European Union (Withdrawal) Bill

Order. This is very unfair on the right hon. Member for Basingstoke (Mrs Miller). This is an extr...

The Labour party voting against this Bill at such an early stage could easily be seen as a blatan...

The Bill represents not just a step along the way towards departure from the European Union, but ...

This Bill is, fundamentally, not a decision-making Bill; it is an enabling Bill—it is an administ...

My hon. Friend and I rarely agree totally on European matters, but I actually agree with him that...

My right hon. and learned Friend sets out the common ground we should all be on. However, the deb...

My hon. Friend sets out the very essence of the Bill. This is not about a sudden change, but abou...

Absolutely right. The point is that we want that smooth transition; the only reason there is a po...

I can be mercifully brief. I wish to make two points. First, I will vote tonight for the only opt...

I agree with the right hon. Member for Birkenhead (Frank Field) that this Bill is merely an enabl...

Although I campaigned and argued for this country to remain a part of the European Union, I fully...

Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

There are many speakers, as we have heard, and I am sorry, but I would rather press on.

In ...

In the last Parliament, the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee took evide...

We are not talking about notional, theoretical powers; we are talking about actual powers on the ...

Our greatest parliamentary exponent of parliamentary democracy coined the phrase, “In Victory: Ma...

It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Gainsborough (Sir Edward Leigh) and his constructi...

It is an honour and a pleasure to follow the right hon. Member for Don Valley (Caroline Flint), w...

One animal welfare benefit is that on leaving the EU, we could ban the live export of animals fro...

I thank my hon. Friend for making that point, which is one that I was just about to make. CAP fun...

Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

No, I will not take any more interventions.

Most critically, even though we apply high anim...

Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

I will not.

That is why a core responsibility of this Parliament and this Government is to ...

Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

I will not, because I am running out of time.

First, when a state fails to implement EU law...

Today marks the 20th anniversary of the referendum on re-establishing the Scottish Parliament—not...

Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

I shall come to both hon. Members shortly—they will have ample opportunity.

The Government’...

rose—

Ah, there we go! I give way.

Order. The hon. Gentleman is in a state of uncontrolled excitement, but he is auditioning to be a...

The hon. Gentleman has mentioned several times now that this Bill represents a power grab; that i...

I will give the hon. Gentleman his due: at least he had the courage of his convictions and stood ...

I shall support the Bill on its Second Reading for the simple reason that it is necessary. I do n...

One of the issues is that with environmental law, for example, there is currently a remedy of goi...

That is entirely right, and it cannot be rational or coherent to give UK citizens a right under U...

The Bill attempts to incorporate into domestic legislation the body of European Union law that ha...

Does the right hon. Gentleman agree that there have been a lot of arguments in the past about Hen...

The right hon. and learned Gentleman is, of course, correct that we have had some of these debate...

Will the right hon. Gentleman give way?

With consideration for other speakers, I will press on.

In fact, most of the orders made un...

In last year’s referendum I and many others warned of the risk of uncertainty. That risk has not ...

The hon. Lady is making a powerful point. When I was a Business Minister in the coalition Governm...

I wish the EU had followed that mechanism all the time, then we might not be where we are now. Th...

On Thursday, the Secretary of State said in this House that this debate and the Bill are not abou...

The right hon. Lady is making a very thoughtful speech, but does she think that programme motions...

I have a slight advantage over the hon. Gentleman in that I was in the House before programme mot...

It is a great honour to follow the right hon. Member for Derby South (Margaret Beckett). She made...

On delegated legislation, the hon. Gentleman seems to think that it is okay if something is debat...

I think the hon. Gentleman would agree that if the affirmative mechanism were used, the whole Hou...

Will my hon. Friend give way?

Not for a moment, because on this particular point I think I am right: it is called the European ...

The hon. Member for Rhondda (Chris Bryant) raised a very important point in his intervention that...

I thought that was the point I made: that this House could ultimately reject a DL. That is clearl...

Under the negative procedure, which is referred to regularly in the Bill, it is entirely up to th...

