31/01/2017 House of Commons


31/01/2017

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apparent with the passage of time, the national interest is that we

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should work together to get the best possible outcome for our country. As

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ever, a makes cogent points, I completely agree with him that the

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government must lay out a process where the government begins to have

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a say on this process and a final deal.

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I do not believe we will be reversing this decision but I will

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not be supporting it. Not because I do not recognise the result of the

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referendum but I cannot walk blindly through a lobby to give a trigger to

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a process without a shred of detail from the government. There has been

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much talk of the Prime Minister's speech. Maybe not in this House but

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elsewhere. No White Paper, no detail and after seven months, it is really

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shocking that the government can come to this House and say so little

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today. There is still no real guarantee a parliamentary oversight.

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While there was a vote to leave, there is a lot of detail below that

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simple decision that this House has a constitutional role in delivering.

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There is no certainty for business as we stand here now, many are

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concerned about their future. Not a word of sucker for -- circle for EU

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residents, and no answer on the many regulations that will need to be

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transposed into our law will take place. I suspect we will seek an

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explosion at speed of line goes from the same government that wanted the

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bonfire of the quangos. I want to my focus on EU citizens in the UK. In

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my constituency, at the last census in 2011. 10% of my constituents were

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born in other EU countries. 27,000 across the borough of Hackney as a

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whole. It is a similar percentage across London as a whole. 841,000

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people born in other EU countries. If we look at student numbers,

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31,000 students from the EU were accept it in 2016. Up 22% from 2010.

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A significant bunch of people contributing to our economy. If you

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look at our public services, we cannot get figures for everywhere

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but in the health service, 5% of NHS staff are from other EU member

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states. But staff joining in 2015, 16, it is 27%. That is up from

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really 7% in 2012-13. This demonstrates a big gap in our skills

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and the skills and talents we need in this country to fill those jobs.

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If you look at the technology sector, in Shoreditch, we have a

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burgeoning technology sector. There are already many issues in this

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sector with visas because it is such an emerging industry that there are

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often jobs that don't have titles that don't exist in official terms.

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Cutting off the stream overnight of EU citizens overnight who may be

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asked to leave this country is a real issue. Overall, 3 million EU

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citizens currently living and working in the UK. These people pay

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more in tax than they withdraw in benefits and contribute at least ?2

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billion annually to the economy. A recent poll issued today showed a

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majority of UK residents, citizens, believe that EU citizens rights

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should be guaranteed with 58% agreeing to that position. 28

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disagreeing and 14% don't know. My honourable friend from the front

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bench talked about the human misery. I have had people ringing my office

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in tears worried about their future. When I am talking to constituents,

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they can't hold back their emotions for they are fearful for what it

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means. A woman wrote to me recently, Dutch with a British partner and

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British children, 20 years in this country but not knowing her future.

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Another woman, freelance, worried that because she is freelance, that

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she will not be allowed to stay in the UK. Change to this does not

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require an amendment to this bill, it is something the government could

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agree with straightaway. We should be wary on turning on followers --

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foreigners in our midst. We should allow the citizens to stay and

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continue to contribute to our country and set in train the process

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they need to do that. If we do not do that, we should look closely at

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what our tolerance is in this country. She is making a very

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powerful point and I think it is tantamount to torture to not tell

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people who are from the EU living and working here that they cannot

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stay as it is for British people weaving and working in the European

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Union. Does she not believe that both sides ought to get together as

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quickly as possible and put people out of their misery and tell them

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they are allowed to stay, live and work in the countries where they

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currently are? Mr Speaker, I agree with that position and I think the

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government could make a unilateral declaration. They are friends,

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neighbours, they work in the public services and they are contributing

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to our economy. People exercising their treaty rights today should be

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allowed to stay. They have made their lives here with every

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expectation it would be a permanent position. It would be magnanimous of

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the government to give way now. Thank you Mr Speaker. In my opinion,

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the people have decided and I am going to vote accordingly.

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Well Mr Speaker, I thought I had and myself a reputation for brevity but

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I think I have just been resolutely beaten to this. Congratulations. You

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can sit down now? Tempting as an invitation it may be I will not take

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it up. I think this is an historic debate, not just because of what we

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as members of Parliament will do. But historic because of what the

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people did on the 23rd of June and they have now given us the task to

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implement that decision. To avoid any argument over the position of

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figures, let's just say the bill is fewer than 150,000 words. And we are

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now charged to say the people voted for us to leave. There were

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principles behind that. The first one is, parliamentary sovereignty

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does not mean to be sovereign over the people. It is a relationship

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between the sovereign and Parliament. In a parliamentary

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democracy where we used to be representatives, we decide to have a

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direct mandate then it is our duty to implement that direct mandate. I

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would not attend for one moment that it is easy but it is our challenge.

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The second one is that we had a 70 point -- 70 2.2% turnout. It is true

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that 16.1 -- just over 16 million voted to remain, more people voted

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to leave and it is now duty to do two things. Implement the decision

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of the majority and immediately after that focus on representing the

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people as a whole. I chaired the official leave campaign and what can

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be said, what the campaign was clear about what is that it was about

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taking back control of our borders. That meant we wanted an immigration

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policy not based on geography but on skills and economic need. We wanted

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to take back control of our laws and control of our trade negotiations. I

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also happened to think that the election pledge was made that the

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least ?100 million per week that we saved by not making direct

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contributions to the EU should go to the NHS is something the government

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should actually honour. The NHS is short of money. That takes me to

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Article 50 and this is where history is important. I was the draughtsman

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of the original article that led to Article 50 as part of the European

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constitution. It said any country could be asked to leave within two

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years. The nature of the European Union, everything on the drawing

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board is never allowed to go away. It became a leaving close, hence the

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two years. But no one seriously thought through how it should be

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implemented. Hence the challenge for us is to do that which was an

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imagined. All current judges have been for countries to increasingly

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entered the European Union, not leaving. We are leaving. One of the

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reasons the United Kingdom is in a unique position, numerous speakers

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have talked about nationalism. The British Isles, George the first

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developed the concept of super nationalism. Someone like me, who

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was born in Munich can with great comfort say I am British but I will

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never be English. Hence that need to overcome the darker side of

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nationalism by super nationalism is something the British people have

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never felt. At the same time, we have not mentioned one thing that

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made the whole European Union debate different. We had various people

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reliving their youth but when the euro was introduced, the whole

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dynamics of the European Union and its relationship to those countries

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changed. I regard the outcome of this referendum is a logical

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conclusion of Maastricht. We said we would not join the single currency

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and we said we would not join the Schengen treaty. I now chair

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something called change Britain which we set up after the referendum

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because the important thing now, irrespective of how you voted, we

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need to bring people together. Another principles we have been

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working on, of them, and I welcome what the government has said from

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the front bench, is to enshrine workers' rights. I think it is

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equally important to enshrine environmental rights and make sure

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communities are protected. It is extremely important for us on the

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Labour side to realise that we now have the fight to defend those

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Labour heartlands. Which of never recovered from the 1980s. It is

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extremely important to protect the rights of EU citizens. 2.8 million

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of them head, something like 1.8 have already established their right

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to be here. It is the one to have been here for fewer than five years

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who we really have to protect. At the moment the only obstacle to

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guaranteeing reciprocal rights is our European partners have insisted

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on no negotiation. There is a rational case for what the

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honourable gentleman says. But I think this is the one area where

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unilateral decisions on our part would set the tone for negotiations

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which would serve EU citizens and UK citizens living in the European

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Union. I'd take a different view from people who think that trade

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should be above... The honourable lady is waiting for a moment of

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silence. I take a different view. I do not think that it is economic

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success and peas which delivers you liberal democracies. I will not

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trade liberal democratic structures for anything else. I think it is

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liberal democratic structures which deliver economic success and peas

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and therefore I think a new, modern 21st-century, economic, liberal

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democratic structure would give us that democracy and peas and that is

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why I hope everyone in this house will vote for triggering Article 50.

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Can I begin by paying tribute to the member for Birmingham. As one of the

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founding MPs for vote lead she played a great role in getting the

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vote to leave in the referendum and it was a brave thing to do. My

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neighbour for decades has been reviled and mocked for his views,

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but not withstanding he has kept his ducks in a row and today must be

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very proud day for him. I would like to take those who intend to vote

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tomorrow against the motion to remind them this is a result of a

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very clearly marked out process. David Cameron made it clear

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commitment in his Bloomberg speech that if the Conservatives won the

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election, there would be a referendum. It was a manifesto

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commitment and we did win the referendum. There was then a

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referendum bill put through this house by a massive majority of 491.

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544-53. And then we had the referendum. I have the hugest

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admiration for my honourable and learning friend for Rushcliffe, I do

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think he is unwise to have said the referendum was just an opinion poll.

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It was very clearly stated in the document that cost taxpayers ?9

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million that this is your decision. The government will implement what

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you decide. If that was not clear, the Prime Minister at the time,

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David Cameron, on many occasions and in June on early Sunday said what

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the British public will be voting for is to leave the EU and lead the

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single market. That was also helpfully endorsed by one of the

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predecessors of the right honourable member for Sheffield Hallam, the

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noble lord Lord Ashdown who said, I will forgive no one who does not

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respect the sovereign voice of the British people want it is spoken,

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whether it is a majority of 1% or 20%. Well, it was a big vote, 17

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million, 410,000 voted to leave. The most votes for any issue or party in

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our history and the highest percentage turnout since the 1992

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general election. So I thought the member for Saint pancreas' comments

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were very wise and thoughtful and he recognised that we are now facing,

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the establishment is facing, a real conundrum. We have had referendums,

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we had won in 1975, we had a referendum on Wales, Scotland,

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Northern Ireland, AV. Every time the popular vote of the referendum

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delivered what the establishment wanted. This is a unique moment in

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our history. We have had this massive vote and the establishment

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does not want it. What I would say to those who are going to vote

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against tomorrow night, just think of the shattering, catastrophic

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damage to the integrity of the political establishment, the media

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establishment and following the judgment last week, the judicial

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establishment, if this is not delivered. What I am quite clear

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about, having travelled all over the country during the referendum,

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having campaigned for this since my earliest days in Parliament and by

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European credentials are good, I was in business for 20 years, I rose to

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become president of the European trade association, you do not have

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to stand, I chaired meetings in French and retranslated for the

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Germans when they could not keep up, but I saw at the time the

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extraordinary growth of young economies elsewhere in the world and

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I saw us being held back. What is tragic now is to see how Europe is

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falling behind. Everyone bangs on about the single market, our sales

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were worth 1600% in 1999 and they are now at 43%, so there are

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wonderful opportunities out there. The three responsibilities I have

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had, I bitterly resent the comments about Northern Ireland, this being

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damaging to the peace process. We have the very best relations with

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the Republic of Ireland and we will respect the Common travel area and

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all that is good. We need to revive the economy in Northern Ireland. It

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is hard to think of two areas of activity most damaged by the

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European government and the Common agricultural policy and the Common

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Fisheries Policy. We will now get these back to the person standing at

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that dispatch box who we can hold responsible. As a deputy secretary I

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would come here and I would say we were outvoted. From now on we will

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have elected persons responsible to this Parliament. Will my honourable

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friend confirm that he has heard the fishing industry complaining about

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the disadvantage they faced under the Common Fisheries Policy over the

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last 40 years? My honourable friend is absolutely right and she invited

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me to Cornwall in the summer. I think in a hotly fought contest the

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Common Fisheries Policy is the most dreadful, the most shatteringly bad

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act of misgovernment. It is a biological, environmental, economic

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and social disaster. It cannot be reformed. We give power back to

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ministers sitting at that dispatch box, we can hold them to account and

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we can learn all the lessons, I have travelled all over Norway, and down

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to the Falklands, and we can bring in modern technology and we can get

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away from the disgusting relic of the quota system which ensures a

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quarter of fish are thrown back dead and it can be 1 million tonnes in

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some years, nobody knows, worth 1.6 billion annually. There are real

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advantages to the environment because we are proud signatories to

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conventions which should not be reinterpreted at the European level,

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they should be reinterpreted specifically for our own

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environment, so we will gain in agriculture, fisheries, the

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environment, and I will be voting tonight and tomorrow for this bill.

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Mr Speaker, the Supreme Court remind us that we live in a Parliamentary

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democracy and yes, it is true that Parliament decided we should have a

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referendum and for myself I find it very difficult not to respect the

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outcome of the referendum. But Parliament did not cut itself out of

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this whole issue altogether. Parliament did not divest itself of

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its involvement in determining what should happen when the UK withdraws

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from the European Union, because that is the bill we are discussing

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today. We are discussing the UK's withdrawal from the European Union,

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not the Maastricht Treaty, which by the way had 23 days to debate the

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issues in committee, or the Lisbon Treaty, or the Amsterdam Treaty, or

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the single European act, this bill is more important than all of those

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wrapped together and multiplied by a large factor. In a moment. That is

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why we should look very carefully at what this bill says. This bill says

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begrudgingly that ministers while they come and get permission from

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Parliament for the notification, they then yank it back to the Prime

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Minister, entirely 100% back into the hands of ministers alone to

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determine our fate outside the European Union. That is why I cannot

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bring myself to vote in favour of this particular legislation because

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there are so many issues, so many ramifications, so many questions

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surrounding our withdrawal from the European Union that it is our duty,

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it is what the Supreme Court insisted what we do, to have due

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diligence to look at all the issues surrounding this particular

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question. That is why I have decided to table a few very judicious

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amendments to this bill to try and cover a few corners of the questions

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that I think this bill needs to address. What happens, for example,

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in terms of our relationship with the single market? What are we doing

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in potential tariff free access and frictionless trade across the rest

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of Europe? Will we be able to have such advantages again? These are the

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questions that were not on the ballot paper. It simply stated

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should we remain to leave? The ballot paper did not go into those

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details and those details are for Parliament to determine and for us

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as members of Parliament to do our duty and to make sure we give a

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steer to ministers, that we give them their instructions on how we

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should be negotiating our withdrawal from the European Union. I

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personally do not have faith in the Prime Minister's vision for a hard

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Brexit because it is a hard Brexit. We may be falling very gently

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through the air currently, like the skydiver who has jumped out of the

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aeroplane. We are floating around. But I worry about the impact and the

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hitting the ground and the effect not just on our democracy, but on

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our constituents, on their jobs, on the growth we ought to be enjoying

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in this economy to keep pace with our competitors. I thank my

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honourable friend, he is giving an excellent speech. Would he confirm

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the view held quite widely on this side of the House that is absolutely

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critical to a successful Brexit will be membership of the single market?

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Absolutely and we are not being given the opportunity to debate that

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in this legislative process, a process that the government is so

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afraid to go into that they have given it a measly three days at

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committee stage. The Maastricht Treaty had so much more time to

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discuss it. If they were not so frightened, they would allow the

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House to go through all these questions. What happens to EU

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nationals? Will they have rights to stay? It should be for Parliament to

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determine these things. Are we going to have a transitional arrangement

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so we do not fall off the cliff edge? All of these questions, Visa

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free travel, what happens to their financial services trades? They may

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face a ban on trading altogether in various areas. For the Prime

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Minister to have already accepted the red lines of the other European

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Union 27 countries, for her to have thrown in the towel on single market

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membership without even trying to adapt free movement and find a

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consensus, which I think would be available, is a failure of her

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approach. For the Prime Minister to accept the red line that we are not

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allowed to have parallel discussions and negotiations, we must only do

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the divorce proceedings in these two years and then maybe we can talk

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about the relationship. Would he not agree with me that the Prime

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Minister showed great reality in her speech a few weeks ago when she made

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it clear that if we do not accept free movement, as indeed she has

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made clear, then we cannot be a member of the single market. That is

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just a reality. I respect very much the honourable lady's contribution,

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she is an independent thinker on these things. But I think we should

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have at least asked, we should have tried. That is what a negotiation

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is. You do not just accept the red line laid down, you go in and try

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and adjust it. Do not tell me that Germany, Greece and other countries

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are not facing issues where they might want more managed migration

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systems. It could have been possible. I believe we should have

:26:44.:26:48.

had a bit more fight in this particular process to salvage some

:26:49.:26:53.

of the advantages that we need for our future generations, let alone

:26:54.:26:59.

today's economy. I would like to see more fight from all members of

:27:00.:27:02.

parliament and from our own leadership in the Labour Party. This

:27:03.:27:07.

is one of the most important pieces of legislation for a generation and

:27:08.:27:13.

future generations will look back on this and say, what did you do to try

:27:14.:27:18.

and nudge the Prime Minister off that hard Brexit course? What did

:27:19.:27:24.

you do to try and steer the course of the government negotiations away

:27:25.:27:27.

from the rocks and away from falling over that cliff edge? I cannot bring

:27:28.:27:33.

myself to back this legislation, but I will not be dissuaded from doing

:27:34.:27:38.

my duty, trying to amend the bill and trying to improve the process so

:27:39.:27:43.

we get the right deal for Britain. I would urge all parliamentarians to

:27:44.:27:47.

use this legislation widely in that respect. It may look like an

:27:48.:27:53.

innocuous sentence, a simple clause in the legislation, but it has a

:27:54.:27:57.

phenomenal ramifications and if we do not try our best to come together

:27:58.:28:02.

across the parties to save some of those elements of the single market

:28:03.:28:06.

and salvage some of those benefits like tariff free trade for all of

:28:07.:28:11.

our businesses and constituents, we will have massively failed in our

:28:12.:28:13.

duty as parliamentarians. After more than three hours of

:28:14.:28:24.

debate, a lot has been said, I will not repeat all of that. Like the

:28:25.:28:29.

right Honourable member for Rushdie, I voted to remain. Unlike him, I

:28:30.:28:33.

voted to promote the referendum and played some part in bringing the

:28:34.:28:38.

Conservative Party towards having a referendum so I will be voting in

:28:39.:28:44.

favour of triggering article 50. I shall vote in the succeeding week

:28:45.:28:49.

against each and every attempt through amendments whatever kind to

:28:50.:28:52.

the government in any way administratively or legally. Because

:28:53.:28:58.

the government has to have the ability to negotiate flexibly in the

:28:59.:29:04.

nation 's interest. I would add one point that I don't think has come

:29:05.:29:09.

out so far in this debate. The question of what it is we are doing,

:29:10.:29:13.

if I suspect tomorrow night we do vote to trigger article 50. There

:29:14.:29:17.

has been some suggestion in speeches that somehow this vote is not

:29:18.:29:23.

irrevocable and is not final and there will become a time where

:29:24.:29:27.

Parliament can decide whether it likes to deal the government has

:29:28.:29:30.

negotiated or whether it prefers instead to go back to the position

:29:31.:29:35.

of remaining in the EU. That is clearly contrary to what the Prime

:29:36.:29:40.

Minister set out in her speech. She made it perfectly clear that in her

:29:41.:29:43.

view what Parliament would be deciding is to accept the deal or

:29:44.:29:47.

not to accept the deal in which case we would have to fall back on the

:29:48.:29:51.

WTO and other arrangements because we would in any case leave. I want

:29:52.:29:55.

to say why I think she was right about that on three points of view.

:29:56.:29:58.

