European Union (Withdrawal) Bill

Does the hon. Gentleman agree that the crucial issue is not the one he deals with in amendment 79...

I am arguing in favour of my own amendment, but I accept the force of the hon. Gentleman’s words....

It would be absolutely fascinating if the Government pressed ahead regardless, against the backdr...

Amendment 79 might elucidate that point, which the hon. Gentleman put well. The final step of try...

Clause 1 of this historic Bill is the most important constitutional matter to come before the Hou...

Will the right hon. Gentleman give way?

No, I am not going to take any interventions. I am conscious that we have very little time, and I...

Will the right hon. Gentleman give way?

No. I have already explained that I am conscious that many colleagues wish to join in the debate....

It is, I think, a pleasure to follow the right hon. Member for Wokingham (John Redwood), who invi...

Will the right hon. Gentleman give way?

I will give way, but only this once because I want to conclude.

Is the right hon. Gentleman’s implication that unless he is satisfied with an agreement he will n...

I will answer precisely that point before I conclude, but if the right hon. Gentleman will forgiv...

I have often taken part in such debates as these and felt rather in the minority in opposing a ne...

Oh move on, for God’s sake!

I just put that forward as a problem. I believe as passionately in my case as my right hon. Frien...

Sir Winston Churchill said that the role of an MP was to put country first, constituency second a...

That brings me to my next point. This debate is rerunning many of the arguments during the refere...

I note that the hon. Gentleman just said that it was wholly inappropriate for Ministers to go to ...

I completely agree with the hon. Gentleman. The House should have the right to accept or reject t...

I will make my point and then give way.

The point is that we cannot go into the negotiation...

I should preface my question to my hon. Friend by saying that, in my view, there is no evidence a...

My right hon. and learned Friend is a very able barrister, and he presents his case extremely wel...

Will my hon. Friend give way?

I will, but I have been told to take very little time.

I am very interested in my hon. Friend’s point about the fact that the date should have been in t...

Would I be telling tales out of school if I said that I had thought about it, and discussed it? I...

I completely agree with a vast amount of what my hon. Friend has said. Article 50 sets the date, ...

Unfortunately, even the European Parliament cannot change the exit date. It would have to be agre...

My hon. Friend knows that I share his fundamental beliefs about the need for us to leave the Euro...

I am still seized of the truth that if we beg the EU to extend the time because it has run us up ...

I am very pleased to start by saying that, irrespective of what might or might not be in this Bil...

Will the right hon. Gentleman give way?

I will give way later, perhaps to people who have not had an opportunity to intervene. I want to ...

rose—

I will give way once.

As I think the right hon. Gentleman should, given what he was imputing. The new clause was politi...

I thank the right hon. Gentleman for that intervention, but I am perplexed: I was not suggesting ...

Does the right hon. Gentleman not accept that we are coming out of the EU and that this is not a ...

We do not often play games of hokey-cokey in this Chamber, and I certainly would not want us to d...

rose—

On that point, I am happy to give way to the hon. Gentleman.

I would not call the right hon. Gentleman a remoaner, but he is a Liberal Democrat; I am just won...

I am sure that what I am about to say to the hon. Gentleman will reassure him that I am a democra...

rose—

I am not going to give way, because other Members want to speak.

rose—

I will give way to my hon. Friend.

Does my right hon. Friend agree that there seems to be a fundamental lack of understanding about ...

Indeed, although the hon. Member for Stone thinks that our democracy is very much set in stone on...

The right hon. Gentleman completely misrepresents what I said, which was a hypothetical. Does he ...

The hon. Gentleman has answered a hypothetical question with another hypothetical, so I think I h...

Will the right hon. Gentleman give way?

I am happy to give way.

Like the right hon. Gentleman, I am sceptical about clause 1 standing part of the Bill, because i...

I thank the hon. Gentleman for that intervention. I think we may have the opportunity to put that...

My concern is related to the timing issues of the phase 1 exit period and, by implication, of the...

It has been a pleasure to listen to this wide-ranging debate, but I do not intend to summarise it...

What the Minister has said is very important, and I am listening carefully. Has he sent a signal ...