I entirely accept that point about the negative procedure. I want to move on to—

Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

I do not have time to take any more interventions. I must press on. There are so many—

rose—

No!

Basically, this Bill is about the principle of ending EU control over this House and in...

She did.

Well, I will stand corrected if that is the case.

Anyway, the point I wanted to make is tha...

I am very grateful for the opportunity to speak this afternoon. Let me start by saying that it is...

Will the right hon. Gentleman give way?

I will.

I share the right hon. Gentleman’s concerns. I share his views, and would have campaigned with hi...

I hesitate, because the right hon. Lady and I have agreed on much, particularly free movement. He...

Would the right hon. Gentleman like to take that back? Things such as getting a White Paper, whic...

I am not sure that the right hon. Lady really wants me to respond.

The point is whether we ...

I shall raise just one issue in the short time available: the living marine resource that under i...

My hon. Friend is absolutely right to have rejected the proposition of the right hon. Member for ...

I agree with my hon. Friend entirely, but today is not the day for those arguments. Arguments abo...

The Bill has been described as “not fit for purpose”, and as a “monstrosity of a Bill”. I agree w...

Does my hon. Friend not agree that the Prime Minister, having been denied the mandate for the har...

Yes, I agree. As I have said, the Prime Minister just thinks it is business as usual, but she is ...

We are here today debating this Bill as a direct consequence of the free vote of the British peop...

This Bill is utterly pernicious. It is dangerous, it is fundamentally un-British and it has at it...

I am very grateful to the hon. Gentleman for giving way and I am sorry to interrupt his flow of e...

I am perfectly aware of all the measures in schedule 7, but I merely point out to the right hon. ...

I am doubly grateful to the hon. Gentleman for giving way. Will he withdraw his remark that it is...

No, I am not withdrawing it. The Bill, at several points, makes it quite clear that the Governmen...

rose—

I am not giving way to the right hon. Gentleman again. I am sure he will manage to catch your eye...

Twenty years ago, almost to the day, I was involved in another bitterly fought referendum campaig...

Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

I will give way in a moment. I am coming to something the SNP said earlier.

The only powers...

rose—

I am happy to give way to his colleague to see if he can come up with a few.

The hon. Gentleman is keen to draw parallels between the EU referendum and that which established...

It was about the same number of EU nationals whose human rights are being threatened by the lates...

In view of the limited time, I will focus on just three aspects of this deeply dangerous and unde...

Will the hon. Lady give way?

I will keep on for a little bit longer.

We need to transfer explicitly into UK law the key ...

The House voted six to one, with its eyes wide open, for a referendum. Implicit in that result wa...

The majority of my constituents who voted in the referendum voted to leave the European Union. Ou...

In an excellent speech on Thursday, the right hon. Member for Normanton, Pontefract and Castlefor...

I am grateful for the chance to contribute to this debate. I look forward to re-joining the Exiti...

Without the Bill we cannot respect the will of the British people, as expressed in the referendum...

“Democracy” and “the will of the people” are terms often used and—dare I say it—abused in connect...

Will the hon. Lady give way?

Will the hon. Gentleman hear me out?

The supremacy of Parliament is a proud tradition that ...

I have been in the House since 2001 and have, I dare say, manufactured a fair amount of indignati...

As a former editor, may I suggest that the Brexit Secretary sits down over the recess in a dark o...

I rather hope that the Brexit Secretary will concentrate on negotiating our departure rather than...

The hon. Gentleman makes light of the rights of each of us, of our constituents and, indeed, of E...

No, I do not think so. Delegated legislation is always difficult. There are so many statutory ins...

I will be voting against the Bill tonight because it is a thoroughly bad piece of legislation. It...

I welcome the Second Reading of this Bill, and I am grateful for the opportunity to speak in this...

I, too, will vote against the Bill this evening, and I bring to bear two aspects of my experience...

This is the second day on which I have sat listening to many good speeches on this topic, but I c...

Does the hon. Gentleman agree that none of those who are criticising the points he is making have...

I agree with my hon. Friend, and I will come to that very point.

rose—

I will not give way again, because many other Members wish to speak. However, I shall address tha...