The first is the question of legal fact. None of us is qualified to

:29:59.:30:03.

make a judgment about the law in that respect but we have a piece of

:30:04.:30:08.

luck. The Supreme Court has made a judgment about that. In the High

:30:09.:30:12.

Court, and rather unusual High Court as it was composed, judgment. It was

:30:13.:30:17.

not totally clear but in the Supreme Court judgment which is totally

:30:18.:30:21.

clear, that the presumption of the Supreme Court that not only the

:30:22.:30:28.

majority that this was an irrevocable act. And the whole

:30:29.:30:30.

foundation of the legal case was that. He is making a powerful speech

:30:31.:30:35.

but wasn't it agreed in the High Court that both sides accepted it

:30:36.:30:41.

was irrevocable and therefore the Supreme Court did not look at that

:30:42.:30:45.

question? He makes an interesting point. The difference between the

:30:46.:30:48.

judgments is that the Supreme Court made it clear that in an irrevocable

:30:49.:30:54.

at, what in their view was happening was a fundamental change in our

:30:55.:30:58.

Constitution. That is a different character of argument than in the

:30:59.:31:02.

High Court judgment and is conclusive. It means the Supreme

:31:03.:31:05.

Court has ruled that in its view, this is an irrevocable act. That is

:31:06.:31:11.

somewhat irrelevant to us because we are in parliament and not a group of

:31:12.:31:15.

lawyers. Next we come to the democratic mandate. Is there a

:31:16.:31:18.

democratic mandate that when article 50 is triggered, the result,

:31:19.:31:24.

whatever it may be, at acceptable or unacceptable, should be that this

:31:25.:31:28.

country leaves. I must say my right honourable friend, the member for

:31:29.:31:33.

Chesham and Amersham were right and I know they were right because I am

:31:34.:31:38.

one of the guilty men. I know that in the referendum campaign, I made

:31:39.:31:43.

it perfectly clear to the many audiences I address that in my view,

:31:44.:31:47.

and this is why I voted to remain. That it would be an inevitable

:31:48.:31:52.

consequence of leaving that we would leave the single market and reassert

:31:53.:31:56.

our control of the borders was incompatible with the single market.

:31:57.:32:01.

We would have do leave the customs union and I made it perfectly clear

:32:02.:32:06.

to them that we might find ourselves in a position where we were unable

:32:07.:32:10.

to negotiate a free trade agreement because that takes two sides.

:32:11.:32:17.

Therefore we might have the fallback on the WTO which I thought was a

:32:18.:32:21.

great it seems as a matter of aquatic mandate that the people who

:32:22.:32:25.

voted to leave were voting with their eyes wide open and that it

:32:26.:32:29.

might have the consequence that we fell back on the WTO. The league

:32:30.:32:32.

campaign made that perfectly clear as well, at least the more

:32:33.:32:37.

responsible and more sensible people in the leave campaign when they

:32:38.:32:41.

spoke about it. Both as a matter of legal fact and aquatic mandate,

:32:42.:32:45.

there is an extraordinarily strong argument that in this vote tomorrow

:32:46.:32:48.

night we are actually taking an irrevocable step that should not

:32:49.:32:53.

lead Parliament to have any illusion that at a later date, it can go back

:32:54.:32:58.

if it doesn't like the deal. Coming to the third and seemingly

:32:59.:33:02.

overwhelming point in my view, what matters most is the fate of our

:33:03.:33:06.

country. All of these arguments are just arguments. The fate of our

:33:07.:33:10.

country is a real thing, affecting the men and women in it. The truth

:33:11.:33:14.

is the negotiating hand that our government has will greatly

:33:15.:33:18.

determine whether in the outcome we get the copper hence a free trade

:33:19.:33:21.

deal of the kind the Prime Minister rightly seeks. And I know of no fact

:33:22.:33:28.

more certain than that if this House were to suggest to our counterparts

:33:29.:33:36.

in the EU 27 that we might decide at a later date that if the deal

:33:37.:33:39.

offered to us was bad enough that we would to remain, that the

:33:40.:33:44.

consequence would be that they would offer us the worst eel they could

:33:45.:33:47.

think of. It is an inevitable consequence of wanting to keep us

:33:48.:33:52.

in. Many of our EU 27 want to keep as in, I am not sure why. They would

:33:53.:33:55.

best achieve that by offering the worst eel they could if they knew

:33:56.:34:00.

that what Harlem at might do as a consequence is to vote to remain.

:34:01.:34:04.

Therefore I think we have a solemn duty in this House to make it

:34:05.:34:09.

abundantly clear, not just to the people of this country but to the EU

:34:10.:34:14.

27 that this is an irrevocable act tomorrow night. That we are taking a

:34:15.:34:18.

step we cannot go back from. That if we want a proper deal in the mutual

:34:19.:34:22.

interest, they should offer it. And if we dared get it, we will leave

:34:23.:34:27.

because we have triggered article 50 and we are out. Then we will have to

:34:28.:34:31.

deal with the consequences of that thereafter. That makes tomorrow

:34:32.:34:34.

night 's vote one of the most important we will ever take in this

:34:35.:34:37.

House and I take it with some doubt and hesitation. But I take it

:34:38.:34:41.

because I believe the will of the people in the end has been

:34:42.:34:51.

expressed. Mr Speaker, I find myself in the position of having agreed

:34:52.:34:54.

with everything the right honourable member for Rushcliffe has said,

:34:55.:34:58.

virtually. And Birchley everything said by my honourable friends on

:34:59.:35:03.

this side who are intending to vote against the second reading tomorrow

:35:04.:35:07.

evening. I differ in one aspect only. In that identikit is possible

:35:08.:35:11.

as a democratically elected member of Parliament, that entered into the

:35:12.:35:19.

referendum having accepted that we were going to have that referendum

:35:20.:35:22.

and then saying to the public that somehow I know better and I'm not

:35:23.:35:28.

going to honour the outcome of that referendum. I will vote in favour of

:35:29.:35:32.

triggering article 50 tomorrow night. But I will do so because I

:35:33.:35:40.

don't want the party opposite, every time I challenge them over the

:35:41.:35:43.

process and every time I challenge them to come back to this House to

:35:44.:35:48.

be accountable for what they are negotiating on behalf of this

:35:49.:35:52.

country, to turn round and say that somehow I am looking to second-guess

:35:53.:35:57.

outcome of the referendum. They must be accountable for what they are

:35:58.:36:08.

doing to this House. There are some questions about whether the

:36:09.:36:11.

government is acting in the best interests. We had the spat with the

:36:12.:36:16.

Italian economic Minister over whether Italy would be hurt by

:36:17.:36:19.

selling less per second to the UK. He said that we may sell a little

:36:20.:36:27.

bit less press code but he would be doing that to one country and you

:36:28.:36:30.

would be selling less to 27 countries. We had a big comments of

:36:31.:36:37.

the Foreign Secretary over freedom of movement as a founding principle

:36:38.:36:41.

of the European Union. He used a rather unfortunate word in any

:36:42.:36:45.

interview with a cheque newspaper but calls it a total myth and

:36:46.:36:49.

nonsense to call it a founding principle. He may believe that is

:36:50.:36:54.

true but that is not the way to go about negotiating with people who

:36:55.:36:57.

are going to have an important say over future trade agreements for

:36:58.:37:03.

this country. And when it came to the meeting about the outcome of the

:37:04.:37:08.

election, the American presidential election. He said he spoke down to

:37:09.:37:12.

the people that were attending a meeting convened to discuss that

:37:13.:37:19.

saying "I would respectfully say to my European colleagues, what kind of

:37:20.:37:22.

language is that to use when you are talking down to the very people you

:37:23.:37:27.

want to be cooperating with you in future negotiations. He also went on

:37:28.:37:32.

to describe the Donald Trump is a liberal guy from New York. He may

:37:33.:37:38.

well be rethinking that one. The government has clearly shown that it

:37:39.:37:41.

is not to be trusted with these negotiations without having

:37:42.:37:44.

oversight from this House of Commons. We have to do have a say in

:37:45.:37:50.

this process. I will be voting to trigger Article 50 and the benches

:37:51.:38:04.

opposite, speeches and said that they want a say in Parliament. I

:38:05.:38:10.

hope we will see them voting on amendments to ensure that actually

:38:11.:38:14.

takes place in the debates we have over the three days next week. I

:38:15.:38:19.

have heard all the talk about the brave new world that is going to

:38:20.:38:24.

open up for us under the World Trade Organisation. People don't seem to

:38:25.:38:27.

be respecting the fact that there are rules and regulations and

:38:28.:38:32.

tariffs to be negotiated with the World Trade Organisation. It is

:38:33.:38:36.

highly likely that our easiest way into the World Trade Organisation is

:38:37.:38:39.

to take as a package the agreements we have under the EU and adopt them

:38:40.:38:43.

under the World Trade Organisation. It is the uses way to avoid all

:38:44.:38:49.

kinds of challenges to the UK. Which incidentally, we don't have the

:38:50.:38:52.

teams of lawyers and accountants that are used to dealing with these

:38:53.:38:56.

sorts of negotiations to act on our behalf. We are opening up all of

:38:57.:39:00.

these negotiations without having the expertise in place. The question

:39:01.:39:05.

asked several times of the government about building up these

:39:06.:39:09.

departments and the expertise. Where are the experts that are used to

:39:10.:39:13.

negotiating on behalf of the UK? They are all in Europe, they have

:39:14.:39:17.

been doing it on a European level, they are not here. We will have to

:39:18.:39:23.

do that at several levels. Trade agreements through the WTO, what is

:39:24.:39:27.

going to happen with those countries who have vested interests like

:39:28.:39:32.

Spain? They might want to use this vulnerability of the UK to open up

:39:33.:39:37.

negotiations about Gibraltar. What if we go into the World Trade

:39:38.:39:41.

Organisation, would Argentina start to challenge agreements with the UK

:39:42.:39:45.

in order to open up negotiations about the future of the Falkland

:39:46.:39:50.

Islands. This is the reality of international trade agreements. This

:39:51.:39:53.

is the real world we are going to be moving into. The idea that we can

:39:54.:39:58.

just fall out of Europe and into the World Trade Organisation, without

:39:59.:40:03.

consequences, is folly. That is why this House of Commons has to have a

:40:04.:40:09.

say over the process and it has got to scrutinise in detail what this

:40:10.:40:12.

government is doing on behalf of this country. We as members of

:40:13.:40:18.

Parliament have a duty to do that. The government should not stand in

:40:19.:40:21.

the way of democratic accountability in this House by joint to

:40:22.:40:26.

renegotiate the outcome of the referendum. That is not true but

:40:27.:40:32.

that means that they can't avoid accountability. I hope the

:40:33.:40:35.

government will accept an amendment on that basis so we bring

:40:36.:40:38.

sovereignty back here to this House of Commons. Michael Gove. Can I

:40:39.:40:46.

begin by saying how grateful I am and many other members of the House

:40:47.:40:50.

are to both the High Court and the Supreme Court for their rulings

:40:51.:40:54.

which ensure this legislation comes in fact of the House of Commons

:40:55.:41:01.

today. As has been pointed out by judges, the original European

:41:02.:41:04.

Community 's act of 1972 was a constitutional statute of such

:41:05.:41:10.

significance that it and its provisions can only be changed by

:41:11.:41:15.

legislation. I am glad the government is bringing forward this

:41:16.:41:19.

bill. The 1972 European Community 's act is significant because it allows

:41:20.:41:24.

laws made outside this House to have direct affect in the law of this

:41:25.:41:32.

land. -- Fx. Laws which are framed, designed and shaped by individuals

:41:33.:41:37.

whom we have never elected and whom we cannot remove have a sovereign

:41:38.:41:43.

ability to dictate what is legal and what is illegal in this House? I

:41:44.:41:49.

listen with respect and interest, like the honourable gentleman just

:41:50.:41:54.

by Koo stressed the importance of parliamentary scrutiny. Where were

:41:55.:41:58.

they between 1972 and now when literally thousands of laws were

:41:59.:42:01.

imposed on the people of this country, not just without scrutiny

:42:02.:42:06.

but without debate, vote or the possibility of amendment or

:42:07.:42:07.

rejection? They are pretty late coming to the

:42:08.:42:12.

Democratic party now. I thought it was instructive that

:42:13.:42:32.

the leader, the former leader of the Liberal Democrats, the member for

:42:33.:42:38.

Sheffield Hallam, was dismissive of the result and the debate during the

:42:39.:42:44.

course of the referendum. A previous leader of the Liberal Democrats said

:42:45.:42:49.

on referendum night, when the British people vote, you do what

:42:50.:42:52.

they demand, when democracy speaks, we obey. Any people who retreat

:42:53.:42:59.

into, we are coming back for a second one, they do not believe in

:43:00.:43:04.

democracy. It is a tragedy that the party that calls itself Liberal

:43:05.:43:09.

Democrats is scarcely liberal and now anti-democratic. It would be

:43:10.:43:13.

harmful for our democracy at a time when all of us are concerned about

:43:14.:43:22.

the rise of rockers populism... I know the response from the SNP who

:43:23.:43:28.

are the prime traders in rockers populism. If we were now to reject a

:43:29.:43:33.

considered decision of 74 million of our fellow citizens, we would only

:43:34.:43:41.

be feeding the dissatisfaction with the democratic process. That is why

:43:42.:43:45.

we should respect the result and honour the mandate. There are a

:43:46.:43:51.

number of people who ask for white papers and scrutiny and greater

:43:52.:43:55.

clarity. We have had a promise of a white paper, we have had a 6000 word

:43:56.:44:00.

speech from our Prime Minister and clarity on all these issues. They

:44:01.:44:05.

are people who will not take yes for an answer and they are seeking

:44:06.:44:10.

obfuscation, delay and a dilution of a democratic mandate from the

:44:11.:44:17.

British people. Rubbish! Firstly, can I say that a 6000 word speech

:44:18.:44:23.

would be a very short speech if he were to give it, but can I challenge

:44:24.:44:28.

him on the issue of a white paper. He and many others who voted to

:44:29.:44:33.

campaign to leave want to take that controlled to rest in the sovereign

:44:34.:44:36.

parliament. Does he not agree that it is right, that the government's

:44:37.:44:42.

terms that they want to start negotiations with are presented in a

:44:43.:44:45.

white paper to this parliament and not just in a speech at Lancaster

:44:46.:44:49.

House? The Prime Minister has already agreed a white paper will be

:44:50.:44:56.

published. The Secretary of State said it will come as soon as

:44:57.:45:00.

possible. I have enormous respect for my right honourable friend and I

:45:01.:45:04.

will return to an argument she made outside displays in a second. So

:45:05.:45:08.

many of those who call for a white paper is so very rarely actually

:45:09.:45:13.

outline what they think the right course is. It is so very rare that

:45:14.:45:19.

we have had a positive case put. What we have repeatedly is an

:45:20.:45:23.

attempt to rewrite what happened in the referendum debate. The

:45:24.:45:27.

honourable member for Derby South tried to present the referendum

:45:28.:45:35.

debate as if it was inconclusive. As the right honourable member for

:45:36.:45:38.

Dorset West pointed out, we could not have been clearer that we were

:45:39.:45:43.

leaving the single market and it was also perfectly clear we could not

:45:44.:45:46.

have the trade deals of the future without leaving the customs union.

:45:47.:45:52.

Could he therefore please assure us that he still would be true to his

:45:53.:46:01.

claim as the leader of the leave campaign that ?350 million will now

:46:02.:46:07.

be going into our NHS? Or does he agree with others that actually that

:46:08.:46:11.

figure was always false and it was a lie? I have no idea whether or not

:46:12.:46:20.

the word lie is not Parliamentary, but what I do know is as somebody

:46:21.:46:24.

not in the government I cannot quibble with these psalms. But I can

:46:25.:46:31.

consistently argue that when we take back control of the money we

:46:32.:46:35.

currently give to the European Union, we can invest that money in

:46:36.:46:39.

the NHS. It was the consistent campaign of believe campaign that we

:46:40.:46:44.

should wish to give some of the money we take that to use to spend

:46:45.:46:51.

on supporting science and to make sure we could get rid of VAT on

:46:52.:46:55.

fuel, something we cannot do while we are still members of the European

:46:56.:47:02.

Union. He may not be in the government and able to make the

:47:03.:47:06.

decision, but surely he will be lobbying his Prime Minister hard for

:47:07.:47:12.

the ?350 million by the NHS. Will he confirm that? When we leave the

:47:13.:47:18.

European Union we will ensure that money is spent on our NHS and other

:47:19.:47:24.

vital public services. This comes to the heart of the challenge that was

:47:25.:47:28.

issued by the member for Leeds Central and by the opposition

:47:29.:47:33.

spokesperson for Cockburn and St Pancras. How do we ensure that the

:47:34.:47:40.

views of the 52% and the views of the 48% who did not vote to leave

:47:41.:47:46.

the European Union are respected? My challenge to the 48%, and they are

:47:47.:47:50.

represented at the highest levels of the government, we have a Prime

:47:51.:47:55.

Minister, Chancellor of the Exchequer, who voted to remain in

:47:56.:47:59.

the European Union, so it is not as though those views are ignored or

:48:00.:48:05.

marginal. But can we ensure that the Brexit we embrace is liberal, open

:48:06.:48:10.

and democratic? That means more money for the NHS and embracing the

:48:11.:48:14.

principles outlined by my right honourable friend, the member for

:48:15.:48:18.

Loughborough, which means giving an absolute unilateral guaranteed to EU

:48:19.:48:25.

citizens they should stay here. It means having a free-trade policy

:48:26.:48:30.

which liberated from the common external tariff allows us to help

:48:31.:48:39.

the third World fans and means exercising a leadership role on the

:48:40.:48:45.

world stage at a time when in Europe European Union politicians are

:48:46.:48:48.

increasingly naive or appeasing in their attitude towards Vladimir

:48:49.:48:52.

Putin. We can stand tall as the Prime Minister did in making the

:48:53.:48:57.

case for collective Western security and Nato. These are all

:48:58.:49:02.

opportunities available to us as we leave the European Union. The

:49:03.:49:05.

challenge to the other side and the opportunity for us is to ensure we

:49:06.:49:12.

make that positive case. Within the Borough Wandsworth which houses my

:49:13.:49:14.

constituency of tooting, small businesses have been booming. The

:49:15.:49:19.

previous Prime Minister and a member of the government's Treasury team...

:49:20.:49:27.

Sorry? Last year, the Prime Minister said that businesses were booming

:49:28.:49:31.

due to access to the single market. Do you deny this point? I do. Since

:49:32.:49:37.

we have left the European Union we have seen... Can I appeal to members

:49:38.:49:44.

to have some regard for the conventions of the place. If one

:49:45.:49:50.

intervenes on a member, I realise the honourable lady is very new to

:49:51.:49:53.

the House, but if one intervenes, one must do so with some regards to

:49:54.:49:57.

their moral entitlement to have time to reply, which he did not. I

:49:58.:50:08.

certainly remember that campaign bus that promised ?350 million a week to

:50:09.:50:14.

the NHS. That is something we saw on our TV screens night in and night

:50:15.:50:20.

out. But I digress by following the honourable member. I campaigned to

:50:21.:50:26.

remain in the EU, but I accept the result and I will be voting for this

:50:27.:50:31.

build tomorrow evening. The leader of the Liberal Democrats calls this

:50:32.:50:37.

cowardly. I'd call it democracy. We held a national referendum, those of

:50:38.:50:42.

us on the remain site might not like the result, but we have to accept

:50:43.:50:47.

it. The result was close, but it was clear and it was also clear in my

:50:48.:50:53.

own constituency. In a minute. That does not mean the government gets a

:50:54.:50:58.

free pass. That does not mean if I strive to hold them to account that

:50:59.:51:04.

