European Union (Withdrawal) Bill

With this it will be convenient to discuss the following:

Lords amendment 51, amendment (b)...

I rise not only to move amendment (a) to Lords amendment 51, but to support the other Lords amend...

Is the right hon. and learned Gentleman prepared to accept free movement as the cost of a customs...

I will come to that issue, but I am sure that the hon. Gentleman is aware that free movement has ...

Given the reports that we are hearing just now that No. 10 has rejected the agreement that was ma...

I am grateful for that intervention. I have not seen the news that is just coming through. If tha...

rose—

I will give way—

Give way!

I have already given way, so I cannot be accused of not giving way.

I thank the right hon. and learned Gentleman for giving way. We need to be very clear about this....

I am grateful for that intervention. I have not seen whatever news is coming out, but having obse...

Will my right hon. and learned Friend give way on that very point?

I will, but I must say that I was not anticipating spending the whole afternoon on re-interpretin...

Does my right hon. and learned Friend agree that, though it was fun yesterday, the truth is that,...

I could not help noticing yesterday that, as my hon. Friend the Member for Greenwich and Woolwich...

Order. The right hon. and learned Gentleman is completely innocent in this matter, but he has, al...

Well said, Mr Speaker.

Well, that is very generous of the hon. Gentleman—

It’s right hon. Gentleman.

Well, the right hon. Member for Wantage (Mr Vaizey). Well, my cup runneth over today. I am having...

I will press on, make my case and take some further interventions later on.

I was saying th...

The outgoing president of the CBI said today that manufacturing sectors, particularly the car ind...

One of the risks for Members taking interventions is that the very next point we are about to mak...

The right hon. and learned Gentleman is being very generous in taking interventions. Will he just...

For the benefit of the House, I am going to go through the customs union argument before moving o...

Is Labour in favour of staying in the customs union, or a customs union that approximates to a cu...

The current customs arrangements are in the membership treaty. Therefore, if they are to be repli...

I am going to make some progress; I have taken a lot of interventions and I will take others late...

I know that the right hon. and learned Gentleman wants to separate out the customs union from the...

I assure the hon. Gentleman that I will discuss the single market and the EEA, and I will deal wi...

Is my right hon. and learned Friend aware that the Dutch Government and the European Commission h...

I had heard that. It is not an isolated example; there are others. This is deeply troubling, whic...

My right hon. and learned Friend has already reminded the House that the Cabinet has not made up ...

The main problem with maximum facilitation is that it involves technology yet to be invented and ...

My right hon. and learned Friend will be aware that the permanent secretary of Her Majesty’s Reve...

Yes, I did see that figure. It is deeply concerning that those sorts of costs are even contemplat...

Will the right hon. and learned Gentleman give way?

I am going to press on, if the hon. Gentleman does not mind. I will take other interventions late...

The right hon. and learned Gentleman is right. We did not get to debate that amendment because we...

It is a significant amendment, and it was also a significant amendment in the Lords. Even as amen...

It also goes further than that, does it not? Not only will we have to stay in a form of customs a...

I agree, and I will develop that argument, because a customs union alone will not solve the conun...

I will not repeat what my hon. Friend the Member for South Cambridgeshire (Heidi Allen) and my ri...

I am grateful for that intervention. When the phase 1 agreement was reached in December, I though...

May I just remind the right hon. and learned Gentleman that the vast majority of people, not only...

We all want new trade deals. At the moment we have got an excellent trade deal with the EU, and w...

On Monday I was in Ireland with the British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly, and I think that what h...

This is a matter that I know every Member across the House is really concerned about. The commitm...

My right hon. and learned Friend speaks truthfully and eloquently about preserving peace in North...

I assure my hon. Friend that I will come to the EEA later and take interventions on it, but first...

I am grateful to the right hon. and learned Gentleman for allowing me to intervene. He referred, ...

I did go to Northern Ireland recently and I did have a meeting with the chief constable, who I kn...

