Contributions
4,729 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDNo-deal UpdateMy Lords, with the leave of the House I will now repeat a Statement made today by my right honourable friend the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster in another place. The…03 Sept 2019HANSARDNo-deal UpdateProbably like the noble Baroness, I am not particularly a betting fan, so I will decline the invitation to put odds on the prospect of a deal. I will just say that we are working…03 Sept 2019HANSARDNo-deal UpdateThere were a number of questions there; I think I wrote them all down but I am sure the noble Baroness will remind me if I forget any. On agriculture, I am happy to confirm that…03 Sept 2019HANSARDBrexit: Appointment of Joint CommitteeMy Lords, as always, I am grateful for the many interesting and thoughtful contributions made on all sides in today’s debate as we address the Motion in the name of the noble…03 Jul 2019HANSARDBrexit: Appointment of Joint CommitteeThe Liberals were wearing yellow T-shirts.03 Jul 2019HANSARDEU: Law-making ProcessI know that my noble friend also understands the working of the EU extremely well from his time in the European Commission. I have been following the discussions with Switzerland…01 Jul 2019HANSARDEU: Law-making ProcessI will not comment on the last part of my noble friend’s statement, but of course I think that knowledge of the internal or single market, the European Economic Area and free…01 Jul 2019HANSARDEU: Law-making ProcessI thank the noble Lord for his many follow-up questions. In relation to the first, I suppose that having heard of COREPER makes me abnormal, so I apologise; I see the Opposition…01 Jul 2019HANSARDEU: Law-making ProcessWe are constantly having discussions with old and new MEPs. Indeed, last week I was in Brussels talking to some of the old and newly elected Members of the European Parliament to…01 Jul 2019HANSARDEU: Law-making ProcessAs someone who worked in the institutions for 15 years, I think it took me all those 15 years to understand them. I think it is important to understand how the EU legislative…01 Jul 2019HANSARDEU: Law-making ProcessThe interesting thing about the EU system is that there is some truth in what both noble Lords have said. There are rarely votes in the Council. In the General Affairs Council, on…01 Jul 2019HANSARDEU: Law-making ProcessI need to be careful how I answer this. To be serious, yes, I do acknowledge that. Over the years the UK has been well served by a lot of its Members of the European Parliament,…01 Jul 2019HANSARDEU: Law-making ProcessThere may be some truth in that, but if I had any criticisms of the EU system—and I have a lot of them—I might suggest that the unnecessary complexity would be one of the reasons…01 Jul 2019HANSARDEU: Law-making ProcessMy Lords, the Government have no plans to promote national awareness of the EU legislative process. However, information regarding the EU law-making process is in the public…01 Jul 2019HANSARDBrexit: Discussions with the European UnionParliament has expressed its view on these matters many times, both in the other place and in this House. I am sure that both Houses will continue to express their views in the…20 Jun 2019HANSARDBrexit: Discussions with the European UnionMy noble friend is well aware that the deal was agreed jointly between the UK Government and the EU. Any solution will also need to be agreed jointly.20 Jun 2019HANSARDBrexit: Discussions with the European UnionAs the noble Baroness will be well aware, that is really not a policy responsibility of my department, so I will pass on that one.20 Jun 2019HANSARDBrexit: Discussions with the European UnionI am fascinated by the degree to which the Opposition want to comment on Conservative leadership elections—I note that nobody is commenting on the Liberal Democrat leadership…20 Jun 2019HANSARDBrexit: Discussions with the European UnionThis morning, answering the noble Lord’s question. My time is gainfully occupied. I was in Portugal last week to sign a treaty on reciprocal voting rights to ensure that UK…20 Jun 2019HANSARDBrexit: Discussions with the European UnionNo. [ Laughter . ]20 Jun 2019