A Harrow MP’s campaign for the public to have a say on the final Brexit deal has passed its first test.

Gareth Thomas, who represents Harrow West, was emphatically granted leave to bring his Bill on the European Union Withdrawal Agreement to Parliament.

He has consistently expressed a desire to put the Government’s deal with the EU to a public vote and raised the issue during a Ten Minute Rule Motion this afternoon.

Outlining the inevitable, negative consequences of Brexit, as well as the lack of information presented at the time of the EU Referendum in 2016, he said it would be unfair to not consult the population on the final agreement.  

“The Brexit deal is greater than any legislation, more significant than any budget, and will have more impact than any government minister at the moment on the future of our country,” Mr Thomas said.

“Why should our country, our fellow citizens, have to accept it without any chance to influence the hard Brexit the Government looks like it’s going to deliver?”

He criticised some of the claims made by the Leave campaign during the referendum, notably the £350 million a week ‘promised’ to the NHS.

The 50-year-old also said the country will be “worse off under any Brexit deal” and pointed out that the Government is struggling to come to an agreement over any customs arrangements and the border situation in Northern Ireland.

He added that Prime Minister Theresa May has vowed to outline the full details of the deal before any decisions are made and that he “takes her at her word”.

But in his view, however bad the fallout from Brexit is, the argument centres on the fact that it would be wrong for a small portion of the UK’s population to decide the future of everyone else.

He said: “Why can’t my neighbours, the people in my community, that shop in the supermarkets I use, who walk the same streets as I do, have a vote on the deal too?

“Why am I set to be the only person living in Harrow who is get to say on whether the Brexit deal is any good?

“Whatever we think of Brexit, whether we voted Leave or Remain, whether we think we’ll get a good deal or a bad deal, we can all surely agree that it is a huge deal.

“It’s much too important to be left to the 650 of us here in Westminster. The 65 million people in this great country deserve to have their voices heard.”

The Bill will be prepared and brought in by 11 MPs from various parties and is scheduled for a second reading on July 6.