I will take two more interventions, from the hon. Member for East Worthing and Shoreham (Tim Loug...

May I just bring the right hon. and learned Gentleman back to the question from my hon. Friend th...

The EU has trade deals with 67 countries through 37 agreements. It has a further 49 agreements wi...

Does my right hon. and learned Friend agree that the crux of today’s debate is whether we want a ...

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for his comments, and I agree.

I just want to finish this point—[Interruption.] I do not think that anybody could accuse me of n...

Order. I am extremely grateful to the right hon. and learned Gentleman. There was a less than who...

I am grateful for that, Mr Speaker.

To finish my point about Northern Ireland, I think that...

Can my right hon. and learned Friend explain the tangible difference between us being in a custom...

Obviously, politically, we will not be in any of the institutions, and we will not be a member of...

I am going to press on and then I will give way again.

The EEA has a number of real benefit...

Will the right hon. and learned Gentleman give way?

I will just complete this point.

The EEA excludes agriculture and fisheries, which presents...

Despite their small populations, Iceland and Norway represent the two biggest catch sectors in Eu...

I am obviously not making my point in the right way. If the question we are trying to answer is h...

It seems to me that the right hon. and learned Gentleman is, in effect, making the same argument ...

No, our position is not the same as the Government’s at all. I recognise that we need a strong si...

I hope that all of us who support Brexit wish the UK to have access to the single market on the t...

I accept that freedom of access was bound up with the referendum, and that is why every time I ha...

I absolutely agree with my right hon. and learned Friend that, when we leave the European Union, ...

I have looked very carefully at the provisions in the EEA agreement, and there has been a lot of ...

rose—

I will give way once more and then I really will have to get on.

Does my right hon. and learned Friend agree that the EEA would become a viable option only if Bri...

In fairness to those who advocate joining the EEA, there is a recognition that the EEA agreement,...

I am going to press on because I have used up far too much time.

Our amendment (a) puts for...

Order. I say very courteously to the hon. Member for Chelmsford (Vicky Ford) that we cannot have ...

I am going to press on because I have taken lots of interventions and engaged with them. I have b...

indicated dissent.

The Solicitor General shakes his head. If that is not the case, he should accept Lords amendment ...

The right hon. and learned Gentleman is making a very powerful case. I can tell him that Governme...

I am grateful for that intervention. I would have thought that this is not controversial. The Pri...

I am very interested in my right hon. and learned Friend’s point, particularly in relation to the...

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for that intervention. She makes the case very well and powerfull...

Will the right hon. and learned Gentleman give way?

I will make this point about the charter and then I will give way.

The charter has enabled ...

Does my right hon. and learned Friend agree with me that the amendment, as it stands, asks the Go...

I agree with my hon. Friend, which is why I am saying it is a step in the right direction, but it...

It is a pleasure to rise in this debate to set out the Government’s stance on these important ame...

May I just pick my hon. and learned Friend up on his point about law? We are signed up to thousan...

I am sorry, but with respect to my right hon. and learned Friend, I do not agree. He knows that t...

Will the Solicitor General give way?

No, I will not give way.

I made that point during the long debates in the referendum campai...

I entirely agree with the Solicitor General. Does he agree that a customs partnership—a customs u...

My right hon. Friend is absolutely correct to draw our attention to the wider world and the reali...

Representing a constituency that voted by a margin of almost seven to three to leave the EU, I am...

My hon. Friend makes a powerful point about democracy. One of the complaints that was constantly ...

Is it not the case that if we are no longer a member of the single market and we want full access...

Therein lies the problem with amendment (a) to Lords amendment 51, tabled by the Labour Front Ben...

During my time chairing the Internal Market Committee in the European Parliament, there were many...

My hon. Friend speaks with considerable experience from her time in the European Parliament. I ag...

I thank my hon. and learned Friend for giving way. Does he accept that disrupting complex supply ...

