UK Parliament / Open data

Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill

Debate on bills on Tuesday, 25 October 2022, in the House of Commons, led by Dean Russell. The answering member was Jonathan Reynolds.
Second reading. Reasoned amendment moved. Debate interrupted.

About these Parliamentary proceedings

Reference

721 cc179-246 

Session

2022-23

Legislative stage

Second reading

Chamber / Committee

House of Commons chamber
Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill 2022-23
Thursday, 22 September 2022
Bills
House of Commons
Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill
Tuesday, 25 October 2022
Parliamentary proceedings
House of Commons

Proceeding contributions

Baroness Laing of Elderslie | 721 c182 (Link to this contribution)

I inform the House that the reasoned amendment in the name of the Leader of the Opposition has be...

Patrick Grady | 721 c182 (Link to this contribution)

On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. I have the Bill in front of me. It states that it is p...


Show all contributions (171)
Baroness Laing of Elderslie | 721 c182 (Link to this contribution)

The hon. Gentleman gets the prize for making the best point of order of the day, and possibly of ...

Dean Russell | 721 cc182-3 (Link to this contribution)

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

News of my promotion to Secretary o...

Desmond Swayne | 721 c183 (Link to this contribution)

How will the Minister answer the intemperate correspondence to which many of us have been subject...

Dean Russell | 721 c183 (Link to this contribution)

I think that is the longest intervention I have ever heard my right hon. Friend make. He is absol...

Dean Russell | 721 c183 (Link to this contribution)

I will give way in a little while; I want to make some progress. The Bill will enable outdated an...

Stella Creasy | 721 c183 (Link to this contribution)

Will the Minister be honest with the House? He says that the Bill will allow us to have the highe...

Dean Russell | 721 c183 (Link to this contribution)

I can be very honest in saying that the Bill will ensure that we have the highest standards, and ...

Dean Russell | 721 c184 (Link to this contribution)

I will come back to the hon. and learned Lady shortly.

As has been alluded to, some naysaye...

Maria Caulfield | 721 c184 (Link to this contribution)

The Minister is doing a fantastic job at the Dispatch Box. At oral questions this morning, Opposi...

Dean Russell | 721 c184 (Link to this contribution)

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. The Bill is about cutting red tape where it is not needed and...

Dean Russell | 721 c184 (Link to this contribution)

I will make some progress and give way in a while.

As I said, rather than adapting to suppo...

Dean Russell | 721 c184 (Link to this contribution)

I am sure that many hon. Members are standing up to say how pleased they are with that announceme...

Sammy Wilson | 721 c184 (Link to this contribution)

As someone who fought to free ourselves from the shackles of Brussels, I welcome the legislation....

Dean Russell | 721 c184 (Link to this contribution)

The right hon. Member makes an important point. This is about the United Kingdom and making sure ...

John Redwood | 721 c185 (Link to this contribution)

I strongly support the Bill and congratulate the Minister on his presentation. I hope that the Go...

Dean Russell | 721 c185 (Link to this contribution)

I thank my right hon. Friend for his intervention. It is ultimately about ensuring that we are do...

Joanna Cherry | 721 c185 (Link to this contribution)

The Minister said that the Bill is about doing the right thing by people. Earlier, I understood h...

Dean Russell | 721 c185 (Link to this contribution)

I very much enjoyed serving with the hon. and learned Lady on the Joint Committee on Human Rights...

Dean Russell | 721 c185 (Link to this contribution)

I will come back to the hon. and learned Lady in a little while.

Andrea Leadsom | 721 c185 (Link to this contribution)

Has my hon. Friend noticed, as I have, that Opposition Members seem to think that the only place ...

Dean Russell | 721 c185 (Link to this contribution)

I thank my right hon. Friend—she is a very good friend—for her comments. The Bill is ultimately a...

Dean Russell | 721 c185 (Link to this contribution)

I will continue; I have taken quite a few interventions.

We have carefully considered how t...

Robin Walker | 721 c186 (Link to this contribution)

My hon. Friend is doing a great job. It is right that, six and a half years after the referendum,...

Dean Russell | 721 c186 (Link to this contribution)

I thank my hon. Friend and applaud the briefing that the CEN gave Members earlier today. Ultimate...

Caroline Lucas | 721 c186 (Link to this contribution)

The Minister said earlier that the Bill was proportionate, but that is exactly what it is not, pa...

Dean Russell | 721 c186 (Link to this contribution)

I totally disagree, but I thank the hon. Lady for the intervention. Let me remind her that the Co...

