Robert Halfon said:

“THE EU has been an incredibly difficult issue for me. For this reason, I was incredibly proud that the Prime Minister kept his promise to have a referendum so that Harlow and the British people were able to make the decision that they believed was right for our country.

I always said that whilst my heart said leave, my head said stay. Many Harlow small businesses contacted me saying that they were really worried that Brexit would have an impact on their work with European companies and they were worried that jobs would be lost in Harlow. Since I’ve been MP I’ve done everything possible to try to bring jobs back to our town because this is what makes our town prosperous and enables people to have the means to look after themselves and their families.

I pay tribute to the many Harlow residents who voted for leave and also the smaller number who voted to remain. Given that the vote in Harlow has been so decisive, as MP for the town, I will make it my duty to do my part to ensure that resident’s clear and definitive wishes are followed through in Parliament.

I am sad that David Cameron has announced his resignation. He has done this for honourable reasons. I supported him as Prime Minster because he introduced the National Living Wage, froze fuel duty for many years, cut taxes for lower earners and has pledged billions of pounds of extra spending on the NHS. He has done all this at the same time as getting our economy back on track and creating millions of jobs and apprentices, with more people employed than at any time in our islands history.