Contributions
2,308 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARD European Union (Withdrawal) ActI will just make progress on this section and then I will happily take further interventions. Secondly, the protocol provides for alignment in Northern Ireland with a small…09 Jan 2019HANSARD European Union (Withdrawal) ActI will happily take interventions from two former Ministers, both of whom served with distinction in the Department for Exiting the European Union.09 Jan 2019HANSARD European Union (Withdrawal) ActI will make some progress and come back to my fellow Cambridge colleague very shortly. The more material issue raised in the House on the backstop related to whether it damages…09 Jan 2019HANSARD European Union (Withdrawal) ActI am very grateful to the hon. Lady, first for her support for the Prime Minister’s deal, and secondly for the way in which she engages with such seriousness with issues of…09 Jan 2019HANSARD European Union (Withdrawal) ActI will take one more intervention, and then I will wind up my speech.09 Jan 2019HANSARD European Union (Withdrawal) ActThe hon. Gentleman nods. I think many other Labour Members would agree. Members have to accept the risk of a no deal, therefore, and as a Government, we have to be responsible. We…09 Jan 2019HANSARD European Union (Withdrawal) ActI respect the principled position that the hon. Gentleman took in his vote on article 50, but if one recognises the majority opinion of the House, which is what he says we should…09 Jan 2019HANSARD European Union (Withdrawal) ActI absolutely agree with my hon. Friend. He alludes to the 78-day plan being put forward by the Opposition, which the EU has made clear is not credible, their sister parties have…09 Jan 2019HANSARD European Union (Withdrawal) ActThe hon. Gentleman has not been able to convince his own Front Benchers. Senior Opposition Front Benchers, such as the shadow Business Secretary, have spoken of the huge damage…09 Jan 2019HANSARD European Union (Withdrawal) ActMy right hon. Friend will know, because he has often spoken in warm and glowing terms about trading on a no-deal WTO basis, that tariffs are just one aspect of our relationships,…09 Jan 2019HANSARD European Union (Withdrawal) ActI will of course give way. May I also take this opportunity to congratulate my right hon. Friend on his recent honour?09 Jan 2019HANSARD European Union (Withdrawal) ActI pay heed to my hon. Friend, because he is one of the most serious thinkers in our party and I know he engages very seriously on these issues. Of course, the former permanent…09 Jan 2019HANSARD European Union (Withdrawal) ActWith characteristic aplomb, my hon. Friend alludes to one of the key issues in this debate: how one assesses the balance of risk. The Attorney General said in his statement to the…09 Jan 2019HANSARD European Union (Withdrawal) ActNo, because, as I have said on a number of occasions, whichever deal we have will need the elements we have talked about in respect of the withdrawal agreement, including a…09 Jan 2019HANSARD European Union (Withdrawal) ActThe right hon. Gentleman raises an important question: what will the role of this House be in the event that the backstop has to be triggered? As he knows, there are safeguards…09 Jan 2019HANSARD European Union (Withdrawal) ActI will take interventions in a moment. Another aspect of our strategy is our commitment to work in a more targeted way and more closely with Parliament in the next phase of…09 Jan 2019HANSARD European Union (Withdrawal) ActThe hon. Gentleman has already had one go. Let me enlighten him on some of the developments that have happened since the pause in the debate. Today, we have published a document…09 Jan 2019HANSARD European Union (Withdrawal) ActI must draw my speech to a close. With just 78 days before we leave the European Union, the House should now give citizens and businesses the certainty that they seek, and the way…09 Jan 2019HANSARD European Union (Withdrawal) ActI respect the concern that the hon. Lady feels, but it is not in the power of an individual Minister to say that that will not happen, because the House has to decide what it is…09 Jan 2019HANSARD European Union (Withdrawal) ActIt is a statement of the legal position to say that to enter into a permanent arrangement, we need to be a third party. That reality is part of the difficulty of this situation.…09 Jan 2019