I am an enemy of the people. The government is accountable to this

:51:05.:51:07.

place and has already made some major errors, not just on the

:51:08.:51:12.

substance of the negotiations, but also on the tone. I believe it is

:51:13.:51:17.

the height of irresponsibility that the Foreign Secretary has chosen to

:51:18.:51:22.

pick needless fights with our EU counterparts when we are about to

:51:23.:51:26.

embark on one of the most complicated and sensitive

:51:27.:51:31.

negotiations in our history. His focus should be on securing the best

:51:32.:51:35.

deal for the UK and the rest of the EU. For me today's debate is not

:51:36.:51:42.

about whether we leave the EU or not, it is about how this households

:51:43.:51:46.

the government to account at every stage of this process and makes sure

:51:47.:51:51.

it secures the best deal for the UK. After all, a bad deal or no Deal

:51:52.:51:55.

could have catastrophic results for our economy, jobs, investment and

:51:56.:52:01.

the living standards of the people we represent. I want to make three

:52:02.:52:10.

brief points. I will. She mentioned the vote and to paraphrase the

:52:11.:52:17.

member from New Forest East, the people of my nation voted to remain

:52:18.:52:23.

and I will vote accordingly. The referendum held a couple of years

:52:24.:52:28.

ago in Scotland was lost by the SNP and we are one country and it was a

:52:29.:52:33.

national referendum. The first point I wanted to make is that we must

:52:34.:52:39.

have meaningful, Parliamentary scrutiny of this process. We are

:52:40.:52:46.

only debating this build today because the Supreme Court upheld

:52:47.:52:51.

Parliamentary sovereignty that Eurosceptics throughout the decade

:52:52.:52:54.

have lectured us about, but seemed to think we could give it up on this

:52:55.:53:00.

issue. Giving MPs the opportunity to vote and scrutinise the government's

:53:01.:53:04.

plans is not good enough at the very start and at the very end of this

:53:05.:53:09.

process. We are not here simply to rubber-stamp the government's plans,

:53:10.:53:16.

we are not passive bystanders in this, we should be active

:53:17.:53:21.

participants in this process. Our parliament represents every corner

:53:22.:53:24.

of our country and this government does not. The Secretary of State for

:53:25.:53:31.

Exiting the EU, who used to be a great champion of Parliamentary

:53:32.:53:36.

sovereignty, said on the 24th of January, I quote, the simple truth

:53:37.:53:40.

is there will be any number of votes, too many to count in the next

:53:41.:53:45.

two years on a whole range of issues. On that day I asked him

:53:46.:53:49.

whether members of this house would get a vote either before or at the

:53:50.:53:52.

same time as the European Parliament. He claimed he had not

:53:53.:53:56.

thought about it and agreed to write to me and I am still waiting for his

:53:57.:54:01.

letter. The right honourable member for Beaconsfield in his speech today

:54:02.:54:06.

made this point very forcefully. We cannot just have a vote at the end

:54:07.:54:10.

of this process when we could be left with a choice of no Deal or

:54:11.:54:17.

leaving. I would like the minister in winding up tomorrow to tell us,

:54:18.:54:21.

and I hope one of the amendments to this effect will go through, whether

:54:22.:54:25.

this house will have a vote prior to the European Parliament voting on

:54:26.:54:32.

that stage of the negotiation. Second, the government must deliver

:54:33.:54:36.

the best economic deal and be clear about what that means and level with

:54:37.:54:40.

the British people about the risks to our economy. I understand the

:54:41.:54:47.

government has ruled out membership of the single market and the Prime

:54:48.:54:50.

Minister says her priority is tariff free trade. But the benefits of the

:54:51.:54:56.

single market go way beyond traditional free-trade agreement.

:54:57.:55:01.

The single market is a vast factory floor with integrated supply chains

:55:02.:55:06.

and goods and services moving seamlessly across borders. As the

:55:07.:55:11.

right honourable member said earlier, regulatory barriers matter

:55:12.:55:15.

more than tariffs in the modern world, especially in advanced

:55:16.:55:21.

economies like our own. That is why business organisations are calling

:55:22.:55:24.

for regulatory stability. But I would like to hear more from the

:55:25.:55:30.

government about this. One of the most alarming prospects the Prime

:55:31.:55:33.

Minister raised in her Lancaster House speech is she said she was

:55:34.:55:38.

prepared to settle for no Deal. But I do not understand what is a worse

:55:39.:55:45.

deal than no Deal? I am struggling to understand why we would want to

:55:46.:55:52.

choose to full-back on tariffs. As my right honourable friend said so

:55:53.:55:56.

elegantly, this would be catastrophic and bring huge risks to

:55:57.:56:00.

jobs, investment and prosperity for our constituents. Third and finally,

:56:01.:56:08.

Mr Speaker, I agree with those honourable members who said the

:56:09.:56:11.

government should unilaterally guarantee the rights of EU

:56:12.:56:17.

nationals. I think that would create goodwill in the negotiations and

:56:18.:56:21.

make sure that our nationals in other EU member states get the same

:56:22.:56:26.

treatment. But I also believe the government should put forward a

:56:27.:56:30.

preferential and managed migration system within these negotiations. I

:56:31.:56:35.

think the government is wrong to assume that free-trade deals are

:56:36.:56:39.

just about trade. When the Prime Minister went to India, what did the

:56:40.:56:44.

Indian government want to talk about? They wanted to talk about

:56:45.:56:47.

visas for their business people and their students. To secure the best

:56:48.:56:53.

possible economic deal, the government must put forward

:56:54.:56:57.

proposals which give EU workers preference, but I also believe we

:56:58.:57:00.

should have a system that controls the numbers and that is why myself

:57:01.:57:05.

and my honourable friend for Aberavon have put forward a two tier

:57:06.:57:11.

system which will retain movement for highly skilled workers and put

:57:12.:57:14.

in controls for lower and semiskilled workers. I suspect and

:57:15.:57:25.

feared the process we are about to vote on will close a lengthy chapter

:57:26.:57:31.

in our history, which has included support of enlargement and has seen

:57:32.:57:35.

our economy grow, which has seen our country become more liberal, which

:57:36.:57:39.

has seen us more active on the international field. I think that is

:57:40.:57:45.

a problem we will have to deal with and historians will ask the question

:57:46.:57:50.

why did we do it in years to come. But we have to make sure we

:57:51.:57:54.

understand the gravity of the situation and the seriousness of our

:57:55.:57:55.

decision. I did say that this was a decision

:57:56.:58:12.

that mattered. I feel duty bound to recognise that I have the support

:58:13.:58:18.

Article 15 this week. I do so with a very heavy heart. I wanted say

:58:19.:58:24.

something about trade. There seems to be this idea that because we are

:58:25.:58:28.

in the European Union that we cannot trade elsewhere. Wrong, Germany

:58:29.:58:36.

does, Italy, Poland, Spain. And they all export to the rest of the world

:58:37.:58:40.

precisely because they are in the European Union and precisely because

:58:41.:58:43.

we have free trade agreements with the rest of the world. All of that

:58:44.:58:48.

will have to be remade and repeated by us. Let us make that point clear.

:58:49.:58:55.

As he supposes, the European Union has been so successful in trade

:58:56.:58:59.

deals, how is it that Switzerland is able to set many more trade deals

:59:00.:59:02.

than the European Union has managed over the years? It is worth bearing

:59:03.:59:08.

in mind that the European Union right now accounts for almost a

:59:09.:59:13.

quarter of the world's 's domestic product and a huge amount of trade

:59:14.:59:17.

with it. That is a signal of just why it is important for us to bear

:59:18.:59:21.

in mind what the European Union has done for us. What I want to go on to

:59:22.:59:29.

is the 48%. It is crucial that the 48% are properly represented in this

:59:30.:59:33.

process. When we have a general election and an elected government,

:59:34.:59:36.

we doubt expect that government to govern for one part of the country

:59:37.:59:41.

but for the whole of the country. Every aspect of national life. That

:59:42.:59:47.

is what I do in my own constituency. I don't ask if they vote for me

:59:48.:59:51.

before I start dealing with them. They are one of my constituents

:59:52.:59:54.

whoever they voted for. That is how we have to deal with Brexit.

:59:55.:00:01.

Recognise the 48% has a say and should be in clue did. That is how

:00:02.:00:06.

we are going to bring this together. We need to open it up and make sure

:00:07.:00:16.

we reach out to them and to the others. When we look at the great

:00:17.:00:20.

repeal Bill. Remember what happened to the Conservative Party when they

:00:21.:00:23.

looked at the great reform act. We will discover one or two things

:00:24.:00:28.

about our national life which is quite important. That we are not

:00:29.:00:32.

being told by the European Union all the time to do things we don't want

:00:33.:00:36.

to do. I am looking forward to the opportunity of exposing those facts

:00:37.:00:41.

when we go along that process of the debate. I think Brexit supporters

:00:42.:00:45.

will be disappointed to discover that quite a lot of things that we

:00:46.:00:49.

are supposedly wanting to repeal are things we might want to retain. On

:00:50.:00:57.

that point, was he astonished by the speech by the member for East Antrim

:00:58.:01:01.

who is not here at the moment, the feeling in the Northern Ireland was

:01:02.:01:03.

that the EU was telling them what to do but now they are being told to

:01:04.:01:07.

leave the EU by the UK, that seems to be OK. On the idea of telling who

:01:08.:01:12.

is telling who to do what seems to be a shape shifting idea? I usually

:01:13.:01:17.

find when I tell someone to do something that I don't want to do, I

:01:18.:01:20.

get the blame and something they want to do, it was their idea in the

:01:21.:01:24.

first place. I think that is how we should remember this. When we look

:01:25.:01:29.

back on how history, we will see that is absolutely right with the

:01:30.:01:34.

European Union. When I talk about events, Harold Macmillan was a great

:01:35.:01:37.

one for events. We have two years of important events to face. Some of

:01:38.:01:41.

those are going to be unpleasant and some are going to be quite

:01:42.:01:44.

surprising. I can't predict what they are going to be but what I

:01:45.:01:49.

think is that the government has to react carefully to those events

:01:50.:01:53.

because they will include changes in economic moods. They will include

:01:54.:01:58.

situations in international policy which require a response above and

:01:59.:02:02.

beyond what we are focusing on in terms of Brexit. Remember events,

:02:03.:02:08.

remember they are opportunities for a more sensible view about how we

:02:09.:02:14.

direct negotiations and our sense of purpose towards Brexit. That is why

:02:15.:02:21.

this parliament must have a significant say in how we operate.

:02:22.:02:25.

Those events will affect this country and will affect our judgment

:02:26.:02:32.

and the negotiations and they will effect the will of the people.

:02:33.:02:38.

Parliament is the place to have those properly debated, not press

:02:39.:02:41.

releases or anything else we might imagine. Parliament is the national

:02:42.:02:47.

place for those decisions. I want to mention something else which I think

:02:48.:02:51.

is really critical. We cannot leave Europe in terms of geography. We are

:02:52.:02:57.

only a few miles away from the European Union on the continent. We

:02:58.:03:03.

are always going to have to have good relationships with the

:03:04.:03:07.

continent. With the 27 nation states. I would urge the government

:03:08.:03:11.

and all of us in the next two years to make sure those relationships are

:03:12.:03:17.

actually built on and strengthened. We do not wish Madam Deputy Speaker

:03:18.:03:20.

to find ourselves in a situation where we do not have that friendship

:03:21.:03:26.

or those alliances. Because Europe itself will change. We want to be

:03:27.:03:31.

part of that change, driving it forward to it even better things.

:03:32.:03:36.

But that will offer us the opportunity if we play our cards

:03:37.:03:44.

right. Just speculation, associate membership, we must not turn our

:03:45.:03:48.

backs on the opportunities that might present themselves in the

:03:49.:03:53.

future. That is why I am very keen that Parliament has a strong role in

:03:54.:03:57.

this. That in the next two years we think of those events and

:03:58.:04:01.

opportunities and retain and strengthened those relationships. Of

:04:02.:04:05.

course, it is essential for Parliament to have some final say on

:04:06.:04:11.

these matters when we get to the endgame, if we actually do get to

:04:12.:04:17.

that endgame. It is why it is important to not just talk about

:04:18.:04:22.

voting on Deal or no Deal but have a view about where we go if such a

:04:23.:04:29.

deal does not emerge which is satisfactory or a deal does not

:04:30.:04:33.

emerge at all. We must have a contribution to make. It is not

:04:34.:04:39.

correct to say the European Union is hell-bent on making life a misery

:04:40.:04:46.

for us. Everyone knows that we are interdependent, we all know that and

:04:47.:04:50.

it is important to accept that as a Parliament and as a country. A

:04:51.:04:54.

constituent of mine had a very good phrase which I will borrow. He said"

:04:55.:05:00.

you shouldn't jump out of an aeroplane without checking the

:05:01.:05:03.

parachute is working." That is what we have to consider when we head

:05:04.:05:10.

towards the final moment in two years. I summarise by saying this,

:05:11.:05:13.

consider how we will incorporate this whole decision around not just

:05:14.:05:20.

the 52 but the 48. Ink about the opportunities through the events as

:05:21.:05:25.

they arise. Or the threats arising from those events. Maintain good

:05:26.:05:29.

relationships and above all recognise this Parliament is

:05:30.:05:33.

sovereign. It always has been and that is what we have to recognise

:05:34.:05:35.

and salute. I pleasure to follow a thoughtful

:05:36.:05:49.

contribution. A government that was confident in what it was doing and

:05:50.:05:53.

confident it was pursuing the right ends would have had no difficulty in

:05:54.:05:59.

engaging with Parliament. It would have welcomed the opportunity. What

:06:00.:06:03.

we saw instead was a government and Prime Minister hiding from

:06:04.:06:06.

Parliament. And from the democratic processes in which good governance

:06:07.:06:11.

is ill. They were forced into coming here and doing the right thing

:06:12.:06:13.

because they were dragged before the courts and defeated and defeated

:06:14.:06:20.

again by campaigners holding up the principle of parliamentary democracy

:06:21.:06:24.

as to something the government should bow to. I would also like to

:06:25.:06:27.

thank those democracy campaigners and single out Gena Miller in

:06:28.:06:33.

particular for the contributions they have made. It will have

:06:34.:06:36.

long-lasting effects on these issues and others. This few paragraphs,

:06:37.:06:45.

this poor excuse for legislation has been wrung out of the government and

:06:46.:06:49.

its brevity is childish and disrespectful to this place. And to

:06:50.:06:55.

the people whose representatives come here on their Baja. The

:06:56.:07:01.

government should be ashamed. It suggests there was no preparation

:07:02.:07:04.

done by the government in advance of the court judgment. Even when it was

:07:05.:07:09.

going back to appeal without much chance of success. That would smack

:07:10.:07:13.

of the same kind of arrogant laziness that marked the approach of

:07:14.:07:17.

David Cameron's government to the referendum. No preparation, just

:07:18.:07:25.

wing it and hope. The other side do not seem to think that people should

:07:26.:07:28.

be entitled to know what the plan is. In Scotland, we debated the

:07:29.:07:34.

details, people mention the independence referendum, for two

:07:35.:07:37.

years. In this place, the government still doesn't know what the details

:07:38.:07:42.

are, two months before kick-off. A clear indication of the lack of

:07:43.:07:45.

preparation is the attitude the government has struck towards

:07:46.:07:50.

devolved administrations. Promising consultation and open dialogue but

:07:51.:07:53.

delivering little and has said almost nothing. The Scottish

:07:54.:07:56.

Government which has put some thought in how to proceed offered

:07:57.:08:04.

constructive advice but heard nothing other than that the

:08:05.:08:08.

paperwork would be red. No offer to discuss the negotiations as they go

:08:09.:08:13.

along. No offer of a seat at the negotiating table for Scottish

:08:14.:08:15.

leaders. That is what a United Kingdom government would offer if it

:08:16.:08:19.

was serious about taking the devolved administrations with it. If

:08:20.:08:25.

it was confident of its ground. In Scotland we have reason to be

:08:26.:08:29.

anxious about what the UK Government is doing in Europe. But Northern

:08:30.:08:34.

Ireland has more reason than most to worry. The prospect of a return to a

:08:35.:08:39.

hard border is horrendous for communities and businesses in

:08:40.:08:42.

Northern Ireland and any threat to the Common travel area are extremely

:08:43.:08:46.

serious. The government attitude seems to be an approach that

:08:47.:08:48.

everything will be fine and that Northern Ireland has a ways been

:08:49.:08:52.

treated as a special case by the EU and will be treated so again. That

:08:53.:08:56.

ignores the fact that it was treated as a special case of it was part of

:08:57.:09:02.

the EU. There are no guarantees that any EU institution or member state

:09:03.:09:05.

will feel like giving special dispensation to Northern Ireland. If

:09:06.:09:09.

there is a case to be made, it may only be by the grace and good will

:09:10.:09:13.

of the Irish government that it is made. The UK is approaching Brexit

:09:14.:09:18.

in the same way this bill was made with hope, arrogance, and frankly

:09:19.:09:24.

nothing in its substance. There is nothing on offer to our European

:09:25.:09:27.

partners because the arrogant assumption of this government and of

:09:28.:09:32.

the exit campaigners was that the EU need the UK more than the UK needs

:09:33.:09:38.

the EU. But London is the epicentre of world trade and so the EU's

:09:39.:09:43.

financial institutions will come begging rather than firms move staff

:09:44.:09:48.

into the EU. I thank her for giving way. She is absolutely right to

:09:49.:09:52.

raise the prospect of the issue of the Irish border. I was living in

:09:53.:09:57.

the Irish whip, if I was, I would be worried that my single largest

:09:58.:10:00.

trading partner the USA is not in the EU and pretty soon, my other

:10:01.:10:05.

single largest trading partner, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and

:10:06.:10:08.

Northern Ireland Whidbey in the EU either. They should be getting out

:10:09.:10:17.

along with us. I think maintaining a close trading relationship with

:10:18.:10:20.

Northern Ireland would of course be the best interests of the UK it is

:10:21.:10:21.

in Europe or not. The financial institutions coming

:10:22.:10:34.

begging rather than moving staff to the EU. That is how it appears and

:10:35.:10:39.

how it will continue to appear because this legislation will

:10:40.:10:44.

perhaps be the most important constitutional legislation

:10:45.:10:47.

considered by this House in 40 years and it has come without a White

:10:48.:10:52.

