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2,308 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDEU Withdrawal Agreement: Legal ChangesI did try to address that in my opening remarks. I said that we would update the House as part of the upcoming debate, and we have set aside a significant number of parliamentary…07 Jan 2019HANSARDEU Withdrawal Agreement: Legal ChangesIt will not surprise the hon. Gentleman to hear that no Minister wants to be found in contempt of the House. Obviously, any possibility of our being found in such contempt will be…07 Jan 2019HANSARDEU Withdrawal Agreement: Legal ChangesI am slightly perplexed at being accused of playing chicken when I am at the Dispatch Box answering the hon. Lady’s question. As I touched on in reply to the Westminster leader of…07 Jan 2019HANSARDEU Withdrawal Agreement: Legal ChangesThe hon. Lady should be much more candid with the electorate about the fact that she is actually calling for revocation. Extending article 50 is not a unilateral decision for the…07 Jan 2019HANSARDEU Withdrawal Agreement: Legal ChangesI agree with my hon. Friend. Part of the reason why I supported leaving the European Union is that I want us to be much more global in our approach. I want us to look to the…07 Jan 2019HANSARDEU Withdrawal Agreement: Legal ChangesAs I set out in my earlier remarks, there will be a business motion on Wednesday, when these issues will be discussed—as they are being discussed, prior to that, through the usual…07 Jan 2019HANSARDEU Withdrawal Agreement: Legal ChangesIt is not a broken economy that is putting £20.5 billion a year extra into the NHS and investing in a long-term plan. It is not a broken economy that is seeing the lowest…07 Jan 2019HANSARDEU Withdrawal Agreement: Legal ChangesMy hon. Friend is absolutely right. The business community and citizens are clear that they want the certainty that the deal offers. They want the implementation period to allow…07 Jan 2019HANSARDEU Withdrawal Agreement: Legal ChangesMy hon. Friend raises a very important point, and it is one that we have been looking at. I think it is part of a wider question: as we move into phase 2, how do we give a greater…07 Jan 2019HANSARDEU Withdrawal Agreement: Legal ChangesThe reality is that the Prime Minister was committed to respecting the referendum result, and that is what she has done. She set out a manifesto commitment to honour the…07 Jan 2019HANSARDEU Withdrawal Agreement: Legal ChangesWell, the hon. Gentleman cannot have it both ways. He cannot, on the one hand, say that he is voting against the deal and then, on the other, pray against the uncertainty that…07 Jan 2019HANSARDEU Withdrawal Agreement: Legal ChangesThe reason is quite straightforward—that, against a finite deadline for when we leave the European Union, we need to put in place contingency plans. We were hoping to have secured…07 Jan 2019HANSARDEU Withdrawal Agreement: Legal ChangesThe rest of the world will be looking at the fact that we have had a democratic vote and whether, as a Parliament, we respect and honour that vote. In respect of the deal, it is…07 Jan 2019HANSARDEU Withdrawal Agreement: Legal ChangesI respect the 800-odd people who emailed the hon. Lady on this, but the reality is that 17.4 million voted in the referendum, and it is on their mandate that this Government are…07 Jan 2019HANSARDEU Withdrawal Agreement: Legal ChangesThe hon. Gentleman really goes to the heart of the issue, which is that I am seeking to rule out no deal by backing the Prime Minister’s deal, but the difference is that he is…07 Jan 2019HANSARDEU Withdrawal Agreement: Legal ChangesLet me unpick that question. There have been extensive discussions with EU leaders, but not on the issue of extending article 50. The extensive discussions have been about the…07 Jan 2019HANSARDEU Withdrawal Agreement: Legal ChangesYes.07 Jan 2019HANSARDEU Withdrawal Agreement: Legal ChangesThe scope to exit from the backstop—which is really at the heart of my right hon. Friend’s question—was explored in the House at length on, I think, 3 or 4 December, when the…07 Jan 2019HANSARDEU Withdrawal Agreement: Legal ChangesI know the hon. Lady feels extremely strongly about this issue, but what is damaging to our public life is to stand on a manifesto that commits to respecting the result and then…07 Jan 2019HANSARDEU Withdrawal Agreement: Legal ChangesThe Prime Minister has set out the Government’s position on that, and I refer my hon. Friend to the many statements the Prime Minister has made on that point.07 Jan 2019