Ex-South Shields MP David Miliband describes Brexit as 'wrecking ball at the constitution of the country'

Ex-South Shields MP David Miliband described Brexit as a "wrecking ball at the constitution of the country".
David MilibandDavid Miliband
David Miliband

The former Labour Foreign Secretary told BBC One's The Andrew Marr Show: "In the end we're in this mess because each party has tried to calculate what to do about Brexit according to internal party politics, that's how David Cameron ended up in the referendum in the first place, that's why Jeremy Corbyn is sitting on the fence.

"The Brexit issue is now a wrecking ball at the constitution of the country, at the political structures of the country, because each of the main parties has been thinking about its own sectional interests."

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Some MPs representing Labour seats in the North East, he added, had "bravely" said: "Look, because the Brexit that you were promised in 2016 is not available, because no-one ever thought a no-deal Brexit was the issue, you deserve the right for democratic reasons as well social and economic reasons to have a final say on whether we go ahead with this."

Mr Miliband said he had not "given up on Britain", adding he voted Labour in the European elections.

He said: "This notion that our constitution, the integrity of the UK, never mind our economy and society, are under threat from this Brexit decision is real ... If you are buying a house, you get the survey done, if the survey shows there's subsidence you're not forced to buy the house, you can have a final decision, and that's why I think for democratic reasons as well as economic reasons, it's the right thing to do."