Paper or an intelligible government position. It has come without a

:10:53.:10:55.

manifesto commitment and without preparation. This bill cannot be

:10:56.:11:00.

entrusted to carry the intent of this House because this House does

:11:01.:11:04.

not know the intent of the government in leading negotiations

:11:05.:11:08.

with the 27 other EU states. What does the trading agreement it seeks

:11:09.:11:13.

look like? Does it give us full access to the market? What about the

:11:14.:11:17.

movement between countries, we hear a constant barrage about taking back

:11:18.:11:20.

control of immigration but nothing about how those controls will be

:11:21.:11:25.

exercised. We know neither the starting position nor the hoped-for

:11:26.:11:30.

end effects of the triggering of article 50. We saw a 12 point plan

:11:31.:11:33.

recently that frankly looked more like a wish list. In the great field

:11:34.:11:39.

of evidence -based policy making, this bill does not figure. It has

:11:40.:11:46.

been operating without this has knowing what the government is

:11:47.:11:51.

looking for or hampered by the UK Government. I would be astonished

:11:52.:11:56.

that the government will seek to take the UK out of the EU with this

:11:57.:12:00.

pitiful excuse for a dog eating its homework. And shock that most of the

:12:01.:12:06.

loyal opposition is not opposing it. But I am not. We have come nothing

:12:07.:12:17.

-- we have become used to this fratricidal position. The SNP will

:12:18.:12:20.

not support triggering article 50, we believe Scotland's place is in

:12:21.:12:24.

the EU and we will speak up for Scotland. I hope enough members on

:12:25.:12:28.

the government benches and on the Labour benches have the character to

:12:29.:12:33.

join us but I am not holding my breath.

:12:34.:12:41.

This is an historic day. I participated in the campaign and I

:12:42.:12:49.

fought hard for us to leave the European Union. I was too young to

:12:50.:13:00.

vote in the first referendum in 19. Mac. Mac my birth certificate will

:13:01.:13:08.

be available for views later. I was too young. This was the first

:13:09.:13:14.

referendum that I had an opportunity to voting 43 years after the first

:13:15.:13:21.

referendum. The honourable gentleman for Stroud has said that when you

:13:22.:13:24.

are jumping out of an aeroplane you make sure that your parachute is

:13:25.:13:31.

working. I preferred to add that if at first you do not succeed,

:13:32.:13:39.

skydiving is not for you. On this occasion the British people knew

:13:40.:13:43.

exactly what they were doing because it was a hard-fought campaign. We

:13:44.:13:47.

heard all the arguments for remaining in, which were

:13:48.:13:55.

characterised as project fear. I am really pleased to say that the vast

:13:56.:14:00.

majority of what was predicted simply has not happened. I will give

:14:01.:14:06.

way. He says the British people knew exactly what they were doing and I

:14:07.:14:09.

have great respect for the honourable member, but we have had

:14:10.:14:14.

committee after committee in this house trying to work out what all

:14:15.:14:19.

this means. I am bemused that before everybody knew what it all meant,

:14:20.:14:24.

but now we have committee after committee trying to work out what it

:14:25.:14:28.

all means and that is incongruous. There were a number of things that

:14:29.:14:34.

were said that would happen on our departure from the European Union. I

:14:35.:14:39.

suspect the reality was that some people were surprised that the

:14:40.:14:42.

British people had the guts despite the fact that what we were told was

:14:43.:14:47.

going to happen and they still decided to vote to leave the

:14:48.:14:51.

European Union. I remember the Prime Minister appearing on TV and saying

:14:52.:14:57.

if we voted to leave, we would be leaving the single market. I said

:14:58.:15:03.

that on the Andrew Marr programme prior to the vote taking place on

:15:04.:15:09.

June the 23rd. When the Prime Minister said that, we needed to

:15:10.:15:13.

take heed and people knew that. The reason he said it was to frighten

:15:14.:15:23.

people not to vote for leaving the European Union. I will make more

:15:24.:15:29.

progress. Despite all those threats the British people, in their

:15:30.:15:33.

considered opinion, decided to vote to leave the European Union. In my

:15:34.:15:39.

own constituency it was about 57% who voted to leave. In all the

:15:40.:15:43.

constituencies in Lancashire they voted to leave the European Union.

:15:44.:15:52.

In the north-west of England on a 70% turnout, so it was not a thin

:15:53.:15:59.

turnout, it was 54% who decided to vote to leave. It reminds me of the

:16:00.:16:03.

referendum we had on Welsh devolution. The turnout was 50.1%.

:16:04.:16:17.

Of that 50.1%, 49.7% said no, 50.3% said yes. And what did we do? We did

:16:18.:16:26.

not shout for a second referendum. We did not even call for a recount.

:16:27.:16:35.

Is it too late? But the fact is we accepted the result on a very thin

:16:36.:16:43.

turnout and a very close result. And that is what is expected of us on

:16:44.:16:49.

this occasion. I from this very position condemn that pamphlet that

:16:50.:16:54.

cost ?9.3 million that got sent to every household. I was one of the

:16:55.:16:59.

people who did not send it back to Downing Street, I have kept it as a

:17:00.:17:05.

souvenir. On the back of it it did say, this is your decision, the

:17:06.:17:09.

government will implement what you decide. Therefore I think the onus

:17:10.:17:15.

is on us. If we believe on democracy we have to accept the verdict of the

:17:16.:17:23.

British people on a 52% versus 48% basis and give the Prime Minister

:17:24.:17:27.

the power to trigger Article 50. I want to mention one other thing,

:17:28.:17:32.

which is the European Union citizens living and working in this country.

:17:33.:17:36.

I recognise fully the trauma that many must feel as if they will be

:17:37.:17:43.

asked to leave. I think the idea that we are going to round up EU

:17:44.:17:48.

nationals and put them on the next Ryanair or easyJet back to whichever

:17:49.:17:55.

country they came from as being bonkers, as being something that

:17:56.:18:00.

would be quite despicable, and something which we ought to clarify

:18:01.:18:03.

as quickly as possible that this is not going to be asked of them. EU

:18:04.:18:10.

citizens are vital part of our community, they work in our

:18:11.:18:14.

communities, many of us are married to them, they are friends, families

:18:15.:18:18.

and colleagues. Would my honourable friend agree that we should give

:18:19.:18:23.

these people who have contributed so much legal certainty as soon as

:18:24.:18:28.

possible? I totally agree with the honourable lady and I also have

:18:29.:18:32.

cognizance of the British people who live in the south of Spain and

:18:33.:18:36.

worked and lived in Madrid, Frankfurt and in various other parts

:18:37.:18:40.

of the EU. They are going through the same trauma that EU citizens

:18:41.:18:46.

are. I am time-limited. They are going through the exact same trauma

:18:47.:18:52.

that EU citizens are going to hear. As I understand it, the British

:18:53.:18:56.

Prime Minister has already made it clear that as soon as the rest of

:18:57.:19:01.

the EU says yes, whoever makes this particular decision, then she has

:19:02.:19:07.

already said that is exactly what will happen with EU citizens living

:19:08.:19:14.

here. I think it is cruel for the commission to say they will not

:19:15.:19:19.

clarify the position until we trigger Article 50 and the

:19:20.:19:23.

negotiations begin, as if these citizens, these human beings, should

:19:24.:19:30.

That is cruel and inhumane. What I That is cruel and inhumane. What I

:19:31.:19:34.

would ask of my own government is if they keep up this position, that at

:19:35.:19:40.

least this is the first thing we negotiate as part of the negotiation

:19:41.:19:45.

process and that as soon as an agreement comes, which has got to be

:19:46.:19:50.

a humane thing to do, that we announce it straightaway and we do

:19:51.:19:54.

not wait until the two-year process is finished. We let them know that

:19:55.:20:03.

is exactly what we intend to do. The prospect of Germany, who has taken

:20:04.:20:06.

in 1 million refugees from the Middle East actually rounding up

:20:07.:20:13.

British citizens and sending them home seems a remarkable sight and

:20:14.:20:18.

thing to think. This must be clarified as quickly as possible.

:20:19.:20:23.

The last thing I would like to say in conclusion is this. I do believe

:20:24.:20:29.

in democracy and I actually love Europe. I love my European

:20:30.:20:34.

neighbours, I am a member of the Council of Europe and I visit on a

:20:35.:20:40.

regular basis. Last week I was in Strasbourg at one of their sessions.

:20:41.:20:46.

But the British people have voted to leave the European Union. All I

:20:47.:20:50.

would say is, the simple choice is for those who are going to deny that

:20:51.:20:56.

verdict of the British people would appear to love the EU more than they

:20:57.:21:00.

love democracy and I think that is a dangerous thing. I quite enjoyed the

:21:01.:21:08.

honourable gentleman's speech until that last bit. Today we debate not

:21:09.:21:14.

just the shortest of short bills, but our intention to set in train

:21:15.:21:20.

enormous constitutional, legal, political, social and economic

:21:21.:21:24.

changes to our country and yet this was a debate the government did not

:21:25.:21:29.

want us to have. It had to be dragged kicking and screaming to the

:21:30.:21:32.

highest court in the land and ordered to give this sovereign

:21:33.:21:39.

Parliament to have a say. Now a woman is receiving death threats for

:21:40.:21:45.

her travel. The government tried to use the royal prerogative, and abuse

:21:46.:21:50.

the Civil War was fought to eliminate. Everything we have

:21:51.:21:53.

legislated for in the last 40 years through the EU is now up for grabs,

:21:54.:22:03.

writes at Worth, -- rights at work, health and safety, trading rules...

:22:04.:22:10.

This list of all the rights that we will lose, can't we make all these

:22:11.:22:18.

decisions in this place for our country for the benefit of our

:22:19.:22:23.

people? We do not need other people to make our rules. When we joined

:22:24.:22:29.

the European Union we pooled parts of our sovereignty so we could have

:22:30.:22:35.

a bigger bang for our buck that we spent, particularly on issues like

:22:36.:22:39.

the environment. I do not know whether the honourable gentleman has

:22:40.:22:44.

noticed, but pollution does not stop at national borders. The most loose

:22:45.:22:48.

in a tree of Eurosceptic nostalgics in the Tory party dream of a divorce

:22:49.:22:54.

with no real consequences, economic or otherwise, a trade deal swiftly

:22:55.:23:00.

down which grants the UK all the benefits of EU membership with none

:23:01.:23:06.

of the costs. Some of them even imagine a new British Empire,

:23:07.:23:08.

forgetting times have almost certainly moved on. They are content

:23:09.:23:16.

to gamble with 50% of our trade and 100% of our prosperity. I argued

:23:17.:23:21.

passionately against the isolationist league side in the

:23:22.:23:27.

referendum to full-back against the magical thinking that underlay many

:23:28.:23:31.

of the arguments put forward by the other side. I disapproved of the

:23:32.:23:37.

downright lies on the NHS, cynically perpetrated by the leading lights of

:23:38.:23:41.

the league campaign and repudiated by them the day after their victory.

:23:42.:23:47.

Who will ever forget that bus, now a byword for cynical manipulation? The

:23:48.:23:52.

Wirral voted narrowly in favour of remaining, a tribute to its good

:23:53.:23:57.

judgment, along with its record of returning a full deck of Labour MPs

:23:58.:24:02.

at the last election. We are where we are and it is undoubtedly the

:24:03.:24:06.

case of the country as a whole voted 52-48 to leave. This referendum

:24:07.:24:14.

split the country down the middle and a government interested in

:24:15.:24:17.

building a decent future for our country would have sought to bring

:24:18.:24:22.

us together. But this government has done the opposite. It has chosen to

:24:23.:24:27.

interpret the results of the referendum as a victory for Nigel

:24:28.:24:32.

Farage's very own version of Little Britain. First there were the

:24:33.:24:36.

xenophobic speeches at Tory conference announcing the creation

:24:37.:24:41.

of lists of foreign workers. There were months of confusion about the

:24:42.:24:45.

nature of the government's plan. Then there was the Prime Minister's

:24:46.:24:52.

speech and a promise of us and an yet unpublished white paper. They

:24:53.:24:58.

have threatened to create a low regulation Britain with fewer civil

:24:59.:25:03.

and workers' rights guaranteed in law, I'm doing decades of social

:25:04.:25:07.

progress. That is unacceptable on these benches and I believe it is

:25:08.:25:13.

unacceptable to the British public. The narrow majority of British

:25:14.:25:17.

voters that cast their ballots for Britain to leave the EU did not have

:25:18.:25:24.

in their mind's by a libertarian, fantasy state as their end goal.

:25:25.:25:28.

They were told they could expect more money for crucial services and

:25:29.:25:33.

for sensible controls on immigration. In reality they

:25:34.:25:38.

continue to get massive cuts to the NHS, policing, local services and

:25:39.:25:44.

schools, as this government's a very cuts continue to decimate our public

:25:45.:25:50.

services and care for the elderly. I endorse the amendments tabled in the

:25:51.:25:54.

name of my right honourable friend the Leader of the Opposition. They

:25:55.:25:58.

will make the best of this difficult situation. I know that opposition

:25:59.:26:03.

amendments, no matter how sensible, rarely get accepted by the

:26:04.:26:08.

government, especially this one that seems obsessed with bringing about

:26:09.:26:12.

the most extreme Brexit possible. Labour will fight to get the best

:26:13.:26:19.

possible Brexit deal. I survey members in Wallasey this weekend and

:26:20.:26:21.

received responses from a substantial number of them. To the

:26:22.:26:27.

hundreds that responded I say, thank you for shaving my approach to this

:26:28.:26:31.

most difficult of votes. A huge majority thought this bill would

:26:32.:26:36.

make them and their families worse off. Over half. We should be aware

:26:37.:26:49.

of the government's motives. As Democratic politicians we have to

:26:50.:26:53.

recognise the result of the referendum, but that does not give

:26:54.:26:56.

this government carte blanche for an extreme Brexit. It does not give the

:26:57.:27:03.

government permission to destroy the social settlement and make our

:27:04.:27:05.

society poor and even more precarious. Labour's amendments

:27:06.:27:12.

guaranteeing rights at work," equality rights and environmental

:27:13.:27:15.

standards that we take for granted now are crucial if this bill is to

:27:16.:27:20.

be unacceptable and to help bring our divided country together. Rather

:27:21.:27:25.

than presenting this has with the most perfunctory bill possible, I

:27:26.:27:30.

wish we had a government that wanted to engage in Parliament in what will

:27:31.:27:32.

be one of the most crucial Madam Deputy Speaker, we swap the

:27:33.:27:53.

known for the unknown in one of the most volatile political eras I have

:27:54.:28:00.

experienced in my lifetime. We throw away established relationships,

:28:01.:28:03.

economic connections, including deeply integrated European Supply

:28:04.:28:07.

chains and cultural affinities. We alienate our closest allies in

:28:08.:28:12.

perilous times. We have a divided and angry country. Social injustice

:28:13.:28:17.

and poverty is soaring. Many regions are being neglected. It's them I am

:28:18.:28:22.

in politics to defend. Defend them I will. George Freeman. This time last

:28:23.:28:32.

year I voted for the EU referendum on the basis I would be bound by the

:28:33.:28:36.

result. Despite watching over many years with a heaviness of heart the

:28:37.:28:42.

growing failure of the EU to create an entrepreneurial economy, on

:28:43.:28:44.

balance I thought we were better off staying in to fight for a reformed

:28:45.:28:51.

21st-century EU. As life science Minister for a ?225 million sector,

:28:52.:28:55.

I felt I had to speak for their interests. I campaigned along with

:28:56.:29:00.

many colleagues for remain. In my constituency I offered constituents

:29:01.:29:02.

the choice and actively gave them the choice, inviting the honourable

:29:03.:29:09.

friend forward Tim and Clapton up to offer their side of the debate. We

:29:10.:29:16.

put the debate, and I lost it. Our constituents voted to leave the

:29:17.:29:20.

European Union. My constituents voted and this country voted in one

:29:21.:29:23.

of the biggest acts of democracy we have seen for centuries. As my

:29:24.:29:28.

honourable friend the member for Brookstone said earlier, we are not

:29:29.:29:32.

delegates, as Edmund Burke said, we are not slaves to our constituents,

:29:33.:29:38.

but I believe the one thing parliamentarians should never give

:29:39.:29:41.

away is the sovereignty invested in us by the people we serve and the

:29:42.:29:44.

truth is that successive parliaments in recent decades have done that,

:29:45.:29:47.

not least in the Maastricht and Lisbon Treaty 's, fuelling public

:29:48.:29:51.

anger and disillusionment in political elites and giving away

:29:52.:29:56.

powers that were never there in the first place. I believe we were right

:29:57.:29:59.

to give the people there say, and we'll have to recognise the

:30:00.:30:02.

importance of the vote and the anger expressed. I hope he won't mind me

:30:03.:30:08.

saying that he fought with great nobility and grace and was eloquent

:30:09.:30:12.

at all times. If only both sides of the campaign, and I do mean both

:30:13.:30:16.

sides, had conducted themselves in the way he did, it would have been a

:30:17.:30:20.

far happier referendum campaign. I thank you for that gracious

:30:21.:30:26.

intervention. By winning back the sovereignty of this house, we must

:30:27.:30:29.

use it and show the house is worthy of that sovereignty and we are

:30:30.:30:32.

capable of acting in the interests of all the people we all serve.

:30:33.:30:36.

Churchill said once, courage is what it takes to stand up and speak, and

:30:37.:30:40.

courage is also what it takes sometimes to sit down and listen. In

:30:41.:30:44.

the referendum we all stood up and spoke passionately for our

:30:45.:30:48.

respective sides. Now it's time to do the other courageous thing and

:30:49.:30:50.

listen to the will of the British people. We have to make Brexit work.

:30:51.:30:56.

For the 48 as well as the 52%, for London as well as the north. For the

:30:57.:31:01.

white and blue-collar workers, for Scotland, Northern Ireland, Wales

:31:02.:31:05.

and England. We need to deliver a British exit, one that respects the

:31:06.:31:11.

European neighbours and wants us to be a good neighbour, and once, as

:31:12.:31:16.

the Prime Minister made clear in a recent speech, asked BA active

:31:17.:31:22.

European ally and collaborator outside the political institutions

:31:23.:31:27.

of the EU, but members of the European community of nations and

:31:28.:31:30.

neighbours. Proper Democrats must not say the Brexit vote was

:31:31.:31:35.

illegitimate. The Brexit voters were ignorant or unqualified. How

:31:36.:31:41.

condescending! Do we say that when a voter Labour or Ukip? No. Week all

:31:42.:31:47.

accept the result, as we should now. Although the EU referendum was, in

:31:48.:31:52.

my opinion, a low point in political discourse, remember that included

:31:53.:31:57.

the appalling murder of one of our colleagues by a deranged neo-Nazi,

:31:58.:32:00.

the core underlying mandate from the British people was crystal clear. To

:32:01.:32:04.

the extent it wasn't crystal clear, it is our job is elected Democrats

:32:05.:32:09.

to bring the crystal clarity to that in our debates in this house. All we

:32:10.:32:14.

are doing today is giving the Prime Minister and her government the

:32:15.:32:18.

authority to start the negotiation on the terms on which we leave the

:32:19.:32:22.