The hon. Lady pre-empts my next point. What I would say before making the point about Wales and S...

rose—

I am afraid I cannot give way again at this point. We want to make the positive case for legislat...

So the position of the UK Government is that if three of the four legislatures of the UK oppose t...

The hon. Gentleman does not serve the interests of his own argument. We acknowledge, as I was jus...

Would the Minister concede that one man’s veto is another man’s respectful disagreement?

Order. The Minister has resumed his seat.

In this debate, many Members expressed worries about democracy. Although the hon. Member for Nort...

I beg to move, That the clause be read a Second time.

With this it will be convenient to discuss the following:

Amendment 357, in clause 6, page ...

If we do not have a transitional period after exit day and find ourselves moving to substantially...

I very much support the new clause, but does the hon. Gentleman share my incredulity at the fact ...

I suspect that that is because the Government are struggling to get such a transition. They have ...

My hon. Friend is making an excellent point about the transition. A whole series of amendments ha...

There is a sort of sadism or masochism— I do not know which it is—on the part of a small number o...

The hon. Gentleman has listed a series of issues, each of which is a legal issue. How does he sup...

My proposed new clause seeks to elicit from the Government information on how they are going to d...

The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right. The way in which this Bill is framed takes no account wha...

It’s not meant to!

My hon. Friend says that it is not meant to, but I cannot criticise the hon. Member for Nottingha...

The right hon. and learned Gentleman is entirely correct. The whole purpose of Committee scrutiny...

Does my hon. Friend share my astonishment at the answer to my question this afternoon about what ...

As my hon. Friend says, I am starting to wonder whether the Government will reverse ferret a litt...

My hon. Friend is making some excellent points. Various businesses in my constituency and unions ...

I fear that that scenario is beginning to loom on the horizon. We know the Prime Minister does no...

I share the hon. Gentleman’s and the Prime Minister’s hope that there will be a sensible implemen...

Let us imagine the circumstances where exit day falls at that fateful 11 pm on 29 March 2019 and ...

Just to reinforce the hon. Gentleman’s question: the Bill seems to say that after exit day all Eu...

The right hon. and learned Gentleman and I have shared this inspiration in the form of an amendme...

Is it not clear, from what has been said in Europe and by business, that they want the transition...

That is absolutely the preference of most sensible observers. We need a transition, of course, be...

indicated dissent.

I will give way to the Minister, if he is saying no. If I understand him correctly, he is going t...

indicated dissent.

Well, the Minister proves my point. We need a report from the Government very soon after Royal As...

A transition implies moving from one place to another. If we write into statute the date on which...

Yes. There are massive risks, and if we do not have an orderly transition, there will be big cons...

My hon. Friend has mentioned the concern felt by businesses. That concern is widespread, ranging ...

We can only speculate. There was even a suggestion at one point that Ministers had not yet broach...

I want to talk about amendments 303 and 304, which stand in my name, and to return to a matter th...

My right hon. Friend raises a very important issue, and it is not just a transitional issue; it i...

My right hon. and learned Friend, who is also my constituency neighbour in Buckinghamshire, knows...

My right hon. Friend is making a most powerful case, and I absolutely agree with her about the ne...

My hon. Friend served with great distinction on the Council of Europe and I am thrilled to have b...

I am sympathetic to the arguments the right hon. Lady is putting forward. Following on from the i...

The hon. and learned Lady makes a valid point. I am trying to give the Government an opportunity ...

That must be wrong as well. In the past, when we have had references to the Privy Council, for ex...

My right hon. and learned Friend makes the same point that I am trying to make. Likewise, the Bil...

This is incredibly important for my constituents who could face issues relating to HS2, because a...

My hon. Friend is leading me down a path that I do not wish to go down. I was very much hoping th...

Will the right hon. Lady give way?

I would like to finish now.

As the Bill already states that cases occurring during the tran...

It is a pleasure to follow the right hon. Member for Chesham and Amersham (Mrs Gillan), who has m...

I get the feeling that the cart is coming before the horse here. No transitional implementation h...

