I will speak about Lords amendment 3, on the environment, as well as the amendments on the customs union and the EEA.
First, let me put this in context. As hon. Members know, I have been in the European Parliament for many years and witnessed many intense times in European negotiations, including the negotiations on the banking crisis and the eurozone crisis. It is utterly normal that all the discussions intensify and accelerate and that new ideas come forward, as the European Council meeting gets closer. That is to be expected; it is normal.
On Second Reading, I made it clear that I thought the Bill was far from perfect and that it would require many amendments. Many amendments have been made, both in this place and in other place. We should not be scared of the need to make amendments because this is legislation of a kind that has never happened before. I have been very glad to add my name to the amendments on environmental protections, which is a very important issue for many of my constituents, who write to me saying that they want to ensure that we keep a long-term focus on protecting the world’s environment.
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I am very glad that the amendments to Lords amendment 25 were passed last night on the issue of Northern Ireland and respecting the Good Friday agreement. It is absolutely fundamental that we hold the United Kingdom together, but that we also respect our international agreements. Passing that amendment on the Good Friday agreement and Northern Ireland is key to finding a solution to customs, because ensuring that our border with Northern Ireland is truly frictionless and that that truly frictionless arrangement works for the whole UK is key to finding a long-term solution.
On that basis, I am prepared to accept the amendments in lieu of Lords amendment 1 and 2 on customs union that have been tabled today. The amendments call for further work, because this is not the last time that the issue will come back to this House. I am expecting the Government to deliver a truly frictionless border—one that does not just take the friction from the border and put it back in the warehouse and one that does not mean that companies in Britain or Europe have to face silly bureaucracy with rules of origin. That is the type of detail that manufacturers asked me to secure, and that is what I expect the Government to fight and negotiate for. If we do not see it here, we will put it in the customs Bill.
On the EEA and Norway, I wish it was as easy as colleagues say to stay in the EEA, but I remember Norway’s Minister of Finance flying to out to meet me in Brussels to ask me to table amendments for Norway. We could not be left in a situation where our Chancellor has to go and ask a French MEP to do that on his behalf. We have to find a bespoke solution. It is fine to be a rule taker in areas where our issues are aligned, but we cannot have it everywhere. I understand the calls from those who say, “Let’s try and find a lifeboat now, because no deal is not a good deal,” but we need to let the Prime Minister go into this round and negotiate, and she is right to fight for a bespoke deal.
The debate on the meaningful vote last night was meaningful. In my eight years of experience in Europe, I saw again and again that a first vote was needed to make a statement, but it was often not actually the final vote. We often need a second chance to have a vote, and that is what we bought with the compromises last night. It was a fudge, but it was a very important and meaningful one.