IN THE widespread reporting of the Green Party victory on children’s centre rents at the most recent county council meeting, news of a near success on Brexit has been missed.

The Green Party put forward a motion to Oxfordshire County Council concerning the nature of the Brexit we should press for.

This was very nearly passed in a 28-25 vote, illustrating the concerns of an increasing number of people about what Brexit actually might mean.

The Government is, after all, being lobbied heavily by business organisations for a Brexit which does not put the UK outside the Single Market.

Green county councillors urged the county council to call upon the Government to clarify its aims in the EU negotiations and to establish that a primary objective will be to maintain our exporters’ ability to access the Single Market without a tariff wall.

Such a stance will stabilise the pound and make it clear to foreign companies, who are only operating here because of our present tarifffree access to the EU, that they should stay here.

The motion was of vital significance to firms such as BMW and the vast range of Oxfordshire’s exporting industries. Thousands of local jobs are at stake.

I hope the Government fails in its appeal against the decision of the High Court that ultimately Parliament should have a say in deciding exactly what kind of Brexit we have or not and we will not have to face the economic disaster that a hard Brexit will subject us to.

Cllr DAVID WILLIAMS

Leader

Green Group

Oxfordshire County Council

London Road

Headington