I do not intend to speak at length. I listened carefully to the hon. Member for North Down (Lady Hermon) and I completely agree with all the sentiments she expressed about the benefits that the Good Friday agreement has conferred on our country generally and on our international relations with the Irish Republic. It has been a step change in improving the quality of life for all citizens in this country, particularly those in Northern Ireland, about which the hon. Lady spoke so eloquently.
It is clear that the Brexit process is challenging in the context of maintaining those benefits. I regret that, during the referendum campaign last year, those of us who highlighted the consequences that could flow did not get as much register as we would have liked. In the cost-benefit analysis between staying in and leaving the EU, the Good Friday agreement was a factor that should have been taken into account properly, but I regret to say that some of the enthusiasts for our leaving the EU seem to have systematically ignored it.
However, we are where we are. It is clear that we will have to try to manage the Brexit process in a way that does not adversely impact on the Good Friday agreement. I listened carefully to DUP Members, and I can well understand that any suggestion that leaving the EU involves uncoupling Northern Ireland and putting it into a separate regulatory regime for the benefit of maintaining the Good Friday agreement, or regulatory equivalence with the Republic of Ireland, is a complete non-starter. It is totally unacceptable to me, and I did not understand the Prime Minister’s words and the agreement she reached as being indicative of her intending to do any such thing. If she was, all I can say is that she will not long survive her party’s views, which are unanimous on this matter, irrespective of whether Members most enthusiastically embraced Brexit or most vigorously sought to prevent it. We therefore need to park that on one side.
1.45 pm
The hon. Member for North Down is right that that raises a major challenge. There is no point in pretending that it can be magicked away by soft words. We must face up to the consequences of our adherence to the Good Friday agreement in the way in which Brexit unfolds and is done, and regulatory equivalence is one part of that. That said, I hope that when Ministers respond, the hon. Lady will get sufficient reassurance that the United Kingdom Government understand that very well. Unless I am being misled by my right hon. and hon. Friends on the Front Bench, I believe that they do. The problem will remain that that requires us, as we proceed with Brexit, from time to time to face up to some of the realities that it brings in a regulatory context. If we do not, we cannot fulfil our obligations under the Good Friday agreement. That is the reality check. The problem we have always had in our debates on this matter is that, too often, I hear comments that are mired in a fantasy vision of what people would like in an ideal world that bears no resemblance to the reality of our international obligations and our interdependence with our closest neighbours, one of which happens to be the Republic of Ireland, with which we are blessed to enjoy a good relationship.
If we keep those factors in mind, we will maintain what is best for our country and succeed in carrying out the highly risky operation of Brexit as well as we may. I thank the hon. Member for North Down for properly raising the Good Friday agreement in our debate this afternoon. I look forward to hearing from my right hon. and hon. Friends on the Front Bench a response that reaffirms that our commitment to the agreement and to maintaining collectively peace on the island of Ireland and good relations with one of our closest neighbours and trading partners is paramount in our approach to the problem.