European Union. In many ways, the real debate is not this afternoon,

:32:23.:32:26.

is when we discuss the terms of that negotiation in this house over the

:32:27.:32:29.

next two years and ultimately in discussing the package she brings

:32:30.:32:37.

back to us. Scotland is an equal partner in this United Kingdom of

:32:38.:32:42.

nations, to quote the former Prime Minister. Howard, a massive vote in

:32:43.:32:48.

Scotland to remain and a narrow vote in England to leave results in

:32:49.:32:53.

Scotland leaving on England's terms? One of the most interesting

:32:54.:32:57.

judgments of the Supreme Court is one the media haven't picked up, is

:32:58.:33:02.

that Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales are bound by this sovereign

:33:03.:33:07.

house in which they participate in. The truth is, the real challenge now

:33:08.:33:12.

falls to our new Prime Minister Theresa May who has stepped in to

:33:13.:33:16.

lead a government, committed to Brexit, and also to tackle domestic

:33:17.:33:23.

policies which have fuelled... Order, order, I must protect the

:33:24.:33:29.

honourable gentleman. Mr Freeman. Thank you. Our Prime Minister has

:33:30.:33:33.

stepped in to lead a government committed to Brexit and also to

:33:34.:33:37.

tackle domestic policies which have fuelled the wider disillusionment

:33:38.:33:40.

that vote signified and it's my privilege to work with that team. It

:33:41.:33:45.

now faces an extraordinary political challenge, to negotiate Brexit and

:33:46.:33:50.

the most important political deal in a hundred years. To negotiate new

:33:51.:33:53.

trade deals with countries around the world and to continue the urgent

:33:54.:33:57.

task of social economic and domestic reform to tackle the structural

:33:58.:34:00.

deficit and shape our old-fashioned public services and tackle the

:34:01.:34:07.

social and economic exclusion. The Brexit negotiations ahead are

:34:08.:34:13.

perhaps the greatest test of British peacetime negotiations in a century.

:34:14.:34:18.

The burden on the respective secretaries of state is heavy. To

:34:19.:34:21.

succeed we must put aside many of the difference is that divide the

:34:22.:34:24.

house and instead work together to make sure we get the best deal for

:34:25.:34:28.

the country we all serve, and our interests are not served by

:34:29.:34:32.

requesting that negotiation be carried out on Twitter. At a time

:34:33.:34:35.

when trust in politics has never been so low, we have an opportunity

:34:36.:34:39.

to restore public trust in mainstream politics, not to score

:34:40.:34:46.

easy points, but to show we are worthy invested in us. And in the

:34:47.:34:49.

name of which the Brexiteers have campaigned. The Brexit deal must be

:34:50.:34:53.

ambitious for Britain. A Brexit where we can once again control our

:34:54.:34:58.

own laws, strengthen the union, protect workers' rights and strike

:34:59.:35:02.

new trade deals around the world. For Scotland's too. To do this we

:35:03.:35:06.

must continue to engage with the world and cherish British values. As

:35:07.:35:10.

the Prime Minister made clear in her electrifying recent speech, which I

:35:11.:35:14.

would encourage the honourable member opposite chuntering from a

:35:15.:35:21.

sedentary position to read, bridging the gap between the UK and the US

:35:22.:35:27.

will be one of the key tasks of international relations for many

:35:28.:35:30.

decades to come. I believe our Prime Minister has set out to do for

:35:31.:35:33.

markets and the West what the great Lady Thatcher did for defence of the

:35:34.:35:37.

West. Last week she showed she is more than up to leading that. It

:35:38.:35:43.

might not always be easy, but it's for the best. I work she's made an

:35:44.:35:49.

encouraging start with President Trump. He has also been elected.

:35:50.:35:54.

While he campaigned on America first, the signals are that in terms

:35:55.:35:58.

of foreign policy, for Americans it is now Britain first and we should

:35:59.:36:03.

welcome that. When the Prime Minister this week refused three

:36:04.:36:07.

times to condemn an obvious breach, not just of this country's values,

:36:08.:36:12.

but of any liberal democracy's values, what part of great British

:36:13.:36:16.

values was she standing up for? I think the people in this country

:36:17.:36:21.

come in the way they rewarded the Prime Minister, by the opinion

:36:22.:36:25.

polls, know the answer to that question. We need a Brexit that

:36:26.:36:31.

works for the UK, the EU and the USA because the west faces major tests

:36:32.:36:34.

and it's in all our interests to make it work. It's not just a

:36:35.:36:39.

cultural debate, it's a hard-headed economic negotiation. Our

:36:40.:36:47.

diplomatic, military power in the West is built on economic success. I

:36:48.:36:52.

am looking forward to the future for this country. Britain as a crucible

:36:53.:36:57.

of the deregulated innovation economy leading the world in the

:36:58.:37:01.

challenges of the 21st-century. Blake Green. Thank you very much,

:37:02.:37:09.

Madam Deputy Speaker. Other speeches today have been eloquent,

:37:10.:37:12.

passionate, constitutionally well-informed. This one will not be

:37:13.:37:17.

that. I want this speech to be about and addressed directly to my

:37:18.:37:23.

constituents. Residents of Trafford voted to remain in the European

:37:24.:37:28.

Union, reflecting, I believe, our long and proud industrial history of

:37:29.:37:35.

trade, export and innovation. Trafford Park in my constituency was

:37:36.:37:39.

the first, and I think remains the largest industrial estate in Europe,

:37:40.:37:45.

home to many domestic, European and international businesses, some of

:37:46.:37:47.

whom have been based their many decades. We welcome your Mac and

:37:48.:37:54.

international businesses and manufacturers who have established

:37:55.:37:58.

sizeable operations elsewhere in the constituency. They make a

:37:59.:38:03.

significant contribution, nationally and locally, to the economy and to

:38:04.:38:08.

employment. They are successful, thriving, and many have been very

:38:09.:38:12.

clear with me that our leaving the European Union will make doing

:38:13.:38:16.

business more complex, uncertain and difficult. They highlight the

:38:17.:38:24.

importance of access to the EU market, and skilled EU workers, of

:38:25.:38:29.

consistent regulatory standards, of avoiding tariff barriers. They are

:38:30.:38:35.

also adaptable, however. I don't say that on leaving the European Union,

:38:36.:38:41.

their businesses will fail or will be unable to adapt to new

:38:42.:38:45.

circumstances. But what they do look for, as far as possible, is

:38:46.:38:52.

continuity and certainty. And what they say to me today is that neither

:38:53.:38:56.

of those appears as a result of this bill. What we know is not what we

:38:57.:39:03.

will have, but what we will not have. Single market access is out.

:39:04.:39:09.

So is full membership of the customs union. In their place come vague

:39:10.:39:14.

aspirations of new deals and arrangements with the EU and other

:39:15.:39:19.

countries. But they completely fail to recognise our aspirations might

:39:20.:39:24.

not match those of our other partners. On the 17th of January

:39:25.:39:29.

when the secretary of state came to this house to make a statement on

:39:30.:39:32.

the Prime Minister's speech, I asked what he thought would happen in the

:39:33.:39:36.

gap between current trading arrangements ending and new ones

:39:37.:39:40.

being negotiated. He suggested there would be no such gap. Madam Deputy

:39:41.:39:46.

Speaker, I think that's fanciful. It's a head in the sand attitude to

:39:47.:39:52.

negotiations. We have to recognise that leaving the EU will create gaps

:39:53.:39:58.

and shocks in our economy. Shocks can be managed, but not by outright

:39:59.:40:04.

denial of their existence. With this bill we are being asked to buy a pig

:40:05.:40:11.

in a poke, being asked to vote to trigger the Brexit process with no

:40:12.:40:14.

evidence at all that there is a plan in place to protect our economy and

:40:15.:40:19.

our constituents. Important protections and standards all remain

:40:20.:40:25.

to be secured, whether that's in relation to our economy, trading

:40:26.:40:31.

relationships, or security. To be asked now to endorse an exit process

:40:32.:40:36.

of any answers to those important questions are still so vague doesn't

:40:37.:40:41.

bode well for the outcome. In fact, the position with this bill is so

:40:42.:40:46.

uncertain, that I find it impossible today to vote for it. I will be

:40:47.:40:51.

abstaining on the vote tomorrow, and if the government cannot allay my

:40:52.:40:55.

concerns during the remainder of this bill's passage through

:40:56.:40:58.

Parliament such that I can be sure my constituents' interests are

:40:59.:41:03.

detected, at the final vote I will oppose it. In saying that, and in

:41:04.:41:10.

concluding, I want to address the argument about respecting the result

:41:11.:41:14.

of the referendum. I have thought really deeply about this, as I seek

:41:15.:41:19.

to balance the wishes of voters in Trafford with the national result in

:41:20.:41:24.

a referendum for which I freely acknowledge I voted. Some of my

:41:25.:41:29.

constituents who voted to remain in the European Union have told me they

:41:30.:41:33.

now feel we have no choice but to accept the result. Others do not

:41:34.:41:38.

think that. And I think that I was sent here by my constituents to

:41:39.:41:44.

represent their interests as I see best, and I am falling back, Madam

:41:45.:41:49.

Deputy Speaker, on my conscience. Everything I have done in politics

:41:50.:41:52.

and in public policy has been informed by what I believe to be the

:41:53.:41:57.

most important priority, what is in the interests not just of my

:41:58.:42:01.

constituents today, but of future generations. And I do not believe

:42:02.:42:08.

that future generations are well served by Willie aspirations to

:42:09.:42:12.

address the economic, social and security needs of their futures.

:42:13.:42:17.

They are not well served by turning our back on maximum access to the

:42:18.:42:22.

single market. They are not well served by the absence of detail on

:42:23.:42:26.

rights, protections and security. They are not well served by

:42:27.:42:30.

ministers' complacent optimism or lazy promises. The government could

:42:31.:42:35.

make that these deficiencies if it would accept many of the amendments

:42:36.:42:39.

that have been tabled to this bill, but unless that happens, we should

:42:40.:42:45.

not proceed to trigger Article 50. In my view, the Right Honourable

:42:46.:42:49.

member for Sheffield Hallam was right to say that the judgment of

:42:50.:42:54.

future generations is what must guide us in making a decision on

:42:55.:42:58.

this legislation. We will be judged by Ben on the deal that they

:42:59.:43:00.

inherit. Madame Deputy Speaker, it is my real

:43:01.:43:12.

privilege to speak in this historic debate this afternoon. There have

:43:13.:43:15.

been many passionate contributions made in the course of the debate,

:43:16.:43:19.

including that of the Honourable Lady, the member for Stretford and

:43:20.:43:24.

Urmston, who has clearly thought about this issue a lot, who clearly

:43:25.:43:29.

has a principled position. It is one I do not share but I do respect her

:43:30.:43:34.

position. A lot of the contributions we have heard mirror the exact

:43:35.:43:38.

debate we have -- we had in the country last June, where people put

:43:39.:43:42.

their arguments passionately on both sides of the debate. It was a

:43:43.:43:46.

privilege for me to engage with people, to talk to them on both

:43:47.:43:49.

sides, about their concerns, there are reasons for voting to leave,

:43:50.:43:53.

people on the other side of the argument of voting to remain. And so

:43:54.:43:59.

I recognise there are sincerely held points of view, not just in this

:44:00.:44:03.

House but across the country. One word that has been used a love this

:44:04.:44:07.

afternoon has been that of judgment. Lots of references back to Burke in

:44:08.:44:13.

1774. But my judgment is plain to see. I use my judgment in standing

:44:14.:44:19.

on the manifesto that I stood on in 2015. I use my judgment in voting

:44:20.:44:27.

for the referendum. And I use my judgment in advocating that my

:44:28.:44:30.

constituents and people across this great country should vote to leave

:44:31.:44:34.

in the referendum itself. But being a member of Parliament is also... I

:44:35.:44:40.

will give way. I think the member forgiving way. Did you use your

:44:41.:44:45.

judgment when it came to standing on a blank piece of paper and putting

:44:46.:44:50.

that to the people in terms of the Leave vote? I know he doesn't care

:44:51.:44:58.

how he -- I know he doesn't care how I use my judgment. I apologise. I

:44:59.:45:04.

wonder if I can ask the member if he considers it a lack of judgment that

:45:05.:45:10.

the campaign than a blank piece of paper in terms of voting Leave? I am

:45:11.:45:15.

grateful for his intervention but I would argue that has probably

:45:16.:45:20.

detained some of the House's time. We clearly stored on a platform that

:45:21.:45:25.

was clear for all to see. I have no intention of raking over the row. I

:45:26.:45:29.

want to focus on the fact that as members of Parliament I believe we

:45:30.:45:35.

have responsibilities in the order of these things is well-established.

:45:36.:45:38.

We have to put the national interest first. In the interest of balance, I

:45:39.:45:44.

am going to talk about two things said in the course of the debate. I

:45:45.:45:49.

thought the honourable member for Shipley was right when he said that

:45:50.:45:52.

all those members who voted to have this referendum in the first place

:45:53.:45:57.

have a duty to deliver on the verdict. On the Remain side, I

:45:58.:46:01.

thought might right honourable friend from Beaconsfield made a very

:46:02.:46:06.

valid point when he said every member of the House has a duty to

:46:07.:46:11.

end the uncertainty. Let's be clear, the debate was had. The engagement

:46:12.:46:16.

was high. The turnout was the highest we have seen for nearly 25

:46:17.:46:21.

years. And in my own constituency of Corby, the verdict was clear. In

:46:22.:46:30.

Corby, 64.25% voted to leave, in East Northamptonshire, the majority

:46:31.:46:36.

of which I represent, 58.75 voted to leave. Members on both sides of this

:46:37.:46:40.

House have said this motion in train. We used our judgment, not

:46:41.:46:47.

just in voting for the referendum, but in choosing a side and making

:46:48.:46:50.

the arguments. We also judged that we would let the people decide, that

:46:51.:46:55.

we had led the country decide. That is exactly what they did. Now I

:46:56.:47:01.

believe that we have a duty to live up to our responsibilities because

:47:02.:47:05.

we abdicate and tamper with our democratic principles at our peril.

:47:06.:47:15.

Madame Deputy Speaker, how did we get to this point with a motion so

:47:16.:47:19.

-- with the nation so divided? The weekend after the 23rd of July held

:47:20.:47:25.

a -- and advice search -- surgery because there are a lot of European

:47:26.:47:29.

National to live in my constituency. 500 people came to see me to express

:47:30.:47:37.

their distress. That was not just European nationals. I think that

:47:38.:47:40.

said a lot about how many of our communities feel about this

:47:41.:47:44.

question. I'm delighted to have the member for Tottenham next to me

:47:45.:47:47.

because he has taken such a brave stance over the last eight months on

:47:48.:47:52.

this question. If you read his Twitter feed, he has had the most

:47:53.:47:56.

enormous abuse. That has been something which I think has been

:47:57.:48:00.

uncomfortable for those of us we care deeply about race relations,

:48:01.:48:05.

particularly in London and around. I would like also just to talk about

:48:06.:48:10.

the way we have come to this decision-making process. Many of us

:48:11.:48:14.

have come into this House through local got in. As a council leader,

:48:15.:48:18.

if I tried to bring a decision on the basis of a speech and a couple

:48:19.:48:23.

of letters to the local newspaper, my councillors would have handed me

:48:24.:48:26.

out of the council room. And I would have been quite right to tell them

:48:27.:48:31.

that. The chair of my Labour group and secretary would have been

:48:32.:48:35.

hammering me. So I really feel we have not questioned and off both

:48:36.:48:40.

internally, within the major majority party, and I feel that

:48:41.:48:43.

despite our best efforts on the front bench from other parties, we

:48:44.:48:47.

simply haven't had the numbers to hold the government to account on

:48:48.:48:52.

crucial votes. And that is of course a great regret. I want to briefly

:48:53.:48:57.

also talk about the economy. We know that the statistics are not quite

:48:58.:49:04.

there yet. But household debt is up 13%. We also know that our currency

:49:05.:49:08.

is dropping and that the drop of a currency is an outside estimation of

:49:09.:49:14.

our economy. That is a cause for concern. We know when the economy

:49:15.:49:18.

declines, it is not the will of communities who were effected but

:49:19.:49:25.

the poorer ones. -- well off. Mr Farage famously said the social side

:49:26.:49:30.

of the matter was more important than economics. Admitting that being

:49:31.:49:35.

poor could result from leaving the European Union. Somehow I suspect

:49:36.:49:40.

poverty was not apply to Mr Farage, who does not look as if he is

:49:41.:49:45.

getting any poorer. I briefly also wanted to return to an earlier point

:49:46.:49:49.

in the debate, which the member for Chingford and Woodford Green made

:49:50.:49:55.

about Mr Spinelli, who wrote about nationalism and the rise of

:49:56.:49:59.

nationalism. I do believe this is a cause of concern. 100 years ago, my

:50:00.:50:03.

great uncle died at Passchendaele. And when I take my children to see

:50:04.:50:08.

his grave and try to explain why he died and what he died for, I realise

:50:09.:50:15.

that talking about values like liberty and trying to work together

:50:16.:50:18.

with people who you don't get on with, and I think that -- back about

:50:19.:50:27.

the years of prosperity we have had. I think we are in a dangerous place

:50:28.:50:32.

internationally and I worry about our realignment with the US where

:50:33.:50:35.

they are perhaps not as open to free trade as we would like them to be,

:50:36.:50:40.

or to different ideas and different people who make up this incredible

:50:41.:50:45.

globe. I want to express fear and concern that leaving the European

:50:46.:50:49.

Union may also lead to a poorer future, not just for jobs, not just

:50:50.:50:53.

for the economy, not just because the economy is going down, but also

:50:54.:50:57.

because I think we are making this decision for young people. Many of

:50:58.:51:02.

us voted twice on whether 16 to 18-year-olds should have the right

:51:03.:51:06.

to participate in the referendum. Sadly we were defeated twice on that

:51:07.:51:10.

despite the advice from the other place. And I think that's a terrible

:51:11.:51:16.

pity. I feel that they think that we're slamming the door on their

:51:17.:51:23.

future. And furthermore, I am a strong unionist. I feel sad that I

:51:24.:51:26.

think it's going to have a detrimental effect on Scotland,

:51:27.:51:31.

Wales, on Northern Ireland. And I think there are a great many

:51:32.:51:33.

questions that have not been answered. We haven't been given any

:51:34.:51:38.

information. We have not been brought in on that wonderful secret

:51:39.:51:41.

negotiation that is happening. I don't feel quite ready to trust. I

:51:42.:51:47.

think the best power I news is my vote. Tomorrow I will not be voting

:51:48.:51:52.

to support the second reading because I think that's the only way

:51:53.:51:55.

to make the government listen, that these concerns many of us hold, we

:51:56.:52:00.

hold them very dearly. It is not just about jobs and the economy, it

:52:01.:52:04.

is about our children, our grandchildren and about peace and

:52:05.:52:09.

prosperity. It's a great pleasure to follow the

:52:10.:52:16.

honourable lady for Hornsey and Wood Green, who speaks with total

:52:17.:52:19.

sincerity. I obviously do not agree with her analysis of the economy and

:52:20.:52:24.

