Dr Rosena Allin-Khan, Labour MP for Tooting and shadow sports minister, has announced she will be voting against the triggering of Article 50.

The House of Commons will vote tonight on whether the Prime Minister can trigger Article 50 and formally start the process of leaving the EU.

See related: MP for Battersea Jane Ellison to trigger Article 50 and 'respect national result' of Brexit vote in 75 per cent remain constituency

Dr Allin-Khan, who risks losing her job because of the decision, said "we live in a representative democracy", one in which MPs represent the "interests and the will of local people".

She said: "That's why I believe that respecting the EU Referendum result means my job is to act in a way that reflects how the people of Tooting voted.

"Across Wandsworth, over 100,000 people (75 per cent) voted to Remain in the EU. That’s why tonight I will vote against the triggering Article 50.

"After a vote like the referendum, the decision of the majority must be respected, but what follows must be done in the best interest of all.

"Yes, the decision to leave the EU was made by 52 per cent, but the form of Brexit must take the interests of 100 per cent of people into consideration.

"It’s becoming clear that the Prime Minister is pursuing an extreme version of Brexit that she does not have a mandate for.

"Everything is up for grabs, from our access to the Single Market and workers’ rights to the NHS and the rights of our friends, family and colleagues who happen to be EU citizens.

The Tooting MP said everyone must have a voice when it comes to the "enormous" challenges that will face the UK in the exit process.

She added: "As long as I am MP for Balham, Earlsfield, Furzedown, Tooting and Wandsworth, I promise to be your voice in Parliament."

Dr Allin-Khan said she expects Parliament to vote in favour of triggering Article 50 tonight (February 1) but she feels she has to stay true to her constituents.

Dan Watkins, who lost the by-election for Tooting MP, has said he would vote to trigger Article 50. 


Dr Allin-Khan's decision could put her job in jeopardy as Labour Party Leader Jeremy Corbyn suggested he would fire members of the shadow cabinet if they defied his three party whip.

Speaking on ITV’s Peston on January 29 he said: "It’s obviously impossible to carry on being in the shadow cabinet if you vote against a decision made after a very frank and long discussion of the shadow cabinet earlier this week."

Two shadow cabinet members, shadow Welsh secretary Jo Stevens and shadow early years minister Tulip Siddiq, have quit the front benches as a result of the vote.

Speaking on the Today programme, shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry said even though most of the Labour Party campaigned to remain in the EU, MPs must acknowledge the result of the referendum.

She said: "We lost. Although we are internationalists, although we believe in the European Union-and we believe that very strongly- we believe more strongly than anything about democracy."

Thornberry avoided stating the consequence for backbenchers who defied the party whip, but when pressed she said: "The consequence is this.

"The Labour Party has a national view, we are a national party and we want to represent the whole of the country.

"The difficulties that we have internally actually reflect the difficulties within the country; we are a divided country."

She added that the Labour Party planned to try and "find a way through this" by putting the "country first".

The shadow minister also criticised Theresa May for putting forward a "contradictory" picture of what would happen to the UK after Brexit.

If MPs pass the bill today as expected, a further three days of debates will go on before the Government can go ahead with the process.

Following this, negotiations can begin with the EU.