Contributions
479 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDTrade Agreement between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Swiss ConfederationMy Lords, I congratulate the noble Lord, Lord Whitty, on his authoritative introduction to his Motion. I am not competent to comment on the detail, but I agree very much with the…01 May 2019HANSARDMaking Tax Digital for VAT (Economic Affairs Committee Report)My Lords, I gravely miss the noble Lord, Lord Bates, but I understand why someone might want to walk a very long way to avoid having to answer this debate. It is a pleasure to see…29 Apr 2019HANSARDMaking Tax Digital for VAT (Economic Affairs Committee Report)I am quite sure that the House will be very willing to extend considerable injury time to the Minister if he would be prepared to tell us not just what the boilerplate says but…29 Apr 2019HANSARDEuropean CouncilI think that we have to try to rise to the level of events. The noble and learned Lord, Lord Goldsmith, was quite right to talk about the humiliating spectacle last night. The…11 Apr 2019HANSARDEuropean Union (Withdrawal) (No. 5) BillMy Lords, like the noble Viscount, I was not able to be here for the debate on Second Reading. I am therefore sure that he will agree with me that neither of us should intervene.08 Apr 2019HANSARDBrexit: The Customs Challenge (European Union Committee Report)I will make a small and typically unpolemical point in the gap. This admirable report says at paragraph 17: “The UK Government has repeatedly ruled out entering into a customs…01 Apr 2019HANSARDBusiness of the HouseYes.26 Mar 2019HANSARDBrexitI warmly applaud what was just said by the noble Lord, Lord Alderdice. I shall shock the Government Front Bench by saying that I rather like the Prime Minister’s Statement. I…25 Mar 2019HANSARDTrade BillIt could be that the Germans are planning to leave the European Union, but while they remain their external trade will be conducted by the European Union.13 Mar 2019HANSARDTrade BillMy name is on the amendment but I have very little to add to the authoritative introduction from the noble Lord, Lord Hain. I agree with him that we should be pressing at an open…13 Mar 2019HANSARDTrade BillMy name is on this amendment, which seems to be an extremely sensible one. I support what has just been said. I had no mentor when I came into this House, and I had no one to hold…13 Mar 2019HANSARDWithdrawal Agreement: Attorney General’s legal opinion on the Joint Instrument and Unilateral DeclarationThere are two other options. We could of course change the law and we could take an extension under Article 50. I think there are new elements in the new texts. I do not think…12 Mar 2019HANSARDFurther Developments in Discussions with the European Union under Article 50 of the Treaty on European UnionI am not sure I caught all of the noble Lord’s question. If he is asking whether the EU wishes to have free trade agreements with the UK, the answer is yes, it does; tariff-free…11 Mar 2019HANSARDFurther Developments in Discussions with the European Union under Article 50 of the Treaty on European UnionIt is a pleasure, as always, to follow the noble Duke, the Duke of Wellington—lots of soldiers have done so successfully. Since there are no new facts in this debate, we have to…11 Mar 2019HANSARDTrade BillI understand that that is the Government’s aim, but it is also the case that the Government have deliberately kept no deal on the table. British importers, businesses and farmers…06 Mar 2019HANSARDTrade BillMy Lords, for this House it is déjà vu all over again. We voted for a customs union in the withdrawal Bill on 18 April, by an enormous majority of 223. The amendment then was in…06 Mar 2019HANSARDTrade BillThe situation the noble Baroness is describing will obtain if the Prime Minister’s deal goes through and we go into an interim transition period. It is certainly the situation…06 Mar 2019HANSARDTrade BillI would like to ask one question of the Minister. I welcome the White Paper; it is full of commitments to transparency. What will be the tariff regime of the United Kingdom for…06 Mar 2019HANSARDTrade BillMy Lords, my perspective is that of a former negotiator. I do not think that a serious parliamentary procedure of the kind set out in the amendment for the approval of a mandate…06 Mar 2019HANSARDFurther Discussions with the European Union under Article 50 of the Treaty on European UnionBut what he brought down was graven on a tablet of stone, and what Mr Nick Timothy drafted for the Prime Minister in September 2016 was not, in my view, to be taken as graven on a…27 Feb 2019