And we could not change it.

As my hon. Friend says, even if those debates had happened, the legislation could not have been c...

rose—

rose—

No, I will not give way—absolutely not! I do not have time and I am enjoying myself. I am represe...

The Bill provides dangerous and sweeping powers to Ministers, rides roughshod through the devolut...

Does the hon. Gentleman agree with me on the point that was discussed with the hon. Member for Rh...

I do not necessarily agree with the right hon. Gentleman, nor do I have faith that even the affir...

I shall try again with the question I asked earlier. The hon. Gentleman talks about power grabs a...

Had the hon. Gentleman listened to my hon. Friend the Member for North East Fife (Stephen Gethins...

Today and last Thursday, a number of speakers on both sides of the House stated that this Bill is...

rose—

I am tempted to give way, but I will not because are so many other people wish to speak. Will the...

indicated assent.

It is all about what the process will be. Interestingly, some of us have had the chance to look a...

rose—

I am so sorry, but I will not give way.

That body would provide the necessary oversight tha...

Order.

7.15 pm

I will vote against the Bill tonight, for the slightly quaint reason that that is what I told my ...

Let us cut through the political smoke and mirrors that we have heard in this debate and be clear...

Let me start by giving some context to this EU withdrawal Bill. Just a few months ago, the Prime ...

Well, there is a coming together, because earlier today I heard the speech made by the right hon....

I accept the result of the referendum even though, as a committed European, I fought vehemently o...

I am grateful to you, Mr Speaker, for the opportunity to speak in this historic debate. It is get...

This debate is about not if but how we leave the EU. I was elected to this House very recently to...

I thank the hon. Gentleman for that intervention.

I know that Opposition Members feel the s...

I will vote against this Bill tonight because I have listened to my constituents in Cardiff South...

As always, it is an honour to speak after the hon. Member for Cardiff South and Penarth (Stephen ...

It is a pleasure to take part in the debate, and it is a particular pleasure to follow the hon. M...

My hon. Friend is making a brilliant speech, but is the challenge of the Bill not this: we used t...

No, never. The fact that all the replacement of the functions of the 40 EU agencies is to be done...

I will endeavour to follow the plea of the hon. Member for Bishop Auckland (Helen Goodman) and de...

Many of us have a beef not with the way in which the laws will be transferred from Europe to the ...

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for that intervention because it gives me the opportunity to ...

I will be joining my colleagues in the Lobby tonight to vote against this Bill, because of the un...

Is my hon. Friend concerned that the replacement of the European Environment Agency by national b...

My hon. Friend makes an excellent point. We will not simply be able to cut and paste chemicals me...

It is good to follow the hon. Member for Wakefield (Mary Creagh), but I want to turn from sun kin...

The process is that amendments can be tabled after Second Reading tonight. We cannot table amendm...

To clarify, there is an amendment on the Order Paper, and I would suggest that some of those prov...

Will the hon. Gentleman clarify why his colleagues think it reasonable for the Government to argu...

That is not in the Bill. There is protection for the Belfast agreement under clause 7(6). We can ...

I am pleased to follow the hon. Member for Ochil and South Perthshire (Luke Graham), who knows th...

It is a great pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Swansea West (Geraint Davies).

I belie...

Does the hon. Gentleman not then agree with the Scottish Conservative leader, Ruth Davidson, who ...

The hon. Gentleman will have heard me when I said that I believe we should leave the single marke...

Mr Deputy Speaker:

“the Scottish Parliament, which adjourned on 25 March 1707, is hereby re...

As my hon. Friend knows, I have an airport and an important aerospace cluster in my constituency....

I share my hon. Friend’s concerns, and I am sure she shares those of the insurance sector, which ...

Will the hon. Lady give way?

I will not at the moment. I am going to make some progress.

To put it simply, planes will n...

Will the hon. Lady give way?

Not at the moment; I am going to make some progress.

The former Prime Minister David Camero...

My hon. Friend prays in aid Lord Judge, but it is fair to say that he is not the only senior magi...

