come from closing tax havens and loopholes, which could help our vital public services which we all rely upon. With an estimated £34billion tax gap in HMRC, more action must be taken to address this gap, however there are concerns that measures proposed in the Finance Bill will not go far enough.
It is a damning indictment of this Government when they are far more interested in their own Party’s internal division, instead of addressing some of the most pressing issues of the day. That is why Labour will continue to hold the Government to account and remind them of their duty as the Government to improve the lives of ordinary working people, rather than saving their own skins and egos.