I obviously do not agree that to vote against Article 50, but they

:52:25.:52:29.

are absolutely respect sincerity in making that decision. And I think

:52:30.:52:37.

that's one of the important parts about today's debate, it is about

:52:38.:52:42.

individual members making up their mind. If you go to a conservative

:52:43.:52:48.

selection, one of the questions you are asked, what would you put first,

:52:49.:52:55.

country, constituency or party? The answer is country first,

:52:56.:53:00.

constituency second, party third. But happily, in most cases, that her

:53:01.:53:05.

lines. It certainly aligns now. And I am very delighted with what the

:53:06.:53:11.

government has done. I think the government was right. I'm going to

:53:12.:53:18.

start again. I think the government was wrong but I understand why they

:53:19.:53:24.

tried to go via the Royal per. They took the view that this house had

:53:25.:53:31.

delegated to the British people the decision of whether we should stay

:53:32.:53:36.

or leave the European Union. Therefore, once that decision was

:53:37.:53:40.

made, they thought they could trigger Article 50 through the Royal

:53:41.:53:46.

per that. In I remember the previous Prime Minister saying he would

:53:47.:53:49.

trigger Article 50 the day after the vote. I argued against that

:53:50.:53:57.

privately. I said we should have a Parliamentary process. We should

:53:58.:54:01.

have a bill in Parliament. And I actually introduced a Private

:54:02.:54:06.

Members' Bill to do exactly that, to trigger Article 50 by the 31st of

:54:07.:54:09.

March. The only reason it did not get a second reading was that the

:54:10.:54:17.

Labour deputy chief whip Badjeck -- objective. I am very pleased now

:54:18.:54:20.

that the Labour Party has taken a much more different line. I thought

:54:21.:54:27.

the Shadow minister who spoke for the Labour Party actually got it

:54:28.:54:33.

rather right. Trigger Article 50 because that's what the British

:54:34.:54:38.

people voted for. Then let's have full Parliamentary scrutiny of the

:54:39.:54:44.

bill. No bill goes through this Parliament, the great repeal act or

:54:45.:54:50.

anything else, will benefit from Parliamentary process. It may well

:54:51.:54:54.

be next week this will benefit from some amendment or other being

:54:55.:55:00.

approved. I do not know. But it benefits from full Parliamentary

:55:01.:55:05.

scrutiny. But what I wanted to talk about, Madame Deputy Speaker, and I

:55:06.:55:08.

apologise for wearing the hideous tie again, it has come out

:55:09.:55:16.

retirement for today, tomorrow and three days next week. Were this

:55:17.:55:24.

House somehow to vote not to trigger Article 50, I would have to wear the

:55:25.:55:28.

tie for a lot longer. That may change some votes on the other side.

:55:29.:55:36.

The honourable lady who spoke before mentioned it was very difficult to

:55:37.:55:39.

get on with some people and work together. As a founding member of

:55:40.:55:44.

go, a cross-party group that campaigned to leave, I know exactly

:55:45.:55:49.

what she means. I had to work with people from the Labour Party, people

:55:50.:55:56.

from the DUP and people from Ukip, and even more difficult, people from

:55:57.:56:01.

my own party, to try and get us all to agree to put party politics to

:56:02.:56:07.

one side. And it was an amazing feat, as we toured pants down the

:56:08.:56:12.

country, to find that people who could not stand each other... That

:56:13.:56:20.

is just the Tory party, as you say! That they could actually work

:56:21.:56:23.

together and produce something in the national interest. I look across

:56:24.:56:27.

the chamber and see the honourable member for a Vauxhall. What an

:56:28.:56:32.

outstanding parliamentarian. She put the country first. And I find it's

:56:33.:56:38.

difficult and of all those years ago to be in the Conservative Party when

:56:39.:56:43.

the Conservative Party was absolutely for the EU and we were

:56:44.:56:47.

idiots to request a referendum. It might be much more difficult to be

:56:48.:56:51.

in the Labour Party and campaign. Congratulations that those people in

:56:52.:56:54.

the Labour Party who put their country first.

:56:55.:57:01.

I also say to Nigel Farage, I think he campaigned for something he

:57:02.:57:08.

believed in passionately, and when I worked with him, he told, if you

:57:09.:57:18.

like, the Go line. Four people decided policy, the Honourable

:57:19.:57:22.

member for Vauxhall, myself, the Honourable member for Corby and

:57:23.:57:26.

Nigel Farage. We all managed, despite different views, to work

:57:27.:57:34.

together in the country's interest. I'm actually rather enjoying his

:57:35.:57:38.

speech, but could he then say, if he and the other members of that

:57:39.:57:45.

campaign supported the shameful and outrageous Breaking Point poster? By

:57:46.:57:51.

the time we actually got to the referendum campaign proper, I'm

:57:52.:57:59.

afraid the Go movement Alliance had broken down. I'm sorry if I'm misled

:58:00.:58:06.

the house. I should have said prior to his designation, the Go

:58:07.:58:10.

organisation was united. After that, there went the different way.

:58:11.:58:16.

Touching on the point of immigration, it was always Go's view

:58:17.:58:20.

that European Union citizens in this country prior to the referendum had

:58:21.:58:25.

the right to stay. I personally would have liked the government to

:58:26.:58:29.

do that unilaterally. I completely understand why they haven't done it,

:58:30.:58:34.

because they want to protect our citizens abroad. Whichever way you

:58:35.:58:38.

look at it, and whichever side of the argument you are on, this was an

:58:39.:58:44.

extraordinary democratic exercise. And the great thing now is the focus

:58:45.:58:52.

of the country is back here in this sovereign parliament, where we can

:58:53.:58:56.

make the decisions. And to the Honourable members on the opposite

:58:57.:59:01.

benches, sometime in the future, you will be on these benches, and you

:59:02.:59:05.

will be able to make the laws, you will be able to push them.

:59:06.:59:08.

Hopefully, that will be a long time in the future. Order, order. Code

:59:09.:59:15.

the Honourable gentlemen please say, they will be able to make the laws.

:59:16.:59:22.

I will change my mind. They will never have the chance to make the

:59:23.:59:28.

laws. LAUGHTER Chose Steve Evans. Thank you, Madam

:59:29.:59:37.

Deputy Speaker. I believe the vote I will cast who will be the most

:59:38.:59:40.

important in my member ship of Parliament. I represent take capital

:59:41.:59:45.

city constituency in Cardiff Central. I campaigned strongly to

:59:46.:59:50.

remain in the EU last year. I voted to remain. My constituents and city

:59:51.:59:55.

overwhelmingly voted to remain too. I have lived in Cardiff for nearly

:59:56.:00:00.

30 years, and the very first person I met when I unloaded my transit van

:00:01.:00:05.

of belongings in 1989 was a French national who had come to Cardiff,

:00:06.:00:09.

lived next door to me, and has become a lifelong friend as well as

:00:10.:00:13.

a successful businessman in my city employing many people. 30 years on I

:00:14.:00:18.

live next door to a German national, a university academic who has made

:00:19.:00:23.

his home in my constituency, married a Welsh woman, and has a young

:00:24.:00:27.

family. He's an expert in his field and is teaching the next generation

:00:28.:00:33.

of experts at one of my three universities in the constituency.

:00:34.:00:37.

Every day in Cardiff Central I meet, speak and listen to residents from

:00:38.:00:41.

Cardiff, across Europe and the globe. Students, doctors, mothers,

:00:42.:00:50.

fathers, children. During the referendum campaign and since, I've

:00:51.:00:54.

had many conversations with worried constituents. They are worried and

:00:55.:00:59.

frightened. Some have been victims of racism and hate crimes. My friend

:01:00.:01:03.

Suzanne came to Cardiff from Germany, and has a young daughter in

:01:04.:01:07.

primary school, who have been spat at and told to go home. They have

:01:08.:01:13.

had bricks and stones thrown at them in the street. This is the climate

:01:14.:01:18.

they and we are living in. I don't believe it's a coincidence of

:01:19.:01:23.

timing. It is a direct consequence of the referendum campaign. The

:01:24.:01:26.

events of the past week in the United States make me more fearful

:01:27.:01:33.

of the rapid developing climate of intolerance in our country. I

:01:34.:01:37.

implore the ministers of the front bench opposite to reassure

:01:38.:01:40.

immediately EU nationals across Britain that they will have their

:01:41.:01:44.

legal status confirmed. But when I look back at the last 12 months

:01:45.:01:48.

leading up to the publication of this bill, one thing stands out for

:01:49.:01:56.

me. That is the reckless for the of the member for Whitney. Where is he

:01:57.:02:03.

now? The -- the former member for Witney. He gambled our country's

:02:04.:02:10.

safety, future prosperity and long-standing European and wider

:02:11.:02:12.

international relationships to save his party and his premiership from

:02:13.:02:17.

imploding. He went to Brussels and miserably failed to negotiate a

:02:18.:02:22.

suitable reform package. He denied 16 and 17-year-olds the right to

:02:23.:02:27.

vote on their future. And then he abandon ship, leaving an almighty

:02:28.:02:32.

mess behind him. I accept the referendum result is to leave, but I

:02:33.:02:36.

do not agree with it. And I certainly do not have to be silent

:02:37.:02:41.

in representing my constituents' views. Just like I accepted at the

:02:42.:02:47.

last general election the benches opposite won a majority, but I do

:02:48.:02:51.

not have to agree with every policy the government seeks to implement

:02:52.:02:53.

and neither will I be silent about that. I will also accept that

:02:54.:02:58.

parliamentary numbers are such that Article 50 will be triggered and

:02:59.:03:03.

Britain will leave the EU, but I believe, and will continue to

:03:04.:03:07.

believe that leaving the EU is a terrible mistake. I cannot reconcile

:03:08.:03:11.

my overwhelming belief that to endorse the step that will make exit

:03:12.:03:17.

inevitable is wrong. I cannot endorse it, particularly when there

:03:18.:03:21.

have been no guarantees before triggering Article 50 about

:03:22.:03:25.

protecting single market access, employment, environmental and

:03:26.:03:28.

consumer rights, security and judicial safeguards and the

:03:29.:03:31.

residential rights of many of my constituents. And no guarantee for

:03:32.:03:35.

the people of Wales, never mind a seat at the negotiating table. So I

:03:36.:03:40.

will not stay silent on the that to speak is to be anti-democratic,

:03:41.:03:45.

while the current Prime Minister leads us to a brutal exit with all

:03:46.:03:50.

the damage that will cause to the people and community I represent.

:03:51.:03:55.

While serving as Shadow Secretary of State for Wales, it reinforced even

:03:56.:03:58.

more strongly to me that what Wales will lose from exiting the EU

:03:59.:04:01.

without the guarantee is that needed. We are net beneficiaries of

:04:02.:04:08.

EU funding to the tune of ?245 million per year. In the last ten

:04:09.:04:13.

years EU funded projects have helped thousands of people into work and

:04:14.:04:18.

gain qualifications. Those projects have helped to create nearly 12,000

:04:19.:04:25.

businesses and 37,000 new jobs. 68% of our exports go to EU countries

:04:26.:04:31.

and parts of our farming and food production sector rely almost

:04:32.:04:35.

exclusively on the EU market. The single market is the lifeline to our

:04:36.:04:40.

manufacturing industry, what is left of it, in steel, automotive and

:04:41.:04:45.

aerospace, as well as to farming and food production sector. The Prime

:04:46.:04:48.

Minister's decision we are leaving the single market is something I

:04:49.:04:53.

cannot accept. The referendum result last year felt like a body blow. The

:04:54.:04:59.

Prime Minister's speech felt like the life-support machine being

:05:00.:05:02.

switched off and triggering Article 50 will for me feel like a funeral.

:05:03.:05:06.

It's a matter of principle and conscience to me. I must represent

:05:07.:05:10.

the majority of my constituents and share their view, and I will not

:05:11.:05:17.

vote for this bill. James Morris. What a pleasure it is to follow the

:05:18.:05:22.

speech of the member for Cardiff Central. She speaks with great

:05:23.:05:26.

passion. I don't agree with her, but she is clearly wrestling with many

:05:27.:05:30.

issues and has spoken passionately. This is a hugely significant moment

:05:31.:05:36.

for the West Midlands region which I represent. And for this house. It

:05:37.:05:41.

seems quite a long time ago that I was one of the 81 conservatives who

:05:42.:05:46.

went into the lobby to vote in favour of a referendum in 2011. It

:05:47.:05:53.

also seems like quite a long time ago that I was sitting behind the

:05:54.:05:58.

front bench in my role as the Parliamentary Private Secretary to

:05:59.:06:03.

the Minister for Europe as the EU referendum bill was steered through

:06:04.:06:07.

Parliament, and I had to spent many long hours in this chamber wearing

:06:08.:06:12.

my tin hat, as it were, as the EU referendum bill went through

:06:13.:06:15.

Parliament. I was a passionate believer in the referendum and I

:06:16.:06:18.

recognise the importance of the result. I was somebody who had

:06:19.:06:24.

concerns about the economic consequences of us leaving the

:06:25.:06:33.

European Union. But the reality was that the West Midlands region, part

:06:34.:06:36.

of which I represent, was one of the strongest regions in the country in

:06:37.:06:39.

terms of voting for leave. I think every single area of the West

:06:40.:06:43.

Midlands voted to leave the European Union, and as a Democrat and

:06:44.:06:46.

somebody who fought for the referendum, I clearly have to

:06:47.:06:50.

respect the result. In the Black Country and West Midlands, we are a

:06:51.:06:56.

very pragmatic people. The West Midlands economy has been performing

:06:57.:06:59.

extremely well over the last few years. Now I think it's incumbent on

:07:00.:07:07.

me and other leaders in the West Midlands to take advantage of the

:07:08.:07:10.

opportunities that leaving the European Union represents to the

:07:11.:07:17.

West Midlands economy. I want to make two broad points, that as we

:07:18.:07:23.

hopefully trigger Article 50, when we vote tomorrow, that need to be

:07:24.:07:30.

taken into consideration in the negotiation. The West Midlands

:07:31.:07:33.

economy has been performing very well. It is currently one of the

:07:34.:07:39.

export powerhouses of the UK economy with very strong exporting, not just

:07:40.:07:44.

to the European Union, but to the United States and China, but

:07:45.:07:48.

actually there are certain countries where the West Midlands is not

:07:49.:07:53.

exporting so strongly. Countries like Japan, Malaysia, Indonesia,

:07:54.:07:57.

where we have negligible export volumes from the West Midlands. I

:07:58.:08:01.

think there's an opportunity when we look at making free trade deals

:08:02.:08:06.

around the world to facilitate further export potential for West

:08:07.:08:10.

Midlands manufacturers, in the transport sector... Of course. Thank

:08:11.:08:14.

you for giving way. Will he recognise that if we don't get a

:08:15.:08:17.

deal, and the Prime Minister has said that's a possibility, we end up

:08:18.:08:22.

with a 10% tariff on cars exported from the UK and that will be very

:08:23.:08:27.

damaging to the West Midlands car industry. I don't for a minute

:08:28.:08:30.

believe that we are not going to get a deal which is not going to be of

:08:31.:08:37.

benefit to UK car manufacturers. It would be inconceivable that we don't

:08:38.:08:43.

get a deal on that. In terms of the West Midlands economy and leaving

:08:44.:08:46.

the European Union, I think it gives us an opportunity to achieve

:08:47.:08:49.

something that has eluded governments over the last 25 or 30

:08:50.:08:54.

years, which is to be very serious about the need to rebalance our

:08:55.:08:59.

economy, and to make sure we lock in the benefits of regional devolution.

:09:00.:09:08.

The West Midlands has benefited from European brands in terms of

:09:09.:09:10.

infrastructure development. I think it's incumbent, as we think about

:09:11.:09:18.

the reintegration process that we go through, the requirement to raise

:09:19.:09:21.

the investment levels and skills in the West Midlands. -- European

:09:22.:09:27.

grants. For example, the West Midlands currently receives 40% less

:09:28.:09:30.

investment in transport than London and Scotland. For a region that's

:09:31.:09:38.

dependent on manufacturing and transportation, there are capacity

:09:39.:09:40.

constraints around the West Midlands economy that need to be addressed.

:09:41.:09:45.

People in the Black Country and West Midlands voted to leave the European

:09:46.:09:49.

Union because they wanted to control immigration. That was one of the

:09:50.:09:53.

principal reasons why they voted to leave the European Union. As we

:09:54.:09:58.

think about negotiating our exit, as we trigger Article 50, one of the

:09:59.:10:03.

most important things is for the government to commit to raising the

:10:04.:10:08.

skill levels in the West Midlands, creating high quality jobs and

:10:09.:10:13.

seeing the West Midlands as a critical component of our national

:10:14.:10:17.

story. The West Midlands needs to have a voice in the negotiation. In

:10:18.:10:23.

May this year we will have a directly elected mayor, I hope it

:10:24.:10:32.

will be Andy Street. In terms of the West Midlands, the region voted most

:10:33.:10:37.

decisively to leave and it must be at the head of the queue in terms of

:10:38.:10:41.

getting the benefits which I believe can accrue from us leaving the

:10:42.:10:47.

European Union. The second point I wanted to make, Madam Deputy

:10:48.:10:51.

Speaker, is a broader point about Britain's place in the world. Even

:10:52.:10:58.

though I have concerns, and did vote for Britain to remain in the

:10:59.:11:03.

European Union, I have never been a fan of the political structures of

:11:04.:11:07.

the European Union. It seems to me we are now on the cusp of an

:11:08.:11:13.

opportunity. For 40 years of our EU membership, we have been spending a

:11:14.:11:17.

lot of our diplomatic resources and a lot of our energy in managing the

:11:18.:11:21.

relationships we have across the European Union. And we now need to

:11:22.:11:27.

change our posture in the world, to be much more outward looking and use

:11:28.:11:34.

our diplomatic reach and our diplomatic resources to change the

:11:35.:11:39.

way that we influence the world. We have great, enormous soft power,

:11:40.:11:41.

which we can deploy in the world. We have hard power. We should be

:11:42.:11:57.

investing more in our hard power. That gives Britain a unique

:11:58.:12:04.

opportunity outside of the European Union to stop expending energy on

:12:05.:12:09.

the European Union and its predelictions and focusing out

:12:10.:12:14.

words. As we embark on this renegotiation, Madame Deputy

:12:15.:12:17.

Speaker, there is a real opportunity, I think, to challenge

:12:18.:12:22.

many of the assumptions which have driven British foreign policy over

:12:23.:12:27.

the last 40 years. And forge a new role for a global Britain, a record

:12:28.:12:31.

locking and working for all the regions of the United Kingdom.

:12:32.:12:45.

Madame Deputy Speaker, could I say at the outset I will not be able to

:12:46.:12:59.

support this bill And I will not be able to support the triggering of

:13:00.:13:05.