Dean Russell | 721 cc186-7 (Link to this contribution)

I will continue, because I have a lot to get through. I am sure that hon. Members have worked inc...

Hilary Benn | 721 c187 (Link to this contribution)

What is the justification for allowing Ministers to scrap legislation that currently applies simp...

Dean Russell | 721 c187 (Link to this contribution)

I thank the right hon. Gentleman for his comments. He was a staunch advocate of not leaving the E...

Dean Russell | 721 c187 (Link to this contribution)

I will not take many more interventions. I will continue for a short while.

Prior to 31 Dec...

Patrick Grady | 721 c187 (Link to this contribution)

I thank the Minister for giving way. He is making the case for the constitutional importance of t...

Dean Russell | 721 c188 (Link to this contribution)

I thank the hon. Member for his comments and for taking part in the debate last week. To be hones...

Dean Russell | 721 c188 (Link to this contribution)

I will continue, if I may.

Prior to the date in the Bill, the Government will determine whi...

Dean Russell | 721 c188 (Link to this contribution)

I have given way quite a lot today, and I want to at least get to the end of my speech while I am...

Robert Neill | 721 cc188-9 (Link to this contribution)

I am very grateful to the Minister for giving way and I congratulate him on doing such a sterling...

Dean Russell | 721 c189 (Link to this contribution)

I thank my hon. Friend for his comments. One of the key things for certainty is having a clear da...

Dean Russell | 721 cc189-190 (Link to this contribution)

I am afraid I will make progress, because I can see the Opposition Front Bencher itching to get u...

Baroness Laing of Elderslie | 721 c190 (Link to this contribution)

Order. I have let this run, but I have had enough now. The hon. Member for Lewisham West and Peng...

Dean Russell | 721 c190 (Link to this contribution)

Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. I have no issue with Opposition Members shouting, but I think th...

Baroness Laing of Elderslie | 721 c190 (Link to this contribution)

I call Justin Madders—[Interruption.] Forgive me—I was totally prepared for a change of personnel...

Jonathan Reynolds | 721 cc190-1 (Link to this contribution)

I beg to move an amendment, to leave out from “That” to the end of the Question and add:

“t...

Ellie Reeves | 721 c191 (Link to this contribution)

I thank my hon. Friend for giving way, unlike the Minister. Does my hon. Friend share my concerns...

Jonathan Reynolds | 721 c191 (Link to this contribution)

My hon. Friend is an expert in such matters and she is absolutely right to highlight those concer...

Pete Wishart | 721 c191 (Link to this contribution)

We now know that Labour is a party of Brexit, no different from the other major party of Brexit, ...

Jonathan Reynolds | 721 c192 (Link to this contribution)

I understand the hon. Member’s position. I simply say that, if we were to lock ourselves into a p...

John Redwood | 721 c192 (Link to this contribution)

Can the Opposition spokesman name a single regulation or directive of the EU that he thinks shoul...

Jonathan Reynolds | 721 c192 (Link to this contribution)

I certainly can. I have always said, for instance, that Solvency II could be improved by having t...

Stella Creasy | 721 c192 (Link to this contribution)

Might one of the reasons why businesses are so confused about the impact that the legislation wil...

Jonathan Reynolds | 721 cc193-4 (Link to this contribution)

My hon. Friend is absolutely correct. The retained EU law dashboard, although useful, is not and ...

Caroline Lucas | 721 c194 (Link to this contribution)

The hon. Member is giving a powerful speech. On environmental regulation, does he agree that this...

Jonathan Reynolds | 721 c194 (Link to this contribution)

The hon. Member makes a very good point. Unfortunately, we know that the Government do not like i...

Rebecca Pow | 721 c195 (Link to this contribution)

It was actually this Government, through the Environment Act 2021, who set up the Office for Envi...

Jonathan Reynolds | 721 c195 (Link to this contribution)

I think the hon. Member has agreed with the hon. Member for Brighton, Pavilion (Caroline Lucas), ...

Jacob Rees-Mogg | 721 cc195-6 (Link to this contribution)

May I say what a pleasure it is that normal service can be resumed, and that I am now able to spe...

Richard Graham | 721 c196 (Link to this contribution)

For some of us, the point is not the constitutional argument about which laws should be sovereign...

Jacob Rees-Mogg | 721 c196 (Link to this contribution)

I am afraid that my hon. Friend has never liked the decision to leave the European Union, and eve...

