Contributions
368 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDNorthern Ireland Protocol BillFurther to that point, I do not understand why the official Opposition don’t get it. There is a democratic deficit as a result of the Northern Ireland protocol. The hon. Member…20 Jul 2022HANSARDNorthern Ireland Protocol BillIndeed, and that speaks to the issue that I raised about the democratic deficit. The Government are endeavouring, through the Bill, to correct the flaws that were evident in the…20 Jul 2022HANSARDNorthern Ireland Protocol BillI am happy to follow the Minister. Reference has been made to the oversight of the European Court of Justice. Although our primary concern about the protocol is in respect of…20 Jul 2022HANSARDNorthern Ireland Protocol BillI am not going to delve back into the history of Northern Ireland and leave the Committee bemused by an exchange on the Opposition Benches about the wherefores and merits of the…20 Jul 2022HANSARDNorthern Ireland Protocol BillYes, nationalist concerns need to be heard. I believe that the proposals that the Government have made address the concerns on both sides of the community. They address the need…20 Jul 2022HANSARDNorthern Ireland Protocol BillMy right hon. Friend is absolutely right. I believe that if we examine the proposals that the Government are making, we can see that they are fair and balanced. Despite the…20 Jul 2022HANSARDNorthern Ireland Protocol BillI am a democrat, and I accepted the outcome of the referendum. The British people had voted for Brexit, and I was not going to go along with the SDLP’s desire to hold the United…20 Jul 2022HANSARDNorthern Ireland Protocol BillThere is, though, a clear distinction between the principle of consent, which relates to the ultimate question of Northern Ireland’s place within the United Kingdom, or…20 Jul 2022HANSARDNorthern Ireland Protocol BillI am afraid that I must disagree with the hon. Lady. Parallel consent does not apply on only one issue. In strand 1 of the agreement, the requirement for cross-community consensus…20 Jul 2022HANSARDNorthern Ireland Protocol BillThis debate is not about history, but at the time I was actually a member of the Ulster Unionist party, not the Democratic Unionist party—a small fact. As a member of the Ulster…20 Jul 2022HANSARDNorthern Ireland Protocol BillFurther to that point, will the Minister also assure us that, consistent with clause 1, regulations brought forward as a result of this Bill will not harm the integrity of the…20 Jul 2022HANSARDNorthern Ireland Protocol BillNorthern Ireland.20 Jul 2022HANSARDNorthern Ireland Protocol BillI will be brief. I thank the Minister and his team for the work they have done on this Bill, and I thank other right hon. and hon. Members for the contributions they have made to…20 Jul 2022HANSARD Northern Ireland Protocol BillI welcome the opportunity to contribute to this debate on the various amendments. I say to my honourable friends and colleagues from the Alliance party and the Social Democratic…19 Jul 2022HANSARD Northern Ireland Protocol BillI welcome the intervention from the hon. Member, for whom who I have a high regard. It is important that she placed on record a recognition of the concerns of Unionists, but she…19 Jul 2022HANSARD Northern Ireland Protocol BillRobinson is quite a popular name in the Democratic Unionist party. I am honoured to join my hon. Friend the Member for Belfast East (Gavin Robinson), who has that assignation. I…19 Jul 2022HANSARD Northern Ireland Protocol BillMy right hon. Friend makes a valid point, but the matter goes further than that. It is not just that our Government cannot apply their own policies and economic and financial…19 Jul 2022HANSARD Northern Ireland Protocol BillI have no desire whatever to replace Unionist discontentment with nationalist discontentment in Northern Ireland. I recognise that a solution to these issues must be capable of…19 Jul 2022HANSARD Northern Ireland Protocol BillMy right hon. Friend is right, of course. That goes to the heart of what Brexit is about. The mantra was “Taking back control.” That meant taking back control of our borders, our…19 Jul 2022HANSARD Northern Ireland Protocol BillI understand the point that the hon. Gentleman makes, but negotiations have taken place and all these issues have been well aired with the European Union. When I met Maroš…19 Jul 2022