Yes, he is.

The Government had to be dragged through the courts even to give Parliament a s...

Will the hon. Lady give way?

Will the hon. Lady give way?

The UK Government should be delighted, but what have they been doing? They have been doing Brexit...

Will the hon. Lady give way?

Order. Mr. Graham, you have already spoken. If the hon. Member for Livingston (Hannah Bardell) wi...

Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker.

This Bill threatens the very foundations and transparency of ...

It is an honour to follow the hon. Member for Livingston (Hannah Bardell), who gave an interestin...

rose—

Will the hon. Lady give way?

I am so sorry; I have been told that I need to crack on because of the time. I do apologise.

I congratulate the shadow Secretary of State, my right hon. and learned Friend the Member for Hol...

The hon. Gentleman always makes good arguments, but is he actually telling us that we should just...

The Bill asks us to transfer to the Executive what the hon. Gentleman considers a flaw without th...

I supported the remain side of the argument in the referendum, but my constituents listened polit...

Clearly we want to ensure a reasonable win-win trade deal with the European Union, but is my hon....

My hon. Friend makes a powerful argument. There are those who say that we have to beg Europe for ...

I apologise for missing the first few minutes of this debate.

It is a pleasure to follow th...

Stoke-on-Trent voted overwhelmingly to leave the European Union: the proportion was higher than i...

It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Stoke-on-Trent South (Jack Brereton).

Last J...

I am grateful for the opportunity to speak this evening. The Government must carry out the will o...

When a Government come to a Parliament and say, “Give us more powers, or there will be chaos,” de...

Does the right hon. Gentleman agree that it is even worse for the Government to behave as an elec...

The hon. Gentleman makes a very good point, and I will come to that.

I would argue that the...

On 23 June 2016, the people of Mansfield voted overwhelmingly to leave the EU. They were so passi...

When a Conservative former Attorney General looks at a Bill and describes it as an “astonishing m...

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for giving way on the point about the London economy and EU natio...

I agree with my hon. Friend’s point. There are 17,000 EU nationals who live in my constituency, a...

Despite some of the benefits that the UK has derived from its membership of the EU, overall, and ...

Will the hon. Lady tell us in what way the House of Lords is more accountable to the democratic p...

Through the Bill, our UK Parliament will regain authority over whether and how EU law will apply,...

I shall be brief and to the point, as we are about to reach a critical stage in proceedings.

Does the hon. Member for Coventry North West (Mr Robinson) wish to conclude his oration, or has h...

I would, very briefly, like to conclude. Thank you very much, Mr Speaker. The pause, if anything,...

I rise with enthusiasm to support the main principles of the Bill and its Second Reading. We have...

Does my hon. Friend agree that as a nation we need to learn to respect the outcomes of referendum...

My hon. Friend’s excellent point brings me neatly to the nationalists, who have called the Bill a...

Does the hon. Gentleman agree with the Law Society of Scotland, a non-partisan body, that the Bil...

The answer to the first question is no. I remind the hon. and learned lady, however, that it was ...

On a point of order, Mr Speaker.

Order. I hope it is genuinely a point of order, rather than one of frustration from the hon. Gent...

I merely ask for guidance on the relevance of the hon. Gentleman’s speech on greenbelt and the Sc...

If the speech had been disorderly, I would have ruled as such, but it wasn’t, so I didn’t.

Thank you, Mr Speaker.

Many of my constituents in Dunblane and Bridge of Allan are rightly ...

It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Stirling (Stephen Kerr).

Let me make it clea...

I agree with my hon. Friend that clauses 7, 8 and 9 are Henry VIII clauses, enabling Ministers to...

My hon. Friend is absolutely right that it is fatally flawed, and that is why I will vote against...

Did my hon. Friend see last Tuesday’s Order Paper, which listed a whole bunch of private Members’...

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for drawing attention to that, and it simply reinforces the case ...

No, people will not be able to go to the ECJ—the hon. Gentleman is right about that—but they will...

I have nothing against British judges taking decisions. What I am talking about is the failure of...