Jacob Rees-Mogg | 721 c196 (Link to this contribution)

I am not giving way again. Otherwise, my hon. Friend would not have intervened at this stage, bec...

Jacob Rees-Mogg | 721 c196 (Link to this contribution)

I give way to my right hon. Friend.

Richard Graham | 721 c196 (Link to this contribution)

On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. [Interruption.]

Baroness Laing of Elderslie | 721 c196 (Link to this contribution)

Order. This is a point of order. It would have been simpler had the hon. Gentleman been facing th...

Richard Graham | 721 c196 (Link to this contribution)

This is a very simple point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. My right hon. Friend the Member for N...

Baroness Laing of Elderslie | 721 c196 (Link to this contribution)

I appreciate the sensitivities. The hon. Gentleman knows that the content of the right hon. Gentl...

Jacob Rees-Mogg | 721 c196 (Link to this contribution)

I now give way to my right hon. Friend the Member for South Northamptonshire (Dame Andrea Leadsom...

Andrea Leadsom | 721 c197 (Link to this contribution)

I am grateful to my right hon. Friend for all the work that he has done. I was actually hoping to...

Jacob Rees-Mogg | 721 c197 (Link to this contribution)

I am very grateful to my right hon. Friend, who has made an excellent point. The ability of the H...

Patrick Grady | 721 c197 (Link to this contribution)

Given his commitment to scrutiny by the House, the right hon. Gentleman, who said that he was inv...

Jacob Rees-Mogg | 721 c197 (Link to this contribution)

There is always a discussion to be had about whether a few days in a Committee of the whole House...

John Redwood | 721 c197 (Link to this contribution)

I thank my right hon. Friend for all the great work that has been done on the draft legislation. ...

Jacob Rees-Mogg | 721 c197 (Link to this contribution)

I am grateful to my right hon. Friend, who is wise, as always. But it is even odder than that, be...

Stella Creasy | 721 c198 (Link to this contribution)

Does the right hon. Gentleman recognise that some of us may be a little bit sceptical about the d...

Jacob Rees-Mogg | 721 c198 (Link to this contribution)

I do not accept that construction of what is actually happening. The House will have the ability ...

Jonathan Reynolds | 721 c198 (Link to this contribution)

I am grateful for the chance to put a question to the right hon. Gentleman. I was going to welcom...

Jacob Rees-Mogg | 721 c198 (Link to this contribution)

The hon. Gentleman knows that Dispatch Box commitments have a very high standing in our political...

Sammy Wilson | 721 c199 (Link to this contribution)

The right hon. Gentleman is entirely correct. This is an issue of the supremacy of this Parliamen...

Jacob Rees-Mogg | 721 c199 (Link to this contribution)

I am certainly concerned about that. In the last couple of days I had to sign off a couple of exp...

Margaret Ferrier | 721 c199 (Link to this contribution)

The Bill creates several new powers that will not require UK Government Ministers to seek consent...

Jacob Rees-Mogg | 721 c199 (Link to this contribution)

The Scottish Parliament has been reluctant to give legislative consent motions to any Brexit-rela...

Jonathan Edwards | 721 c199 (Link to this contribution)

The right hon. Gentleman will of course accept that the Welsh Government have similar concerns to...

Jacob Rees-Mogg | 721 cc199-200 (Link to this contribution)

I know from my previous experience that His Majesty’s Government will observe the Sewel conventio...

Lord Mackinlay of Richborough | 721 c200 (Link to this contribution)

My right hon. Friend previously served on the European Scrutiny Committee, as I still do. Does he...

Jacob Rees-Mogg | 721 c200 (Link to this contribution)

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. The ports directive was debated and debated, and opposed on b...

Graham Stringer | 721 c200 (Link to this contribution)

The right hon. Gentleman will not be surprised to know that I agree with the core of his speech a...

Jacob Rees-Mogg | 721 cc200-1 (Link to this contribution)

The hon. Gentleman makes a valid point. The scrutiny of statutory instruments in this House is no...

Brendan O'Hara | 721 cc201-2 (Link to this contribution)

It is a pleasure to follow the right hon. Member for North East Somerset (Mr Rees-Mogg). Little d...

Sammy Wilson | 721 c203 (Link to this contribution)

Does the hon. Gentleman understand the inconsistency of his argument? He objects to Ministers in ...

Brendan O'Hara | 721 c203 (Link to this contribution)

The right hon. Gentleman will be aware that Scotland, exactly the same as Northern Ireland, voted...

Drew Hendry | 721 c203 (Link to this contribution)

My hon. Friend is making a terrific point. Is it not a fact that, if we were a member of the Euro...