There are some strands of fair comment in that intervention. We have tabled the amendments precis...

Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

No, I will not. I gave way many times during the previous debate, and I am conscious that many mo...

Will the hon. Gentleman give way on his point about the Court of Justice?

I have said no. I want to give others the opportunity to speak. I took every single intervention ...

You’re scared to have to answer.

Oh for goodness’ sake. The hon. Gentleman can do better than that, even from a sedentary position...

Just take my right hon. Friend’s intervention.

No, having taken every single intervention in the previous debate, most of which came from Govern...

Is not part of the problem that this is an area of law that has quite a political—with a small p ...

The right hon. and learned Gentleman is right, and that is what we seek to address with amendment...

It is a great privilege and pleasure to speak on behalf of the Government on this essential Bill,...

It is essential that the Supreme Court has certainty. The first part of clause 6(2) is admirably ...

I thank my hon. Friend for that, and I shall come to that point a little later. The basic point t...

My hon. Friend is making a powerful case. The Select Committee that I chair has looked at the imp...

First, let me thank my right hon. Friend, the Chair of the Women and Equalities Committee, for he...

rose—

May I just finish this point, because I am at risk of answering the question before my right hon....

A number of different points feature in all this, but there is one point about the legal certaint...

I hope that I can give my right hon. and learned Friend some reassurance as the Committee makes p...

The Prime Minister has accepted that in a transitional period, the European Court of Justice woul...

I think the Chair of the Select Committee has answered his own question. The point is that we wil...

Will the Minister give way?

If the hon. Gentleman will allow me, I shall make a little progress, because I suspect that—

Will my hon. Friend give way?

I am going to make a little progress, because I think that some of these queries will be addresse...

Will my hon. Friend give way?

I am going to make a little more progress, but I will give way to my right hon. Friend in due cou...

The Minister is being very helpful on one aspect of the Bill, which is how the Government think E...

They are not!

They are. It may not be agreed by Eurosceptics, but that is Government policy, supported by the o...

I will come to that precise point in the context of new clause 14, which has been tabled by the h...

rose—

Let me finish my point.

Therefore there will be full transparency and accountability to thi...

I am grateful to the Minister for allowing me to probe him on this point. He has suggested that t...

I sense that the hon. Gentleman recognises that he is putting the legislative cart before the dip...

I agree with what my hon. Friend is saying about new clause 14. May I take him back to clause 6(4...

I am not quite sure that I understand my right hon. Friend’s forensic point. It is a feature of t...

rose—

I am going to make some progress, as I have given way once. I want to turn to some other amendmen...

Can I not tempt my hon. Friend to give way?

My right hon. and learned Friend is very tempting, but not at this moment.

I understand the...

On the issue of potholes, will the Minister give way?

On the issue of potholes, I give way to my hon. Friend.

I mentioned to the Prime Minister during her statement a few days ago the bear trap that I can se...

The Chair of the European Scrutiny Committee eloquently makes his powerful point. We need to avoi...

I will not claim credit for all the ingenuity of the drafting, as I hope I shall make apparent in...

I absolutely will not dismiss it. I am happy to think twice, thrice and as many times as my hon. ...

In order that I might reflect on that as the debate goes forward, perhaps my hon. Friend would li...

Well, I have just given two examples regarding subsections (A3) and (A5) of my hon. Friend’s amen...

Rather than seek to confuse the issue, it would be helpful if the Minister clarified whether it i...

The hon. Gentleman is very kind. He had the chance in his speech to make his rapier-like points. ...

Will the Minister give way?

I have given way to hon. Gentleman before. I am going to make some progress.

That priority ...

I actually agree—I should make this clear to my hon. Friend—about the issue of transition. I find...

I am grateful to my right hon. and learned Friend. I absolutely agree that the scope and paramete...

I am sure that the hon. Gentleman is aware of the arrangements that were made in relation to the ...

I take the point that the hon. and learned Lady makes, but that is not the same mechanism. It is ...

I seek clarification on this point. Is the Minister saying that if a right of action has arisen b...

I understand the point that my hon. Friend is making, although I do not accept that characterisat...

