Contributions
4,303 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARD European Union (Withdrawal) ActsThat is just utter nonsense. Let me answer that directly: I have stood at this Dispatch Box and pressed amendments on the customs union time and again, and Government Members have…19 Oct 2019HANSARD European Union (Withdrawal) ActsI will make one more point and then I will give way. I just want to reinforce my point and then I will pause. Not only have the aspiration for “as close as possible” and the…19 Oct 2019HANSARD European Union (Withdrawal) ActsIf we pass this deal today, it will be a long way back for the communities we represent. I urge all Members to reject it.19 Oct 2019HANSARD European Union (Withdrawal) ActsI am grateful for that intervention.19 Oct 2019HANSARD European Union (Withdrawal) ActsI do agree, but I really want to press this point. As I say, this is not just about getting a deal over the line. That is not the end of it. It is what we are getting over the…19 Oct 2019HANSARD European Union (Withdrawal) ActsToday, we meet on a Saturday for the first time in 37 years, with huge decisions before us this afternoon. Those decisions are not just about whether this deal gets over the line,…19 Oct 2019HANSARD European Union (Withdrawal) ActsI agree. I will develop that point in a moment, but I will take a further intervention first.19 Oct 2019HANSARD European Union (Withdrawal) ActsThe Secretary of State and I were in the same room at the time; he knows very well that that is not true—the idea that I would not know our own proposal. He knows that; he was…19 Oct 2019HANSARD Britain's Place in the WorldI said from the very start that we should have a meaningful vote on the deal so we can judge whether it is good enough. We had to fight for that, because the previous Prime…15 Oct 2019HANSARD Britain's Place in the WorldI will just finish this point, then I will. Once we say, “I don’t want to be part of those rules or regulations; I want to diverge”, we are moving our gaze away from the EU as our…15 Oct 2019HANSARD Britain's Place in the WorldI hope the Secretary of State would come to the House to answer that question and the many other questions that go with it. My judgment call is that a no deal fundamentally…15 Oct 2019HANSARD Britain's Place in the WorldMr Speaker, I start by warmly welcoming the announcement you have just made and offering our congratulations on behalf, I am sure, of the whole House. This could be the most…15 Oct 2019HANSARD Britain's Place in the WorldI will in just one moment. The reality is that, of the seven Bills paraded as the centrepiece, five were exactly the same as the ones that have just been dropped and one is the…15 Oct 2019HANSARD Britain's Place in the WorldI will in just one minute. The private international law Bill is undoubtedly important; it deals with commercial law, family law and private law. But if that is the summit of the…15 Oct 2019HANSARD Britain's Place in the WorldAt this stage, any deal that comes back from this Government ought to be put back to the public for them to decide whether those are the terms they want to leave on or not. I came…15 Oct 2019HANSARD Britain's Place in the WorldI do agree. I cannot help feeling that in 2015 we had a Prime Minister who promised a referendum we did not need in order to try to hold his party together, then we had a Prime…15 Oct 2019HANSARD Britain's Place in the WorldI will give way in just a minute. There would be obvious consequences for our public services, for businesses, for food and environmental standards and for workers’ rights. I know…15 Oct 2019HANSARD Britain's Place in the WorldI did say that I would give way to the hon. Member for Gillingham and Rainham (Rehman Chishti).15 Oct 2019HANSARD Britain's Place in the WorldLet me draw on my experience and answer that. It is perfectly true that we want to collaborate and co-operate around the world on issues that are important to us, including modern…15 Oct 2019HANSARD Britain's Place in the WorldLet me just finish this point. Those arrangements are far more effective in so many respects. The ability to share intelligence with our EU partners is on a different footing from…15 Oct 2019