As my hon. Friend knows, I was one of the 48%, and I do not forget that. That means that I do lis...

I will give way in a moment, but I need to develop—[Interruption.] Ah, the hon. Member for Perth ...

No!

Oh, go on.

I have to say, I have never been given quite such a greeting for an intervention, but I am very g...

Welcome back. The hon. Gentleman clearly does not know me very well when describes the Brexit tha...

rose—

I will, however, taken an intervention from the right hon. Gentleman.

I am very grateful to the hon. and learned Gentleman. Since one of the Government’s objectives is...

The right hon. Gentleman, as ever, makes a pertinent point. [Interruption.] Well, I am being poli...

As ever, my hon. and learned Friend is quite outstanding at the Dispatch Box, but I have to ask h...

As my very old and good friend knows, the Government have indeed—[Laughter.]

There is no need for a commotion. The Solicitor General is usually extremely felicitous of phrase...

I ask that the record be corrected.

As my right hon. Friend knows, the White Paper publishe...

It is obvious, as we listen to the debate, that there is a real tower of Babel in this place in M...

Mr Speaker, I might risk straying into yesterday’s business, but I will briefly say that my hon. ...

Does the Solicitor General accept that if we were to leave with no deal and we were trading under...

I entirely agree. The Government’s policy is to achieve a deal, because we are mindful of the poi...

I am very grateful to the Solicitor General for his remarks. Indeed, the Prime Minister’s remark ...

The right hon. Gentleman is absolutely right. I am surprised that there can be that level of dive...

Does the Solicitor General not accept that the answer he has just given to the right hon. Member ...

The issue of the border will apply to the length and breadth of our United Kingdom. I have no dou...

In the light of what the Solicitor General has just said in response to the right hon. Member for...

I was with the hon. Lady until her last point. We need to make sure in these negotiations that th...

I am very clear: I do not want to see a hard border on the island of Ireland or down the Irish se...

I say to our friends and colleagues in the SDLP—I think in particular of Margaret Ritchie, the fo...

One consequence of free movement is that we restrict unskilled migration to Europe. Is it not the...

My hon. Friend is quite right, and that is why we need to create a system that does not discrimin...

Sir Martin Donnelly, the former permanent secretary at the Department for International Trade, sa...

The hon. Gentleman is normally a great optimist and a man of sunny disposition who never lets any...

One group that has made its position very clear is the North East England chamber of commerce, wh...

Of course we are listening to the job creators—I have mentioned that in the context of my own con...

May I return the Solicitor General to what seems to have been the Opposition’s first admission th...

My hon. Friend is right to remind us of one of the key planks of the Government’s policy: that im...

rose—

Not yet. I always enjoy interventions from the hon. Gentleman, who is a king of YouTube, but I wi...

Will my hon. and learned Friend give way?

I had better not. I have to move on, I am afraid, and I have taken an intervention from my hon. F...

Has my hon. and learned Friend not just highlighted the problem himself? Supremacy carries with i...

My right hon. and learned Friend and I have debated this matter before, and I do not want to repe...

In the Exiting the European Union Committee, we heard that absolutely the opposite was also the c...

I hear what the hon. Lady says, but I disagree with her. I think that the arguments in the Lords ...

Article 26 of the charter concerns disability rights. Liberty and Amnesty International specifica...

The hon. Lady and I share an interest in—indeed, a passion for—the position of people with disabi...

rose—

With respect to the hon. Lady, I must press on.

I am concerned that some people—including n...

Having had a gentle dig at my hon. and learned Friend a moment ago, I now thank him, because I kn...

I am grateful to my right hon. and learned Friend. I have listened to representations from him an...

The trouble is that there is a huge gulf between the lovely statements that the Environment Secre...

The hon. Lady deals with the nub of the issue, and I shall address those particular points in tur...

Will the Solicitor General give way?

Not at the moment.

Lords amendment 3 would create a risk-averse approach to the design of b...