Surely, the Minister is ignoring the legitimate expectation that I have talked about. Frankly, if...

My right hon. Friend makes an interesting point about legitimate expectations. I think there is a...

Will the Minister give way again?

Perhaps I can give way to my right hon. Friend when I come on to her amendments.

I turn to ...

Will the Minister give way?

I am going to make a bit of progress. Wider general definitions are set out in clause 14, and cla...

May I try again to ask my hon. Friend the question on which both my right hon. and learned Friend...

The point is that we take a snapshot of EU law, including case law, at the point of exit, but aft...

I understand that issue, but there is another one. Let us assume for the moment that there is no ...

I have to be careful about not pre-judging or prejudicing what the courts decide to do, particula...

rose—

I am going to make some progress.

I may be able to assist the Minister with the explanatory notes.

That is kind, but I will make some progress; otherwise I will lose the thread in relation to amen...

I am following the Minister’s arguments very carefully, with helpful interventions from some of m...

I thank my right hon. Friend for her constructive approach. We will take that consideration forwa...

Will the Minister give way?

I am going to make a little bit more progress. I have given way to my hon. Friend.

The sing...

My hon. Friend is making a powerful case on each of the amendments, but I am among those concerne...

My right hon. Friend raises an excellent, if rather esoteric, point, but it is also fundamentally...

I rise to speak to amendment 137, which stands in my name and, I am happy to say, the names of ma...

I am loth to interrupt my hon. and learned Friend, who is making a powerful case for legal certai...

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for bringing this matter to the Floor of the House. I was made aw...

Does the hon. and learned Lady agree that one aspect of the legal certainty that the Government s...

My amendment 137 seeks to ensure that:

“When interpreting retained EU law after exit day a ...

rose—

I will just finish my point, then I will give way to the hon. Gentleman.

The Institute for ...

I just wanted to refer to chapter 12 of the book by Lord Bingham, entitled “The Rule of Law”, whi...

I am familiar with that book, but I do not think that it has any relevance to what I am saying at...

I am listening with great care to the hon. and learned Lady. She will agree that references to th...

The Solicitor General is absolutely right to correct my rather loose use of language. My point is...

That interchange was quite correct, but does the hon. and learned Lady also accept that the proce...

That is what modern courts do. If the right hon. Gentleman cared to study the jurisprudence of th...

Does my hon. Friend agree that we have already seen examples of the denigration of our rights, pa...

I agree with my hon. Friend, and that is probably why the TUC supports my amendment.

To kee...

I have not tabled any amendments, but I will briefly comment on one set of amendments before maki...

I asked a couple of days ago about this idea of an arbitration court. Now that the right hon. Gen...

The whole process of arbitration is a natural one in all trade arrangements between two different...

My right hon. Friend makes an important point, but I wish to emphasise that my own concern is not...

I agree with my right hon. and learned Friend. It is important that during this and future debate...

I am pleased to follow the right hon. Member for Chingford and Woodford Green (Mr Duncan Smith), ...

Does my hon. Friend not find it extraordinary that so many Government Members, including those on...

No, my hon. Friend is absolutely right. The problem is this dissonance between the content of the...

With so many organisations and bodies, such as the judiciary, businesses and the Law Society, tal...

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. It is not just one alternative system; it is 58. It is one wi...

I approach the Bill in exactly the same spirit as my right hon. and learned Friend the Member for...

The hon. Gentleman rightly points out that a transition deal is required and that the Prime Minis...

I must confess that I do not see what some people’s difficulty is with the jurisdiction of the EC...

Like my hon. Friend, I am keen to see that one of our major industries is preserved. Is not the o...

That is absolutely right, and it is critical. With respect to the Minister of State, that is why ...

I absolutely take the spirit in which these amendments are made, and I am grateful to the Remembr...

I do not disagree with the Solicitor General about that, but I suggest that it is not an either/o...

Is not the overwhelming advantage of this rule not that it would put any legal constraints on an ...

That is entirely right. That rule would preserve the flexibility to co-operate with European part...

For the sake of clarity, I think that my hon. Friend will find that schedule 8(25) contains enoug...