Brendan O'Hara | 721 c203 (Link to this contribution)

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. This is about consent, because the Scottish Parliament has ne...

David Linden | 721 c203 (Link to this contribution)

In answer to the point made by the right hon. Member for East Antrim (Sammy Wilson), the differen...

Brendan O'Hara | 721 cc203-5 (Link to this contribution)

Again, I thank my hon. Friend for that intervention, and I could not agree more with what he says...

Jonathan Edwards | 721 c205 (Link to this contribution)

Is the hon. Gentleman aware of the Institute for Government’s view that the time between now and ...

Brendan O'Hara | 721 cc205-6 (Link to this contribution)

That is a very good point, and it is something that the Scottish Parliament and the Scottish Gove...

Baroness Winterton of Doncaster | 721 c206 (Link to this contribution)

Order. The debate is well subscribed. I do not want to impose a time limit, but my advice is that...

William Cash | 721 cc206-8 (Link to this contribution)

I add my personal best wishes to my right hon. Friend the Member for North East Somerset (Mr Rees...

Hilary Benn | 721 cc208-9 (Link to this contribution)

Here we go again: another piece of legislation introduced in the name of Brexit, which we were re...

William Cash | 721 c209 (Link to this contribution)

The right hon. Gentleman is rather avoiding the point that the legislation came in with exactly t...

Hilary Benn | 721 cc209-210 (Link to this contribution)

Well, what I do know is that I sat on the Council of Ministers for seven years as a Cabinet Minis...

Rebecca Pow | 721 cc210-1 (Link to this contribution)

It is a pleasure to follow the right hon. Member for Leeds Central (Hilary Benn). I welcome the U...

Jonathan Edwards | 721 c211 (Link to this contribution)

I am sure the hon. Member will realise that some of us are less happy than she is about this appr...

Rebecca Pow | 721 cc211-2 (Link to this contribution)

I thank the hon. Member for that, but we have had assurances from the Minister that he is going t...

Deidre Brock | 721 c212 (Link to this contribution)

I have just heard the news that the COP26 President has lost his position in Cabinet. Does the ho...

Rebecca Pow | 721 c212 (Link to this contribution)

I am obviously not party to all these things, but I believe the COP26 President is just not atten...

Rebecca Pow | 721 cc212-3 (Link to this contribution)

I will press on because I think I will be under pressure—I will perhaps give way in a minute.

...
Baroness Winterton of Doncaster | 721 c213 (Link to this contribution)

Order. I gently remind hon. Members that, if we are to be fair to each other, I did say that spee...

Stella Creasy | 721 cc213-6 (Link to this contribution)

It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Taunton Deane (Rebecca Pow). I hope she will appre...

Joanna Cherry | 721 c214 (Link to this contribution)

The hon. Lady will have seen that I put that point to the Minister earlier and he said that claus...

Stella Creasy | 721 c214 (Link to this contribution)

Clause 15(5) is why the Bill is the anti- growth coalition. Businesses, consumers and environment...

Theresa Villiers | 721 cc214-8 (Link to this contribution)

Having witnessed the EU legislative process at first hand as an MEP for six years, I can attest t...

Joanna Cherry | 721 cc218-9 (Link to this contribution)

I listened to the new Prime Minister’s speech this morning, in which he promised to fix “mistakes...

Jonathan Edwards | 721 c219 (Link to this contribution)

As usual, my hon. and learned Friend is making a forensic speech. She will be interested to learn...

Joanna Cherry | 721 cc219-220 (Link to this contribution)

Indeed, and I am pleased to say that I spent the weekend in Cardiff. It was my first visit, and I...

David Simmonds | 721 cc220-2 (Link to this contribution)

The UK is party to many international legal arrangements, many of which do not enjoy a great deal...

John McDonnell | 721 cc222-4 (Link to this contribution)

I will speak as a trade unionist, taking up the point made by the hon. Member for Ruislip, Northw...

Claire Hanna | 721 cc224-5 (Link to this contribution)

As other Members have outlined, this Bill should not be before us. The chaos that has characteris...

Paul Blomfield | 721 cc225-7 (Link to this contribution)

In last Thursday’s business questions, there was some discussion about whether the Bill should be...

Robert Neill | 721 c227 (Link to this contribution)

Will the hon. Gentleman give way? I will not be speaking later in the debate.

Robert Neill | 721 c227 (Link to this contribution)

The hon. Gentleman refers to business uncertainty. Has he seen the detailed briefing that has bee...