I was tempted by their lordships’ amendment, but I do think we have managed to produce something ...

My right hon. Friend is right. He was an outstanding Minister in the Department and I am grateful...

On that point of timing, there is a real problem, particularly if we end up with no deal, because...

As I have said, the backstop is six months—no later than—rather than the full period, and in any ...

rose—

I give way to the Chairman of the Committee.

Order. Before the Solicitor General does so, I gently remind him that he had indicated to me that...

Thank you, Mr Speaker; I have almost forgotten my point now, but I will try to grab it back. The ...

I am grateful to the Committee Chair and I reassure her that we are seeking to replicate the fram...

Will the Solicitor General give way?

Very well, I will give way to the hon. Gentleman; why not?

Does the Solicitor General accept that with the new powers of Ministers to change things as appro...

No. That is not true, I am afraid. Perhaps I will be a bit more polite to the hon. Gentleman and ...

Will my hon. and learned Friend give way?

No; may I develop this point?

This amendment will deliver robust protections. In particular...

Will the Solicitor General give way?

Please forgive me, but I need to press on.

The Government recognise and share the strength ...

I am pleased that the Government have decided to back the amendment tabled by the right hon. Memb...

I will deal with that important point in a moment if I may, because I want to do justice to the a...

I welcome the Solicitor General’s acceptance of my amendment (ii). I also pay tribute to Lord Dub...

I anticipated that the right hon. Lady would come back for more, and I quite understand the posit...

While I understand that the interests of the child should be at the heart of everything we do, th...

The hon. Lady is kind and compassionate, and I think that all Members of the House are kind and c...

The best interest test still applies. It is still in our legislation. Nothing in my amendment (i)...

I respectfully disagree with the right hon. Lady. There is still an issue with the applicability ...

Will the Minister give way?

I cannot give way, because I really must press on.

We are committed to proper scrutiny and ...

I note and understand the points made by my hon. and learned Friend, but the intention behind the...

I hear my right hon. and learned Friend. Both he and I have had anxious discussions about the def...

I call Stephen Gethins.

Thank you, Mr Speaker—[Interruption.] As you can tell, there is huge strength of feeling on this ...

The hon. Gentleman and I share a friendship as members of the Foreign Affairs Committee, and I we...

I have great respect for the hon. Gentleman—[Interruption.]

Order. The House must calm down. I do not think the hon. Gentleman will be entirely surprised tha...

Thank you, Mr Speaker.

I remind the hon. Member for Edinburgh South (Ian Murray) that, in 1...

What my hon. Friend will see, as I see and the people of Scotland will observe right now, is repr...

I will teach Members a lesson on the matter at hand, and maybe they will learn something. If the ...

I take the hon. Gentleman back to the question about immigration that the hon. Member for Perth a...

My constituency is rich in immigrants who make our community richer, and not just financially—we ...

Mr Speaker, an English Member may restore some of the calm that has not accompanied the Scottish ...

Will my right hon. and learned Friend give way?

No, because I have almost taken longer than I intended already.

Let us address freedom of m...

Will my right hon. and learned Friend give way on that point?

If I start giving way, we will go back to where we were before.

Similarly, on trade deals w...

Order. The last speech without a time limit—although I know that he will be sensitive to the dema...

It is a great pleasure to follow the right hon. and learned Member for Rushcliffe (Mr Clarke). I ...

Will my right hon. Friend give way?

I will not give way, because of the time.

Who knows whether the EEA option may turn out to ...

Order. For a short period there will be a 10-minute limit, but I emphasise that it will be short....

Thank you, Mr Speaker. I shall be brief, because I am endeavouring during the course of this afte...

I have a lot of sympathy with the points that my right hon. and learned Friend is making, and ind...

My hon. Friend makes a very good point, and I understand it—it is a feature of this place that we...

I will start with Lords amendment 24 and the point I raised when the Solicitor General was speaki...