I am grateful to the Solicitor General for that clarification. Perhaps he could confirm that he i...

I am listening with care to my hon. Friend. Will he accept from me that there is another danger, ...

There is, and that is why it is all the more important—perhaps unusually so—for Government to tal...

Many of my constituents and the businesses in my constituency have raised the importance of a tra...

The debate on this string of amendments includes considering clause 6 stand part. I was extremely...

My right hon. Friend is making a powerful case, as always, for equality. Does she agree that co-o...

My hon. Friend has a great deal of experience in those matters, and I am sure that Ministers sitt...

I want to speak briefly in support of amendment 137, tabled by my hon. and learned Friend the Mem...

Perhaps one reason why the Government and the Brexiteers, who appear to be paying precious little...

I suspect my hon. Friend is absolutely right. My point is that there are many more rules where it...

It pains me to say this, but I think that what several of us have been trying to say, put very br...

I am listening with great care to my right hon. Friend. Is not the simple answer that the Supreme...

With great respect to the Solicitor General, I draw him back to clause 6(3)(a), which directs the...

What we are seeking to do is, in effect, settle the status of retained EU case law so that it is ...

If the Solicitor General is trying to argue that he is aiming for equality between the jurisprude...

I understand exactly where my right hon. Friend is coming from. I have to say that my reading of ...

Let me deal with my right hon. and learned Friend’s helpful intervention in two steps. If what he...

I understand the words

“in accordance with any retained case law”

in clause 6(3)(a), ...

No, no.

Notwithstanding the chuntering of my right hon. Friend the Member for Broxtowe (Anna Soubry)—and ...

The right hon. Gentleman is absolutely right to point out issues that need to be clarified as soo...

The hon. Gentleman did not allow me to intervene on him, but let me say now that, unfortunately, ...

My right hon. Friend is asking some very interesting questions, but that does not necessarily mea...

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for his comments, and I am very happy to leave it to the Governme...

It is a pleasure to follow the right hon. Member for West Dorset (Sir Oliver Letwin), who, in unc...

The hon. Gentleman was not here for large parts of the debate; if he reads Hansard, he will see t...

For the benefit of viewers who have just tuned in on BBC Parliament, I am happy to give way to th...

rose—

I will certainly give way to my hon. Friend.

I suspect that the Minister has been taking lessons from the Foreign Secretary. He says that we s...

I have to agree with my hon. Friend, but I am happy to be generous and give way to the Minister a...

The hon. Gentleman is very kind, but neither he nor the hon. Member for Ilford South (Mike Gapes)...

Order. I call Wes Streeting.

I am not sure that the Minister had a chance to finish his point, and I would be happy to give wa...

Perhaps I may assist the hon. Gentleman. I was present during the debate when the Minister addres...

I am grateful to the right hon. and learned Gentleman. I am sure that if he did not hear a clear ...

rose—

Ah, the real power behind the throne! I will give way to the hon. Gentleman.

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for giving way. The answer ought to be perfectly clear. If we...

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for setting out in the House today the consistent view that h...

Is my hon. Friend as puzzled as I am that Ministers are unwilling to support the policy of the Pr...

I am just as bewildered as my right hon. Friend. Many Members may not have seen it, but the front...

Does the hon. Gentleman share my concern that what he describes is a blatant piece of bullying th...

I wholeheartedly agree with the right hon. Lady. I know that she is not someone to be pushed arou...

I completely agree with my hon. Friend about the importance of certainty, and I support what he s...

I wholeheartedly agree. We hear this fallacy that those of us who warn about a no-deal Brexit are...

I will pick up two or three points that have been made in this important debate. There have some ...

We have listened carefully to all hon. Members in the various contributions and concerns that hav...

rose—

I am not going to give way; the hon. Gentleman has had his opportunity. Time is running out and I...

I thank Members for a debate that has covered a wide range of issues relating to transition and t...

rose—

Oh, perhaps I am wrong. I will give way, of course.

I will repeat, in terms, exactly what I said earlier. We want an early agreement on an implementa...

Well, well, well. The number of caveats, little changes and weasel words within that particular o...