Article 50 because, like the Right Honourable member for Rushcliffe, I

:13:06.:13:08.

feel that the whole operation is a bit like following the rabbit into

:13:09.:13:12.

the hole and hoping to emerge in Wonderland. Like my colleagues, many

:13:13.:13:22.

of them on these benches, I don't seek to deny England or Wales their

:13:23.:13:25.

right to exit from the European Union if that is what the people of

:13:26.:13:31.

those nations decide. I may disagree with the Brit -- with the wisdom of

:13:32.:13:35.

that view but that is not why I'm opposing this bill. I have never

:13:36.:13:39.

pretended that the European Union was perfect or that it doesn't need

:13:40.:13:45.

reform. And I admit to even the need for radical reform. But EU has

:13:46.:13:48.

delivered for Northern Ireland, it helped deliver parity of esteem and

:13:49.:13:55.

prosperity for all sides of our community. And it has helped to

:13:56.:14:00.

bring peace in very difficult times. European investment and access to

:14:01.:14:04.

the single market has done so much in the last 25 years to remake my

:14:05.:14:10.

city, Belfast, a world leading city and a city facing the 20th century

:14:11.:14:16.

-- facing the 21st century having had a very difficult 20th century,

:14:17.:14:21.

not least, Madame Devey speaker, because of the hard work done by

:14:22.:14:25.

hundreds of people who have come to Belfast from across Europe to work

:14:26.:14:29.

and contribute positively to our Society and help build a better

:14:30.:14:34.

economy. And in the process, building prosperity. I come here on

:14:35.:14:41.

behalf of the people of south Belfast. They voted 70% to remain on

:14:42.:14:48.

a 70% turnout, something that was very, very clear and without any

:14:49.:14:55.

doubt. And I come here to ask the government not to unnecessarily

:14:56.:14:58.

takeaway membership of the European Union that has already done so much

:14:59.:15:02.

for my constituency, and has the potential to do more. And I want to

:15:03.:15:08.

draw attention to the fact that Queens University in the heart of my

:15:09.:15:12.

constituency is highly dependent for its research and its development on

:15:13.:15:16.

European Union funding. And I have an guarantees, in fact, I have

:15:17.:15:22.

little expectation, that that will be matched by government post

:15:23.:15:27.

Brexit. The Prime Minister row and the Secretary of State have already

:15:28.:15:30.

said that they have no desire to go back to the borders of the past. I'm

:15:31.:15:35.

glad to hear it. And so will the 30,000 people that crossed the Irish

:15:36.:15:41.

border every day for work. But they will need a bit more than warm words

:15:42.:15:46.

of comfort. They need a concrete agreement, a concrete arrangement

:15:47.:15:50.

between Dublin and London and Belfast and Brussels, in order to

:15:51.:15:53.

sustain reasonable access to their livelihoods. But what the government

:15:54.:15:59.

seems to have missed is that our concerns in Northern Ireland go much

:16:00.:16:01.

deeper than just avoiding border posts. Our membership of the EU has

:16:02.:16:10.

written throughout the fabric of the Good Friday Agreement. Our political

:16:11.:16:16.

settlement in 1998, that keeps all of our parties at the table and

:16:17.:16:21.

sustains a peace process, and hopefully a better prosperity

:16:22.:16:25.

process that will follow, albeit slowly as it moves, that fabric, the

:16:26.:16:32.

EU values and rules written into the fabric of that agreement, have

:16:33.:16:36.

helped to maintain the stability. Without the EU, that stability would

:16:37.:16:39.

not have been obtained and maintained. Maintaining that

:16:40.:16:43.

stability requires the principles of the Good Friday Agreement to be

:16:44.:16:47.

underpinned in law through this exit process. Both at the outset and

:16:48.:16:53.

indeed in the final exit deal. And this is without even touching on the

:16:54.:16:57.

wider concerns that other honourable members have raised about the impact

:16:58.:17:03.

of Brexit on our universities, the rights of European citizens already

:17:04.:17:06.

living here, and the rights of our own citizens who wish to study or

:17:07.:17:10.

work across the European Union. So regardless of the Supreme Court's

:17:11.:17:16.

decision over the role of the devolved administrations, which I

:17:17.:17:18.

beg to differ from, it is in the government's on interest to get this

:17:19.:17:23.

right for Northern Ireland and maintain the stability that has been

:17:24.:17:28.

achieved. Indeed it is the government's obligation as

:17:29.:17:32.

co-guarantors of that settlement and that Good Friday Agreement of 1998,

:17:33.:17:36.

to sustain that. It will be much harder to get things right restoring

:17:37.:17:43.

stability in Northern Ireland, while rushing to meet an artificial

:17:44.:17:47.

timetable imposed unnecessarily by government. That is why I call on

:17:48.:17:51.

the government, even at this late stage, not to rush now and regret

:17:52.:17:55.

later. I begged them to take the time to get this right for all of

:17:56.:18:00.

us. Earlier today the Secretary of State told us to trust the wisdom of

:18:01.:18:03.

the people. There is no one I trust more with the future of Northern

:18:04.:18:07.

Ireland than the people of Northern Ireland. And the people of Northern

:18:08.:18:12.

Ireland voted to Remain. Voters in south Belfast, as I reminded you,

:18:13.:18:18.

voted 70% on a 70% turnout to stay in Europe. And I hope I am

:18:19.:18:21.

representing them here today and representing their views. And with

:18:22.:18:26.

no answers, our the very best very foggy answers given on the border,

:18:27.:18:30.

our economy, and protecting parity of esteem, I and my colleagues

:18:31.:18:36.

cannot vote to support the triggering of Article 50.

:18:37.:18:44.

There has been much debate today about the question of whether not

:18:45.:18:50.

only whether the government has sufficient mandate to invoke Article

:18:51.:18:53.

50, but whether it has sufficient mandate to exit the single market

:18:54.:18:59.

and the Customs Union. Many honourable members may know that my

:19:00.:19:02.

involvement in this question didn't build it -- begin when I was elected

:19:03.:19:07.

to this House in 2015. Prior to that I had the privilege of working in

:19:08.:19:13.

Downing Street. And for me, the whole question about our membership

:19:14.:19:17.

of the EU is inextricably rooted in the conflict between control,

:19:18.:19:23.

principally about immigration and also our non-laws on the one hand,

:19:24.:19:26.

and on membership of the single market on the other. In the decade

:19:27.:19:30.

that followed Tony Blair's disastrous decision to allow Eastern

:19:31.:19:35.

European members of the EU to gain full control to the -- access to the

:19:36.:19:41.

labour market without controls, net migration from the EU went from

:19:42.:19:46.

roughly imbalanced to being in the tens of thousands every year. The

:19:47.:19:49.

application of the single market to the field of labour, in facilitating

:19:50.:19:59.

the free movement of labour, this was compounded by the fact that the

:20:00.:20:05.

UK not only had no transition controls, we also have an open,

:20:06.:20:08.

English speaking labour market which is much more conducive to migrants.

:20:09.:20:13.

And latterly, the eurozone crisis meant that when much of Europe

:20:14.:20:19.

stagnated, the United kingdom became a jobs creation engine, sucking

:20:20.:20:23.

labour from stagnant continental countries. Now all of this lead to a

:20:24.:20:28.

growing sense of a loss of control. These were huge changes about which

:20:29.:20:31.

the British people were never asked and to which they never consented.

:20:32.:20:35.

That is why Conservative manifesto is completely -- repeatedly

:20:36.:20:41.

committed us to reducing migration in the tens of thousands. The

:20:42.:20:44.

experience of government demonstrated this could not be

:20:45.:20:46.

achieved... I will give way. The Conservative

:20:47.:20:58.

manifesto committed to stay in the single market? It committed us to

:20:59.:21:04.

having renegotiation followed by an in- out referendum, which is what we

:21:05.:21:08.

delivered. The argument I am making is that the question of EU

:21:09.:21:11.

membership is inextricably linked to the question of the single market.

:21:12.:21:15.

Now the problem with trying to control migration within the EU is

:21:16.:21:22.

that the commission rigidly stuck to the doctrine that free movement of

:21:23.:21:25.

people was one of the immovable pillars of the single market, and

:21:26.:21:31.

that any attempts to favourite EU nationals over... This was despite

:21:32.:21:37.

the fact the reality of its application had changed since we

:21:38.:21:41.

initially agreed to single market membership. And the fact that no

:21:42.:21:46.

such similarly -- similar level of purity applied to the other pillars,

:21:47.:21:50.

particularly services, where the UK stood to be a major beneficiary. For

:21:51.:21:55.

me, this loss of control... I give way. I'm grateful to the honourable

:21:56.:22:01.

gentleman forgiving way. Isn't it the case that several EU countries

:22:02.:22:07.

now have quite deep concerns about the consequences of unfettered free

:22:08.:22:11.

movement? And the collapse of Schengen, albeit for different

:22:12.:22:14.

reasons, is further evidence of that. I thank the honourable

:22:15.:22:18.

gentleman for his intervention. I think that's undoubtedly the case. I

:22:19.:22:23.

think the problem is that the commission and other EU members move

:22:24.:22:27.

that glacial speed. I don't think there is likely to be a significant

:22:28.:22:30.

change in their approach to the single market for some time. This

:22:31.:22:34.

was not the only factor but it certainly added strong impetus to

:22:35.:22:38.

the argument that the only way we can resolve this was through a

:22:39.:22:42.

policy of renegotiation followed by a referendum, which we fought in the

:22:43.:22:49.

2015 election. The experience of the commission was that they

:22:50.:22:51.

dogmatically refused to compromise on its conception of the free

:22:52.:22:56.

movement issue. This was bolstered by Chancellor Merkel's experience

:22:57.:23:02.

growing up as a child of East Germany, who had an innate hostility

:23:03.:23:07.

to any imposition of borders. Going into the referendum we could not

:23:08.:23:10.

credibly say that significant control had been restored. But

:23:11.:23:15.

pitted against this strong argument for leading the European Union was

:23:16.:23:21.

the significant economic risk and dislocation that arose from losing

:23:22.:23:24.

unfettered access to a market of half a billion people, which we

:23:25.:23:28.

achieved through full membership of the single market. The decision was

:23:29.:23:32.

a very difficult balance between control on the one hand and risk on

:23:33.:23:36.

the other. Now that's why I think it was absolutely right to put such a

:23:37.:23:39.

profound question to the British people in the form of a referendum.

:23:40.:23:45.

But we should be quite clear the dilemma of EU membership was

:23:46.:23:50.

precisely the dilemma of our membership of the single market. The

:23:51.:23:59.

benefits of trade against migration. This -- these issues were the

:24:00.:24:02.

essence of the debate. My innate conservatism favoured not taking

:24:03.:24:06.

that risk. But the British peoples of the alternative decision. That

:24:07.:24:09.

was the whole point of asking them in the first place. It absolutely

:24:10.:24:15.

clear now that not only should I respect that decision and votes to

:24:16.:24:18.

invoke Article 50, I should also seek to implemented fully which must

:24:19.:24:24.

mean leaving the single market, but also the Customs Union. Now for

:24:25.:24:27.

people to claim that the government does not have a mandate to do this,

:24:28.:24:31.

is to completely ignore how we got to this situation in the place. But

:24:32.:24:36.

equally, we must be clear in the other choices we have taken. I'm

:24:37.:24:42.

very glad the economy has maintained momentum after the initial political

:24:43.:24:45.

decision to leave. And I'm confident that in the medium to long term we

:24:46.:24:49.

can make a success of the huge liberation that leaving the European

:24:50.:24:55.

Union. We can tailor our on Lotts to meet the economic and trading

:24:56.:24:58.

interests of this country, and the countries with which we choose to

:24:59.:25:05.

enter bilateral deals. We will be inhibited by a 27 member bloc. We

:25:06.:25:10.

are well placed to exploit this. We have the English language, a time

:25:11.:25:16.

zone, political stability, the rule of law, tremendous creativity. But

:25:17.:25:22.

equally, we should not forget the risk we took to leave. I'm quite

:25:23.:25:25.

sure that in the short term sterling depreciation will likely lead to

:25:26.:25:29.

price rises this year, squeezing disposable income and consumer

:25:30.:25:33.

spending. Equally the terms of our access to the single market will be

:25:34.:25:37.

different, causing short-term dislocation. And of course the

:25:38.:25:41.

commission and member states will initially... I give way very

:25:42.:25:47.

briefly. He correctly points out that the fall in sterling will lead

:25:48.:25:52.

to an increase in inflation. This goblin has frozen benefits for the

:25:53.:25:55.

next four years. Is it not the case that by the action we have taken and

:25:56.:26:00.

the fact the Autumn Statement shows growth will be lower, as a

:26:01.:26:03.

consequence of this, a lover people be very much poorer.

:26:04.:26:07.

Two things to the honourable gentleman. The first is that record

:26:08.:26:11.

low unemployment means there is tremendous opportunity for those

:26:12.:26:15.

people. Secondly, wages across the board have not grown rapidly. It is

:26:16.:26:21.

entirely right that constraint is applied to benefits. Of course, the

:26:22.:26:24.

commission and member states will initially resist any deal that is

:26:25.:26:28.

not unambiguously seen as making the UK worse off from exiting the EU. I

:26:29.:26:34.

say this not to fight the battles of the past again, but because we

:26:35.:26:40.

expect these changes, and plan for them, we will be better placed to

:26:41.:26:43.

see them through to the opportunities in the long run. This

:26:44.:26:47.

is the beginning of a process of historic change in our nation. But

:26:48.:26:51.

it's a path we have chosen with our eyes open. And the exercise of our

:26:52.:26:56.

democratic rights. And I believe we have many reasons to be optimistic.

:26:57.:27:00.

We on these benches are on the same side and we should seize the

:27:01.:27:03.

opportunities that this change of direction half-forwards us.

:27:04.:27:09.

It's a pleasure to follow the honourable member for heart smear. I

:27:10.:27:16.

must begin by associating myself with the remarks made by my

:27:17.:27:20.

honourable friend for Cardiff sentry. I wish I wasn't engaged in

:27:21.:27:24.

this debate tonight. I wish you weren't having to clear up this mess

:27:25.:27:28.

and I wish the former Right Honourable member for Whitney had

:27:29.:27:32.

not cut and run, but was here to help dig his way out of this hole.

:27:33.:27:38.

I'm not surprised that he left, because he offered as a political

:27:39.:27:42.

strategy based on all the boxer ethics of the Bullingdon Club. --

:27:43.:27:48.

all the ethos and ethics. Smash the place up, leave some money, at least

:27:49.:27:52.

somebody else to clear up. I'm not sure where the cash is. Because we

:27:53.:28:01.

appear to be... As the honourable member for Peterborough knows, we

:28:02.:28:05.

appear to be half ?1 trillion further in debt than we were in

:28:06.:28:12.

2010. So I wish we weren't starting from here. But the people have

:28:13.:28:17.

spoken, this is a democracy, and I will respect the decision that was

:28:18.:28:21.

taken. But my right honourable friend, the member for Leeds

:28:22.:28:25.

Central, hit the nail absolutely on the head, the people of this country

:28:26.:28:30.

didn't vote for a plan, they didn't vote for a blueprint, they didn't

:28:31.:28:34.

vote to lose their jobs, and they did not vote based on the full truth

:28:35.:28:39.

on the table. Indeed, this was a terrible campaign, the devil do with

:28:40.:28:43.

lies about what money would be saved and what money would be spent. But

:28:44.:28:48.

there was a vote to make Parliament sovereign, and we must start now by

:28:49.:28:53.

making Parliament sovereign over the plan. This is the first debate of

:28:54.:28:58.

many and tonight and in the days to come we will have the first vote of

:28:59.:29:01.

many as we ask the Brexit secretary and his colleagues to come back to

:29:02.:29:04.

their house to check whether they have got the answers right and the

:29:05.:29:11.

strategy sound. I want to make sure there is a sense about those

:29:12.:29:14.

negotiations that there are three things uppermost in his mind. First

:29:15.:29:19.

of all, we have to make sure that those who lose out from Brexit, I

:29:20.:29:24.

helped and supported. We all know there will be those who are battered

:29:25.:29:28.

and bruised by the Brexit process. There is no point pretending

:29:29.:29:32.

otherwise. But let's make sure there's a plan in place to support

:29:33.:29:37.

those people. They are not the rich. They are the poor. And they are

:29:38.:29:42.

people on tax credits. It was argued earlier this afternoon, they are the

:29:43.:29:47.

people whose tax are frozen. As a result of that, and as a result of

:29:48.:29:52.

higher inflation now cursing fuel and food, they will be ?620 per year

:29:53.:29:58.

worse off by the next election. So I say to the government, we need to

:29:59.:30:03.

see a plan for making sure that we don't waste ?1 billion on corporate

:30:04.:30:10.

tax cuts by 2020, let's use this money to unlock the freeze on

:30:11.:30:13.

benefits. I give way to the honourable member. If he can explain

:30:14.:30:17.

why we have been the fastest-growing G-7 economy of the next year with

:30:18.:30:23.

acceleration in the second half White wages and real wages are up,

:30:24.:30:27.

and things are looking good. I know experts are no longer in fashion on

:30:28.:30:32.

that side of the house, but the Office for Budget Responsibility is

:30:33.:30:35.

very clear, because of higher inflation, people on tax credits

:30:36.:30:38.

will be poorer, not richer, in the next couple of years. I genuinely

:30:39.:30:44.

believe the Brexit secretary wants to protect hard-working families,

:30:45.:30:47.

but let's see him put his money where his mouth is and argue with

:30:48.:30:50.

the Chancellor to unfreeze tax credits over the next couple of

:30:51.:30:55.

years. That should be our priority. Second, we need a real plan to

:30:56.:30:59.

protect manufacturing in this country. We have to recognise that

:31:00.:31:03.

manufacturing output has not yet recovered to the level it was before

:31:04.:31:09.

the crash. And yet, if you look at the car industry in regions like

:31:10.:31:14.

mine in the West Midlands, it's employing 49,000 people today. That

:31:15.:31:18.

industry will be destroyed if we have to rely on WTO tariffs at 10%

:31:19.:31:25.

and adding more costs by building a border to check the 60% parts that

:31:26.:31:31.

we import to build cars in this country. Whatever the deal put in

:31:32.:31:36.

place, it has to put manufacturing first. Third, we have to make sure

:31:37.:31:41.

there is no race to the bottom on rights, on workers' rights, social

:31:42.:31:45.

rights, on the rights of minorities. We have already seen the briefing,

:31:46.:31:55.

from a number ten source. There was a proposal to exit the European

:31:56.:31:58.

Convention on human rights, that great European Magna Carta that we

:31:59.:32:03.

helped to draw up after the war that it would stop in check any return to

:32:04.:32:06.

the Holocaust that we march last week. How could we possibly

:32:07.:32:10.

contemplate now leaving that convention and joining the company

:32:11.:32:15.

of Putin's Russia? I hope over the course of these debates we will have

:32:16.:32:19.

the cast-iron guarantee that there will be no exit from the convention

:32:20.:32:23.

on human rights. The final point I would make to the government is that

:32:24.:32:27.

although there are tests for me on how we protect those battered and

:32:28.:32:32.

bruised by Brexit, on how we defend manufacturing and make sure there is

:32:33.:32:36.

no race to the bottom on rights, the spirit of these negotiations is

:32:37.:32:40.

important. I have to accept that we will leave a federal Europe, but I

:32:41.:32:45.

believe now could be the start of a con federal project, where we begin

:32:46.:32:49.

to step up our collaboration with our neighbours on security, where we

:32:50.:32:59.

step up collaboration on jobs, where we step up collaboration on

:33:00.:33:00.

international development. Step up collaboration on science. Step up

:33:01.:33:03.

collaboration on things we can do together in the world. On this

:33:04.:33:08.

debate it is so important now that we do not listen to the Devils and

:33:09.:33:13.

the Demons of division. Now is the time for the government to listen to

:33:14.:33:18.

the better angels of our nature. Claire Perry. It was the country's

:33:19.:33:26.

first Prime Minister, and this might arise the eye up for the member of

:33:27.:33:32.