May I just record that some of us who voted leave joined my right hon. Friend on this point? We h...

My right hon. Friend is right. There is agreement across leave and remain, and I hope that this i...

Order. I am afraid that, on account of the level of interest in the debate, the time limit on Bac...

I shall try to be brief, Mr Speaker.

I want to touch on three amendments. The first relates...

I want to speak to Lords amendment 51 and the amendment to it tabled by those on my own Front Ben...

Does the right hon. Gentleman agree that it would be extremely irresponsible of any Government to...

I agree. It is irresponsible to exclude options—that is what I am saying.

The second big ob...

Will the right hon. Gentleman give way?

I cannot give way anymore because so many Members want to speak.

I know that there is a gre...

Before speaking in support of Government amendments (a) and (b) in lieu of Lords amendments 1 and...

I rise to speak to my amendment (e) in lieu of Lords amendment 3. If we want world-leading enviro...

It is great to have the opportunity to speak in this important debate. Yesterday’s was very enter...

I rise to speak in support of Lords amendments 1 and 51 on the customs union and the EEA. To be c...

My father does not speak perfect English, but I do not know what more integration he could have d...

Let me encourage colleagues, please, to make brief interventions. There is very, very, very littl...

I very much agree with the hon. Gentleman.

All the things I was talking about can be implem...

Order. A four-minute limit now applies.

I will speak about Lords amendment 3, on the environment, as well as the amendments on the custom...

The right hon. Member for Leeds Central (Hilary Benn) used an analogy about the ship approaching ...

One thing that my constituents in Dover and Deal were absolutely clear about when they decided to...

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for giving way. Has he read the report by the Northern Ireland Af...

That is exactly why I have been setting out the case for how we can use technology and these sort...

On either side of the Irish border, excise duties are different, VAT is different and the currenc...

My hon. Friend makes the perfect case, and it is the case I have made in a report in which I set ...

Since the referendum, the debate has often been polarised in this place and outside it between ha...

Shame!

The right hon. Lady says, “Shame!” I am afraid to say that it is that sort of contribution to thi...

May I say to my right hon. Friend that, although she and I may disagree, she is making an excelle...

I thank my hon. Friend. There will be a point, when we leave the European Union, at which Opposit...

I am sorry, Mr Speaker, because I know it is a courtesy to say so, but it is not a pleasure to fo...

Order. I appeal to colleagues. I understand there are raging passions on these issues, but please...

As you will remember, Mr Speaker, I said how much I respect the right hon. Lady for so much of he...

I would urge the right hon. Lady to look at the record in Hansard. I made it very clear that I am...

The right hon. Lady represents an area of the country that I know quite well; I am from north Not...

It is a pleasure to follow the right hon. Member for Broxtowe (Anna Soubry). I rise to speak to P...

This may sound breathtakingly naive to some Members, but I think there is an opportunity to reboo...

I rise to speak in favour of Lords amendment 51, on the EEA. I will focus on the main argument ag...

So far, I have not put in my twopenn’orth at any stage of the Bill, largely because I believed th...

The responsibility that we all have, which I take as seriously as everybody else, is to try to ba...

Quite right.

Mainly out of fear. My right hon. Friend had a point, in that we do need a much better managed mi...

Is my right hon. Friend aware that there is great concern in our food production sector right now...

My right hon. Friend is right. As he will appreciate, we are not an agricultural community in Kno...

A key question coming out of today is whether we wish to deal with the customs union and EEA issu...

One reason why we need to make a decision now is that businesses are already relocating. Internat...

I accept that business wants consistency and answers, and that it wants to know which way it is h...

I rise to put on the record my support for all seven still contested Lords amendments, but given ...

Order. A three-minute limit now applies.

It was a pleasure to listen to the thoughtful and considered speech of the right hon. Member for ...

Will my right hon. Friend give way?

I will not give way. You are trying to get everyone in, Mr Speaker, and I will try to help you.