Contributions
485 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDIreland/Northern Ireland: Solid FuelsThe noble Lord makes a very fair point about the objectives of this legislation. That is why we need to establish the detail of what the Irish Government intend to do and how they…18 Nov 2021HANSARDProtocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland: Impact on UK Internal MarketMy Lords, I have indeed looked at the polling conducted by Queen’s University, where I had a good meeting yesterday, by the way. There is a lot of other polling around on this…18 Nov 2021HANSARDProtocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland: Impact on UK Internal MarketMy Lords, to be honest, what I have just said cannot be described as equivocating. I have tried to make my position 100% clear on these negotiations and on Article 16, and it has…18 Nov 2021HANSARDRetained EU LawMy Lords, we set out our position in the Command Paper of 21 July on VAT and many other points. Having two different systems of lawmaking on important points within the United…18 Nov 2021HANSARDIreland/Northern Ireland: Solid FuelsMy Lords, the Cabinet and the Government stand fully behind the policy that we set out in the Command Paper in July, which is a very good compromise policy that we still hope to…18 Nov 2021HANSARDIreland/Northern Ireland: Solid FuelsMy Lords, my noble friend makes a very good point, as always. It is a concrete case that demonstrates that it is possible to manage these matters in other ways. This is one of the…18 Nov 2021HANSARDIreland/Northern Ireland: Solid FuelsMy Lords, we do not wish to inflame tensions in any way, of course, and I do not think we go about this in a way that would do that. The point that I and other noble Lords have…18 Nov 2021HANSARDIreland/Northern Ireland: Solid FuelsMy Lords, my noble friend makes a very good point. We have been concerned about the threats made against us in the last few weeks, which are not really consistent with a…18 Nov 2021HANSARDProtocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland: EU NegotiationsMy Lords, the noble Baroness is of course correct that I said on Wednesday that a Statement would be made in the other place in due course and that it was made in the way that she…18 Nov 2021HANSARDIreland/Northern Ireland: Solid FuelsMy Lords, there has indeed always been some complexity in interpretations of this matter. It is certainly true that in areas such as red diesel, for example, where there is a need…18 Nov 2021HANSARDProtocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland: EU NegotiationsMy Lords, I have said what I have said. I must say that I have a degree of sympathy with the point that my noble friend makes. It is obviously extremely important that both Houses…18 Nov 2021HANSARDProtocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland: EU NegotiationsMy Lords, the noble Baroness is right that there are a number of conditions referred to in Article 16 for its use—economic and social disruption, trade diversion and so on—and,…18 Nov 2021HANSARDProtocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland: EU NegotiationsMy Lords, our interest, and the way that I am pursuing these negotiations, is the interest of everyone in Northern Ireland, and of the prosperity and stability of everyone in…18 Nov 2021HANSARDProtocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland: EU NegotiationsMy Lords, we have always said that there will need to be a treaty arrangement between this country and the European Union to deal with the special features of Northern Ireland and…18 Nov 2021HANSARDProtocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland: EU NegotiationsMy noble friend is right that the current situation in Northern Ireland, with various grace periods and other easements in the implementation of the protocol, is nevertheless…18 Nov 2021HANSARDProtocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland: EU NegotiationsMy Lords, the noble Lord is obviously much more deeply expert in the Belfast/Good Friday agreement than I am, given his background. He is, of course, absolutely right in what he…18 Nov 2021HANSARDEU RelationsI repeat what I have already said: threats have been made by both sides. Our position is unchanged; I made that clear in the Statement. Our position is to try to find a negotiated…10 Nov 2021HANSARDEU RelationsI think there is a difference between a legitimate provision in a treaty, which is Article 16, and threats to do things outside the treaty, which are the threats that have been…10 Nov 2021HANSARDEU RelationsMy Lords, with the leave of the House, I will now make a Statement to update the House on various recent developments in our relationship with the European Union. The Statement…10 Nov 2021HANSARDEU RelationsMy Lords, I do not think that I said that I was planning to present my own figures in this respect, merely that I was sceptical about the many judgments that had been made…10 Nov 2021