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4,729 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDEuropean Union (Withdrawal) (No. 2) Act 2019I will certainly pass on my noble friend’s suggestion but I am not sure of the wisdom of that proposal. What we need is a process of reconciliation in this country which could…26 Sept 2019HANSARDEuropean Union (Withdrawal) (No. 2) Act 2019As always, my noble friend speaks with great wisdom on this matter. This might be a political point, but it seems to me that the Act was designed to undermine our negotiating…26 Sept 2019HANSARDEuropean Union (Withdrawal) (No. 2) Act 2019My noble friend makes a good point. This was not government legislation. It was a Private Member’s Bill. We did not support it; we opposed it. I advised this House against passing…26 Sept 2019HANSARDBrexit Readiness and Operation YellowhammerUnsurprisingly, no I would not agree. We can have different standards. A lot of the EU standards are irrational—the noble Baroness mentioned in passing its irrational opposition…25 Sept 2019HANSARDExtension of Article 50I can see that noble Lords today have a great fondness for the work of the international post office. We will abide by the law.25 Sept 2019HANSARDExtension of Article 50I can give the noble Lord a categorical assurance that the Government will abide by the law. We write all sorts of letters, to all sorts of people, all of the time. I am sure that…25 Sept 2019HANSARDExtension of Article 50My noble friend is of course correct that it is the Government’s intention to get a deal. However, negotiations are ongoing and I am sure that he will understand, from his time in…25 Sept 2019HANSARDExtension of Article 50We have indeed given extensive thought and consideration to all the possible impacts of no deal. If the noble Earl wishes to stick around until later this afternoon, we will be…25 Sept 2019HANSARDExtension of Article 50I was in the Department for Transport when Monarch Airlines collapsed two years ago; I assume that noble Lords wish to equate that with Brexit as well. I think that for some noble…25 Sept 2019HANSARDExtension of Article 50We always endeavour to be as transparent as possible with regard to these matters, while of course still preserving the confidentiality of the negotiations.25 Sept 2019HANSARDExtension of Article 50No matter how many times noble Lords wish to press me on this, I am afraid I have given the answer that I am going to give. We will of course abide by the law of the land; we are…25 Sept 2019HANSARDBrexit Readiness and Operation YellowhammerMy Lords, with the leave of the House, I will now repeat a Statement made today by the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster in another place: “Mr Speaker, with your permission I…25 Sept 2019HANSARDBrexit Readiness and Operation YellowhammerI do not know what the noble Lord’s definition of ambiguity is, but in response to the question “Do you wish to remain in the European Union or leave the European Union”, the…25 Sept 2019HANSARDBrexit Readiness and Operation YellowhammerThe noble Lord, Lord Kerr, asks a number of questions. In response to his first question, yes, we are intending to update the Yellowhammer documentation and it will be published…25 Sept 2019HANSARDBrexit Readiness and Operation YellowhammerWith regard to his first question, the noble Lord knows very well that I cannot commit to promising what might happen in another place. However, let me repeat the assurances I…25 Sept 2019HANSARDBrexit Readiness and Operation YellowhammerWe will of course do our level best to make sure that the flow at the border does not result in any undue delays. There is a considerable amount of effort going into ensuring…25 Sept 2019HANSARDBrexit Readiness and Operation YellowhammerLet me explain to the noble Lord what these assumptions are all about. The Cabinet’s civil contingencies unit prepares the reasonable worst-case assumptions and then we do our…25 Sept 2019HANSARDBrexit Readiness and Operation YellowhammerI think the noble Baroness has had too much sun during her vacation. I think I am correct in saying that we already have higher caged bird standards—we certainly used to—than most…25 Sept 2019HANSARDBrexit Readiness and Operation YellowhammerThose Bills are not essential. We have all the appropriate legislation in place to enable our departure on 31 October. Secondary legislation that we do not yet have in place will…25 Sept 2019HANSARDBrexit Readiness and Operation YellowhammerI thank the noble Baroness and the noble Lord for their comments. Let me run through their questions in turn, starting with the noble Baroness, Lady Hayter. I repeat what I said…25 Sept 2019