Contributions
368 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDNorthern Ireland Protocol BillI am many things, but I am not a prophet, so I cannot say with certainty that this will happen or that will happen. But I can point to this: when the protocol, as part of the…13 Jul 2022HANSARDNorthern Ireland Protocol BillWe are not Norway; we are Northern Ireland. Northern Ireland is not in the single market, and let us be clear about that. The protocol requires us to align our regulations on…13 Jul 2022HANSARDNorthern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) BillI understand what the hon. Gentleman is saying in relation to the nationalist community, but I am sure the hon. Member for Foyle (Colum Eastwood) would agree that the sense of…04 Jul 2022HANSARDNorthern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) BillMy hon. Friend is making a strong point. Of course, the UK Government cannot legislate for matters in the jurisdiction of the Irish Republic. Nevertheless, he mentions a number of…04 Jul 2022HANSARDNorthern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) BillI thank both my hon. Friend and my hon. Friend the Member for Belfast East (Gavin Robinson) for their work on this Bill. Does my hon. Friend the Member for Upper Bann (Carla…04 Jul 2022HANSARDNorthern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) BillOn behalf of the DUP, I thank everyone who has taken part in our debates in Committee. As I did earlier, I pay particular tribute to my hon. Friends the Members for Belfast East…04 Jul 2022HANSARDNorthern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) BillI have some sympathy with the Minister’s position, in so far as everyone wants to criticise the UK Government on the disclosure of information. Given that 90% of the deaths in…04 Jul 2022HANSARD Northern Ireland Protocol BillThe right hon. Gentleman is absolutely correct. Many of my constituents, and those of my right hon. and hon. Friends, have experienced that as consumers and businesses. This is…27 Jun 2022HANSARD Northern Ireland Protocol BillI welcome the opportunity to speak on Second Reading of this very important Bill. At the outset, it is important to make the point to all right hon. and hon. Members that this is…27 Jun 2022HANSARD Northern Ireland Protocol BillThe Chair of the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee shakes his head, but if he found his constituents in a position where they were unable to trade freely with the rest of their…27 Jun 2022HANSARD Northern Ireland Protocol BillThe hon. Member for Bristol South (Karin Smyth) made a point on this subject earlier, but as a result of the protocol we have a democratic deficit in Northern Ireland. Many of the…27 Jun 2022HANSARD Northern Ireland Protocol BillI will come to that point, but I simply ask the hon. Gentleman: if I were to do that, would he then support the Bill? I heard nothing in his contribution to suggest that he would.…27 Jun 2022HANSARD Northern Ireland Protocol BillThe Secretary of State refers to an important point, namely the regulations that this Bill will make it possible to introduce. Clause 1 is clear that nothing in this Bill should…27 Jun 2022HANSARD Northern Ireland Protocol BillI am not suggesting that the Bill is perfect. It is rare for legislation that passes this House to be perfect in every sense and not to require subsequent amendment. The benefit…27 Jun 2022HANSARD Northern Ireland Protocol BillI thank the hon. Member for his point. If I may, I will just return briefly to the point he made prior to that. At no stage has this Government or my party ever called for a hard…27 Jun 2022HANSARD Northern Ireland Protocol BillWill the hon. Member give way?27 Jun 2022HANSARD Northern Ireland Protocol BillI was very clear: I want to see progress being made in the passage of this Bill through the House of Commons. I want to see steps being taken that give us the certainty that we…27 Jun 2022HANSARD Northern Ireland Protocol BillThe hon. Member says that the protocol is designed to protect the Good Friday agreement. The north-south institution has collapsed, the Assembly is not meeting, the Executive is…27 Jun 2022HANSARD Northern Ireland Protocol BillI believe in fairness and that when there is a dispute at an international level, the court of one side should not be left to be the arbiter of that situation. That needs to be…27 Jun 2022HANSARD Northern Ireland Protocol BillI thank the hon. Member for that intervention and for the excellent work he has been doing in helping to bring about the progress we are making towards the restoration of the…27 Jun 2022