Contributions
485 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDNorthern Ireland ProtocolMy Lords, I asked myself that question implicitly in the speech and I still do not really know the answer. I think our behaviour since the start of the year as a fully independent…13 Oct 2021HANSARDNorthern Ireland ProtocolMy Lords, these matters were well debated at the time. The then UK Internal Market Bill is now a very good Act to protect the integrity of the single market of the UK. It does…13 Oct 2021HANSARDNorthern Ireland ProtocolMy Lords, there is, of course, a difference between what is in an international legal instrument and what happens day to day, as I am sure is well understood. The political…13 Oct 2021HANSARDNorthern Ireland ProtocolMy Lords, my speech in Lisbon yesterday covered much more than the Northern Ireland protocol. I am sure that the noble Lords who have read it have seen that it was an attempt to…13 Oct 2021HANSARDNorthern Ireland ProtocolMy Lords, there is quite a lot in that question but I will try to deal with the two points. We talk to people of all opinions across the spectrum of political opinion in Northern…13 Oct 2021HANSARDNorthern Ireland ProtocolMy Lords, the objective of the Northern Ireland protocol was to support the Belfast/Good Friday agreement. It is now undermining it. I set out our proposals to change these…13 Oct 2021HANSARDProtocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland: Power-sharingThe noble Lord is correct, of course, that the issue of involving political opinion and institutions in Northern Ireland is for the UK Government. We do that, and the Northern…16 Sept 2021HANSARDProtocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland: Power-sharingMy Lords, the noble Baroness is obviously correct that it can be helpful to say as little as possible when you are trying to find solutions. This is obviously a matter of…16 Sept 2021HANSARDProtocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland: Power-sharingMy Lords, we have set out our position in the Command Paper. We are very clear that the conditions for Article 16 safeguards are met, but we think the right way forward is to see…16 Sept 2021HANSARDProtocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland: Power-sharingMy Lords, the question involves a lot of rather complex issues and I feel I cannot really do justice to it in the time available. The overriding purpose of the protocol is to…16 Sept 2021HANSARDBrexit OpportunitiesMy Lords, with the leave of the House, I will now make a Statement, which is also being made in the other place, on the opportunities this country has now that we have left the…16 Sept 2021HANSARDBrexit OpportunitiesMy Lords, I am encouraged by what I have heard from the noble Baroness and the noble Lord because it seems that they share our ambition to do more in this area and are…16 Sept 2021HANSARDBrexit OpportunitiesMy Lords, I thank the noble Lord for his comments. That is a very good suggestion; indeed, a lot of things have not happened that the gloom-mongers said would happen, and they are…16 Sept 2021HANSARDImports from EU to GB: Business PreparationMy Lords, I think our position on the protocol is well known, and we may come to it later. Of course, my noble friend is absolutely right to say that it makes sense for us to put…16 Sept 2021HANSARDBrexit OpportunitiesMy Lords, I very much welcome that suggestion from my noble friend. It is an extremely good one and a reminder that in many cases, Governments of both parties opposed proposals…16 Sept 2021HANSARDBrexit OpportunitiesMy Lords, there is a complex list of proposals, consultations, ideas for legislation, specific plans for legislation, and so on, so it is hard to generalise. However, I wish to be…16 Sept 2021HANSARDBrexit OpportunitiesMy Lords, we set out our view on that in the Command Paper. It is obviously right and essential that people in Northern Ireland have the same access to medicines as those anywhere…16 Sept 2021HANSARDBrexit OpportunitiesMy Lords, we are a high-standards country. The manifesto on which we won the election in 2019 was very clear about our intention to maintain high standards in all those areas.…16 Sept 2021HANSARDBrexit OpportunitiesMy Lords, I do not think it has been bought at any cost. I make no apology for standing up for freedom—free enterprise and freedom to think and debate—and that is what we did not…16 Sept 2021HANSARDBrexit OpportunitiesMy Lords, I have a huge amount of sympathy with the thrust of my noble friend’s comment. It is about bringing back democracy and restoring the authority of this Parliament. I…16 Sept 2021