Will the hon. Gentleman give way again?

No, I am not giving way again; I have given way three times, and many Members want to speak in th...

Order. A five-minute limit on Back-Bench speeches must now apply if I am to accommodate colleague...

It is an honour to contribute to this historic debate, and to follow the hon. Member for Torfaen ...

The last seven hours have demonstrated what this place does best. My right hon. Friend the Member...

Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

I will not.

Words such as “the Minister may make regulations” are littered throughout the B...

Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

No, I will not give way.

We also have a programme motion that seeks to allow 64 hours of de...

I will give you one last chance.

No, I am not going to take it.

The ways and means resolution allows for “any taxation”. I t...

It is a pleasure to follow the energetic speech of the hon. Member for Stoke-on-Trent Central (Ga...

I have read them.

The hon. Lady should know, then, that the Bill expressly prohibits these powers being used in any...

I begin by trying to find a bit of consensus and agreement across the House. We are all basically...

rose—

I have not got time for the hon. Gentleman’s intervention, so he should sit down. On this side of...

Order. After the next speaker, the time limit on Back-Bench speeches will need to be reduced to f...

First, let me make it clear that people in my constituency voted leave in the referendum, but the...

Some Government Members seem perturbed at the description of clause 7 as a power grab, but given ...

Does my hon. Friend agree that it would be incredible if the Scots Tories voted for this Bill to ...

I absolutely concur with my hon. Friend. I say to colleagues opposite: do not let yourselves be p...

I thank the hon. Gentleman for giving way. Will you tell the House what powers will be taken away...

Order. I can do no such thing, but the hon. Member for Edinburgh East (Tommy Sheppard) might be a...

I find it incredible—Members on the Government Benches have had the answer to this question on th...

rose—

I ask the hon. Gentleman to please sit down, as time is very short.

Finally, many Members h...

During June’s election, I made two promises about Brexit to my electorate, now my constituents: f...

Does my hon. Friend agree that the Government did not want us to debate Brexit originally? It too...

I thank my hon. Friend for his intervention. I know that in lofty debates such as this, which peo...

It is a pleasure to follow my hon. Friend the Member for Nottingham North (Alex Norris).

As...

Does my hon. Friend agree that the recent case of the Government acting illegally over employment...

I absolutely agree.

The House of Commons Library, in its impartial comment, says:

“Cl...

DUP Members’ starting point on the Bill is, “Does it help us deliver the will of the people of th...

I am very grateful to the hon. Gentleman for allowing me to interrupt his rhetoric. There is one ...

The fact that we do not have an Assembly in Northern Ireland might make it easier for the Governm...

Does the hon. Gentleman agree with the House of Commons Library that in spite of what he has said...

Of course there are limits, and the ultimate limit is that we have heard speeches from Government...

Reference was made earlier to the Lisbon treaty and, like me, as he was in the House at the time,...

Of course. That is the flaw in the argument of Opposition Members who have said that this Bill is...

It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for East Antrim (Sammy Wilson). It was interesting to ...

Order. I call Lloyd Russell-Moyle.

11.9 pm

Mr Speaker,

“We will scrap the Conservatives’…White Paper and replace it with fresh negotia...

The hon. Gentleman talks about the charter of fundamental rights. What is wrong with our Supreme ...

There is nothing wrong with our Supreme Court, but what better than to have an additional protect...

Does my hon. Friend agree that we should not trust the party that refused to implement the social...

Order. Before I call Mr Russell-Moyle, I would point out that every intervention is mucking up th...

I agree. The Bill also—[Laughter.] I wanted to move on quickly.

The Bill also fails complet...

Last week, we heard excellent forensic legal analysis, on both sides of the House, from the shado...

On the position of Scottish Conservatives on devolution, I thought that Scottish Tory MPs would b...

My hon. Friend makes my point for me.

The point I was about to make is that 20 years ago in...

Order. I call James Frith—three minutes.

11.20 pm

I join the House only 48 hours after the birth of my son, Bobby James. Dads on this side of the H...

The Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union urged us to vote for the Bill, and said: