Rushcliffe MP James Naish has written a letter to constituents explaining his thought processes on the bill.
James said:
‘I hope that constituents will find 10 minutes to read the attached images at some point. There is a lot of text but it summarises my thinking on today’s vote which, of course, has been weeks in the making.
‘In short, I’m unable to fully support the Bill in its current form. I genuinely don’t want to close down the debate which I think is important – and for many days, I was intending to support the Bill at this stage.
‘But I have come to the conclusion that it would be dishonest of me to vote for something of this significance at this point without a clear intention to support the Bill if it returns to the Commons for a Third Reading ‘as-is’, without any changes. This has ultimately been the decisive factor in how I have decided to vote today.
‘I know there will be thousands of Rushcliffe people disappointed with the way that I vote today including many people I care about and instinctively want to support given their genuine and well-meaning beliefs on this topic. I remain sympathetic to them and I’m sorry to let them down. I have agonised and shed tears over this decision, as I’m sure some constituents will do as a result of it.
‘Above all, therefore, I hope that it is clear from this note how I have tried to approach this matter fairly and objectively. And I will continue to do so in order to produce the very best law, irrespective of the outcome of the Second Reading vote.’