Paul Blomfield | 721 cc227-8 (Link to this contribution)

I have not seen that briefing, but I will now look because the hon. Gentleman makes a very strong...

Layla Moran | 721 cc228-9 (Link to this contribution)

To state what is so obvious to my struggling constituents, we are in the middle of a cost of livi...

Patrick Grady | 721 cc229-231 (Link to this contribution)

Some 78% of voters in Glasgow North voted to remain in the European Union in 2016, but now in thi...

Rachel Hopkins | 721 cc231-2 (Link to this contribution)

I rise to speak in support of the Opposition’s reasoned amendment. Many of us voted to leave the ...

Neale Hanvey | 721 cc232-3 (Link to this contribution)

I was elected to this place on a prospectus for Scotland’s independence, which is a completely le...

Pete Wishart | 721 c233 (Link to this contribution)

I do not know if the hon. Gentleman is not paying attention, but has he not noticed, and does he ...

Neale Hanvey | 721 cc233-4 (Link to this contribution)

I thank the hon. Gentleman for that intervention, and if he paid attention he would know that the...

Alex Cunningham | 721 cc234-5 (Link to this contribution)

As we have heard, the Bill threatens environmental, health and industrial protections by casting ...

Alex Cunningham | 721 cc235-6 (Link to this contribution)

No, I will leave it, thanks.

Rather than scrapping any chemicals regulation, the industry w...

Pete Wishart | 721 cc236-7 (Link to this contribution)

It is like the old days, is it not? I was going to say the good old days, but they were not all t...

Nigel Evans | 721 c237 (Link to this contribution)

Order. Not only is the hon. Gentleman going a bit wide of the Bill, but he is mentioning current ...

Pete Wishart | 721 c237 (Link to this contribution)

I heard, Mr Deputy Speaker, from a sedentary position, “Too long!” I am trying to resolve that—he...

Simon Hoare | 721 c238 (Link to this contribution)

I am told that the Chiltern hundreds are beautiful at this time of year.

Pete Wishart | 721 c238 (Link to this contribution)

I hear the Scottish highlands are even more beautiful, but we might debate that one at some other...

Caroline Lucas | 721 cc238-241 (Link to this contribution)

It is a positive delight to follow the hon. Member for Perth and North Perthshire (Pete Wishart),...

Henry Smith | 721 c241 (Link to this contribution)

I am glad that the hon. Lady is raising the issue of animal welfare, which is extremely important...

Caroline Lucas | 721 c241 (Link to this contribution)

I entirely agree with the hon. Gentleman. I hope very much that the Minister will give us that gu...

Hywel Williams | 721 cc241-3 (Link to this contribution)

The chaos recently visited on our constituents is yet another episode in the Conservative party’s...

Stephen Farry | 721 cc242-4 (Link to this contribution)

I too am strongly opposed to the Bill. We can be wishful in our thinking that we are simply going...

Kim Johnson | 721 c244 (Link to this contribution)

This is a Government operating without a mandate. We have had three Prime Ministers in less than ...

Matt Rodda | 721 c245 (Link to this contribution)

One of the most pernicious aspects of this Bill is the threat to maternity and paternity rights. ...

Kim Johnson | 721 c245 (Link to this contribution)

I thank my hon. Friend for his intervention and I will be touching on that point. Others have men...

Margaret Greenwood | 721 c245 (Link to this contribution)

My hon. Friend is giving a powerful speech, as she always does. She is talking about the sunset o...

Kim Johnson | 721 cc245-6 (Link to this contribution)

My hon. Friend makes a valid point about the disruption that this Government have caused in the p...

Nigel Evans | 721 c246 (Link to this contribution)

Order. You should not use the word “your”—that refers to me.

Kim Johnson | 721 c246 (Link to this contribution)

Apologies, Mr Deputy Speaker. As I was saying, we have seen Tory austerity, attacks on working pe...

Nigel Evans | 721 c246 (Link to this contribution)

I am sorry, there were some noises there but I was not saying anything.

Kim Johnson | 721 c246 (Link to this contribution)

Okay, Conservative Members can make a lot of noise, because that is all they ever do. Thanks.

...
Yvette Cooper | 721 c246 (Link to this contribution)

On a point of order, Mr Deputy Speaker. At noon, the new Prime Minister promised “integrity, prof...

Nigel Evans | 721 c246 (Link to this contribution)

I thank the right hon. Lady for her point of order. While she will clearly have opportunities to ...

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