Sheppey if you were in his place. If you want something talked about ask

:33:33.:33:36.

a man, if you want something done, ask a woman. I'm pleased our current

:33:37.:33:40.

Prime Minister is in place because she's taking on an unbelievable task

:33:41.:33:45.

and delivering it with intellect and grace and clarity. She's made it

:33:46.:33:49.

very clear to this house regardless of how we campaigned voted what the

:33:50.:33:52.

process will be and what the time frame full believe. For that I am

:33:53.:33:57.

great. It has been men and women over many years who have debated

:33:58.:34:02.

endlessly in this place and elsewhere the European question.

:34:03.:34:05.

Something that was a monumental talking point when I came to this

:34:06.:34:09.

place and which rather confused me, I have to say, because it did not

:34:10.:34:13.

seem to talk about the issues that face this country and will continue

:34:14.:34:20.

to face our country. Archer from the European Union. The puzzling and

:34:21.:34:23.

troubling productivity gap in British industry. Our lack of

:34:24.:34:27.

skills, lack of investment in education. A problem with the low

:34:28.:34:31.

savings rate meaning families have little to fall back on. Suddenly on

:34:32.:34:39.

June 23 we all went from talking to doing. And this is not the place, I

:34:40.:34:44.

totally agree with honourable members, to rerun either the

:34:45.:34:47.

referendum or the arguments. People will know I was a remain supportive.

:34:48.:34:53.

But I like so many who have spoken, was appalled by the quality of the

:34:54.:34:57.

debate. And the quality of the conversations that took place. We

:34:58.:35:02.

were asking the country to make a very profound decision on the basis

:35:03.:35:09.

of slogans, to boil down extremely complicated questions and trade-offs

:35:10.:35:14.

into a single yes or no question. It was spiced up with anti-immigration

:35:15.:35:18.

rhetoric. I'm sorry for those honourable members who believe this

:35:19.:35:22.

is not what the league campaign represented, but I thought the

:35:23.:35:26.

poster of people wanting to come to this country, the Breaking Point

:35:27.:35:31.

poster, was a particularly low point in this debate. The conversation was

:35:32.:35:39.

also sullied by misrepresentation overfunding and we have debated

:35:40.:35:44.

today the 350 million. And those conversations about Turkey that was

:35:45.:35:48.

lined up to join the EU, if you listened to many of the members

:35:49.:35:51.

campaigning on certain sites. Equally on the remains side of the

:35:52.:35:56.

equation, project fear, I completely accept we were not giving positive

:35:57.:36:01.

messages to campaign on. What about staying connected and relevant in

:36:02.:36:05.

the world rather than trying to frighten people based on theoretical

:36:06.:36:10.

models that thanks to quantitative easing and an interest rate cut have

:36:11.:36:14.

yet to come true. But since the referendum result we have a

:36:15.:36:17.

government very ably led by our Prime Minister, who has taken a

:36:18.:36:21.

pragmatic approach that we are where we are, and we need strength and

:36:22.:36:25.

leadership. As the Right Honourable member for Leeds Central said

:36:26.:36:30.

earlier today, the major problem facing us and representatives of

:36:31.:36:34.

Western democracies is a crisis of trust in our institutions and

:36:35.:36:38.

politicians. Like others I will be voting with the government tomorrow

:36:39.:36:42.

night to support the triggering of Article 50. We will never be able to

:36:43.:36:52.

prove the counter facts, what would have happened if we had not voted to

:36:53.:36:54.

leave, what would have happened without the depreciation in currency

:36:55.:36:56.

and the change is already happening in the European Union. But I for one

:36:57.:37:01.

feel ill informed about this debate. I was minded to go back and look at

:37:02.:37:04.

the conversations held in this house at the time of joining the EU,

:37:05.:37:08.

conversations that started with the publication of a White Paper in 1967

:37:09.:37:13.

and ended up in a referendum in 1975. I have read the speeches given

:37:14.:37:20.

by my predecessor but one, Charles Morrison, who contributed to the

:37:21.:37:23.

debates and was an arch European, I'm pleased to say. He was given the

:37:24.:37:28.

opportunity in extensive debates over six White papers in the

:37:29.:37:33.

formation for the manifesto of the 1970 election and multiple

:37:34.:37:37.

conversations with Parliament. Indeed the White Paper presented by

:37:38.:37:40.

the Ted Heath government in 1971 reported back on the progress of

:37:41.:37:43.

negotiation that have been made up until that point between the British

:37:44.:37:48.

government and members of the small European Union, and it set out what

:37:49.:37:55.

areas still needed to be discussed. Compared to my predecessor, I have

:37:56.:37:59.

to say that I do not feel I am well-informed about the process and

:38:00.:38:02.

what the trade off is are for the British economy. And I refute

:38:03.:38:06.

wholeheartedly the idea that people voted one way or another in the

:38:07.:38:10.

referendum based on this perfect knowledge of all the facts. I sat

:38:11.:38:14.

through many a hustings in which my opponent said, it's not for us to

:38:15.:38:19.

define what to leave looks like. You are the government, it's your job.

:38:20.:38:23.

We just no way we want to be out. Everybody's view of Brexit is very

:38:24.:38:29.

different. -- we just know that we want to be out. How do we know we

:38:30.:38:34.

are making the right decision? I would urge the government to be as

:38:35.:38:37.

open and transparent as possible and bring forward the White Paper before

:38:38.:38:41.

the committee stage of the current bill. I would ask the government

:38:42.:38:45.

when we get to the end of the process, when we know there will be

:38:46.:38:49.

a binary offer, we are either in some form of relationship with the

:38:50.:38:54.

European Union, all we are not, to say what the economic consequences

:38:55.:38:58.

of those deals look like. We can't possibly sit down and make an

:38:59.:39:04.

assessment on what a free-trade world might look like, or a

:39:05.:39:07.

relationship with the EU, plus or minus any economic contribution we

:39:08.:39:10.

would be asked to make, without understanding the implications for

:39:11.:39:15.

our country. It may be that we have made a good decision for all the

:39:16.:39:19.

wrong reasons, but I do not yet feel we have the right information to

:39:20.:39:23.

justify that to the country. Sarah Olney. In this country we have

:39:24.:39:31.

settled, through a process of trial and error, on a system of

:39:32.:39:35.

parliamentary democracy as the most effective form of government. And

:39:36.:39:40.

the importance of parliamentary role is asserted by the Supreme Court

:39:41.:39:44.

last week. The responsibility of parliamentarians is clear, to take

:39:45.:39:48.

decisions in the best interests of the country with particular regard

:39:49.:39:51.

for the needs of their constituents. I believe that leaving the European

:39:52.:39:57.

Union will be hugely damaging for this country. But the British people

:39:58.:40:00.

narrowly expressed a different view in a referendum. It is now for

:40:01.:40:04.

Parliament to take account of the referendum and decide what's in the

:40:05.:40:07.

best interest for the country. There is no evidence, and none has been

:40:08.:40:10.

presented that the best interests of the country will be served by the

:40:11.:40:14.

immediate triggering of Article 50 and the pursuit of the hardest

:40:15.:40:18.

Brexit possible. It seems to me to be an abdication of responsibility

:40:19.:40:22.

to say that the only factor that can be considered in deciding whether to

:40:23.:40:28.

trigger Article 50 is the result of the referendum. The will of the

:40:29.:40:31.

people cannot be tied down to one single point and be presumed to

:40:32.:40:34.

never change or waver. It should not be assumed that because a narrow

:40:35.:40:38.

majority of people who are willing and entitled to express a view on

:40:39.:40:43.

June 23, decided we should leave the European Union, that they should be

:40:44.:40:46.

the only thing to determine the fate of the whole population for now and

:40:47.:40:50.

many decades into the future. This is not the end of the debate, it's

:40:51.:40:54.

only the beginning. I will give away. The Conservative manifesto on

:40:55.:40:59.

which we won the election asserted we would hold a referendum and

:41:00.:41:05.

uphold the result. It's a promise made and a promise kept. Does she

:41:06.:41:10.

accept that? There has been a lot of talk about the referendum act, the

:41:11.:41:18.

referendum Bill. I wasn't here and I didn't vote for it. I am not bound

:41:19.:41:23.

by it. Your 2015 manifesto also committed us to stay in the single

:41:24.:41:29.

market. If, in three or eight years' time, the people are not happy with

:41:30.:41:34.

the outcome of Brexit, who should they hold accountable? If they want

:41:35.:41:37.

the country to take a different course, how should they vote then?

:41:38.:41:42.

Will all the MPs step back and say they merely implemented the will of

:41:43.:41:46.

the people, and that the outcome of Brexit is not their responsibility?

:41:47.:41:50.

Denying the people the right to hold their representatives accountable is

:41:51.:41:55.

what would be truly undemocratic. I asked a question of the Secretary of

:41:56.:42:02.

State for leaving the European Union last week about what impact

:42:03.:42:04.

assessments had been done to indicate the loss of jobs and skills

:42:05.:42:07.

to the UK as a consequence of leaving the European Union. I was

:42:08.:42:10.

told such information couldn't be released because it would weaken our

:42:11.:42:13.

negotiating hand. I find this extremely worrying for two reasons.

:42:14.:42:18.

Firstly, if this information is available and the minister who

:42:19.:42:21.

responded did not confirm these assessments had been carried out,

:42:22.:42:24.

then it should not be available to the public to consider. Secondly,

:42:25.:42:28.

that our country's future prosperity, our jobs and skilled

:42:29.:42:32.

workers, should now depend so heavily on the outcome of a

:42:33.:42:38.

negotiation. Far from taking back control, we are apparently dependent

:42:39.:42:41.

on what other countries will or will not allow. There is so much we don't

:42:42.:42:46.

know about the consequences of leaving the European Union, either

:42:47.:42:50.

because the government refuses to reveal it, or because it depends on

:42:51.:42:53.

the outcome of negotiations, we have not been given site of the

:42:54.:42:56.

government's White Paper before being asked to consider the bill, so

:42:57.:43:00.

we are effectively asked to jump out of the aeroplane before we know

:43:01.:43:04.

whether we are securely attached to a parachute. I don't think it's a

:43:05.:43:08.

responsible approach to take to the security and prosperity of our

:43:09.:43:16.

citizens. If we make the decision to trigger Article 50, the most

:43:17.:43:18.

immediate and pressing goal will be to advanced negotiations with

:43:19.:43:20.

European partners as quickly as possible to provide security and

:43:21.:43:23.

clarity for citizens. I think it's important not to just settle for any

:43:24.:43:27.

result we can get. We should make a further, active and informed

:43:28.:43:31.

decision that the new Deal is a better alternative than remaining in

:43:32.:43:34.

the European Union, and the choice should be between those two

:43:35.:43:38.

outcomes, having held the initial referendum to ask the public to

:43:39.:43:44.

guide our decision-making, we cannot exclude them from the decision.

:43:45.:43:47.

There needs to be a referendum on the terms so the people can decide

:43:48.:43:51.

for themselves. The decision made in this place in the coming days will

:43:52.:43:54.

shape our future country for generations and we owe it to them to

:43:55.:43:58.

proceed with caution, thoughtfulness and care. My grandparents generation

:43:59.:44:02.

gifted as eight nation free from tyranny. My parents generation

:44:03.:44:09.

gifted a country free with rising prosperity. When I think of this

:44:10.:44:14.

generation, I want to picture a nation free of fear, and inequality.

:44:15.:44:19.

I don't think that's a world we can build by turning our back on our

:44:20.:44:22.

neighbours, closing a door on our friends, turning a blind eye to

:44:23.:44:26.

tyranny, or by walking hand-in-hand with intolerance. I will be voting

:44:27.:44:31.

against this bill tomorrow, not just because I represent a pro-remain

:44:32.:44:35.

party in April remain constituency, and not just because I made this

:44:36.:44:38.

commitment to voters during my recent by-election campaign. I will

:44:39.:44:44.

be voting against this bill because I believe triggering Article 50 is

:44:45.:44:47.

the wrong step for this country did take at this time.

:44:48.:44:52.

Thank you. What a pleasure it is to follow the honourable lady from

:44:53.:45:01.

Richmond Park who assure us that the Liberal Democrats don't believe in

:45:02.:45:05.

democracy, it is incongruous they should be in that position, today is

:45:06.:45:09.

in fact celebrating one of the days that will go down in the annals of

:45:10.:45:13.

British history, there are many years that we can call to mind, be

:45:14.:45:22.

it 1066 or 1215. How many do wow want? 1346, 1485, 1509, 1649. These

:45:23.:45:36.

are great and famous years. But it is very very rare, it is very

:45:37.:45:43.

rare that specific days are commemorated as I think the 23rd

:45:44.:45:49.

June 2016 will commemorated. It is on a par with St Crispin's day 1415

:45:50.:45:58.

and with the 18th June, 1815. Great days in our nation's history. We are

:45:59.:46:04.

here debating this because our constitution has been put back on a

:46:05.:46:08.

proper footing. It has been put back on a proper footing by the wisdom of

:46:09.:46:13.

the British people, but also as it happens, by the Supreme Court, and I

:46:14.:46:19.

am particularly pleased by page 29 of the judgment, that says for these

:46:20.:46:25.

reasons, we disagree with Lloyd LJ's conclusions in Rees-Mogg, in so far

:46:26.:46:29.

as he held that ministers could exercise prerogative powers to

:46:30.:46:33.

withdraw from the EU treaties so the judges that has take an year or two,

:46:34.:46:38.

to finally agree in 1993 my father was right, so there is a virtue in

:46:39.:46:43.

this judicial process, slow and long winded though it may be, but

:46:44.:46:52.

actually it is so important constitutionally because dices

:46:53.:46:56.

constitution has been restored. The Queen in Parliament is the sovereign

:46:57.:47:04.

body of our nation, and that is so important because as Dicey argued it

:47:05.:47:09.

is Parliament that is the defender of the lib ditips of the peopleches

:47:10.:47:12.

of our ancient constitution and freedoms. I give way. Very grateful

:47:13.:47:18.

to my friend for giving way, as our constitutional expert as he is, he

:47:19.:47:22.

will be familiar with the judgment given in the case of McCormack

:47:23.:47:29.

versus the Crown in Scotland. Parliamentary sovereignty is an

:47:30.:47:34.

English concept. Would he agree that the Scottish people can determine

:47:35.:47:38.

their own destiny if we are dragged out of Europe against our will? The

:47:39.:47:43.

honourable gentleman will know that the Westminster Parliaments

:47:44.:47:46.

following the accuse of union is of both Parliaments and the two

:47:47.:47:51.

traditions to some extent merged in 1707. He is very well aware of that

:47:52.:47:57.

point, and that the sovereignty of Parliament now applies to the United

:47:58.:48:01.

Kingdom as, of course I will give way. He is making as ever a

:48:02.:48:07.

fantastic speech. Following on from the intervention from the Scottish

:48:08.:48:11.

National Party member, is it not the case in the judgment they make clear

:48:12.:48:17.

we do not need a legislative concept motion or any consent because

:48:18.:48:21.

dicey's principle that power devolved is power retained means

:48:22.:48:26.

this Parliament is always sovereign. My right honourable friend is right

:48:27.:48:30.

on that. The judgment is clear in relation to the convention it is a

:48:31.:48:34.

political convention which is not within the field of the judiciary to

:48:35.:48:39.

rule upon, they say they are neither the parent nor the Guardian of the

:48:40.:48:45.

convention but they also made clear that by legislation this Parliament

:48:46.:48:49.

can do anything within the United Kingdom on behalf of the British

:48:50.:48:53.

people. And we need to get back to the beginning as to where does this

:48:54.:48:57.

Parliamentary sovereignty come from? Here we are back to the debates of

:48:58.:49:02.

the 17th sent, Parliamentary sovereignty, sovereignty in this

:49:03.:49:06.

country was thought either to come via the king from God, or to

:49:07.:49:11.

Parliament via the people, and that is where referendums come into this

:49:12.:49:18.

so rightly, because these sovereignty ex size is pot in a

:49:19.:49:23.

vacuum. It has not descended from on high. It bills up from underneath.

:49:24.:49:28.

The right of the people of the United Kingdom is to determine how

:49:29.:49:34.

they are governed, and they, on 23rd June, I can't give way again because

:49:35.:49:39.

I don't get any more bonus points, they on the 23rd June, voted that

:49:40.:49:45.

Parliamentary sovereignty would be restored to this House. And as that

:49:46.:49:52.

happened, so the judges, in the Supreme Court decision reinforced

:49:53.:49:56.

it, because they have reversed the clawing of power from this House

:49:57.:50:02.

that has gone to the executive since the 1972 European Communities Act.

:50:03.:50:07.

This Madam Deputy Speaker, is where these shocking outrageous and

:50:08.:50:13.

monstrous hypocrisy clicks into place, none of whom are members of

:50:14.:50:19.

this place, for no members of this place are in any sense ever

:50:20.:50:26.

hypocritical. They cry Parliamentary sovereignty to obstruct the will of

:50:27.:50:31.

the British people when law after law cascaded down from the European

:50:32.:50:37.

Union to a chamber that was empty, to committee rooms that were overin

:50:38.:50:41.

30 minute, no interest in Parliamentary sovereignty when the

:50:42.:50:45.

ratchet was clawing it away from the United Kingdom, but a great cry when

:50:46.:50:50.

the British people asked to have it back for themselves. And so we have

:50:51.:50:59.

a situation where the Supreme Court has recognised that this House is

:51:00.:51:04.

where power must lie in the creating and repealing of laws. This will

:51:05.:51:11.

restore our proper constitutional balance, so that no more will we

:51:12.:51:14.

have talk of interior legislation, the courts have developed a theory

:51:15.:51:20.

from the 1972 act that it was superior law and laws after it were

:51:21.:51:26.

bound by it. This alien to the British constitution. There is no

:51:27.:51:30.

ability for this House to bind itself successors and that principle

:51:31.:51:36.

is being restored by leaving the European Union and repealing

:51:37.:51:40.

ultimately the European Communities Act 1972, once that is done, that

:51:41.:51:47.

thread on which the idea of interior law has been hung is cut, and we are

:51:48.:51:52.

back to a situation where a Parliament of five years can pass

:51:53.:51:57.

any laws for this country, but cannot bind itself successors and

:51:58.:52:04.

its laws can no Norway be overruled by anybody outside the Queen in

:52:05.:52:09.

Parliament, and the great virtue of this constitution, and this is where

:52:10.:52:13.

I agree with the honourable lady, the member for Birmingham Edgbaston,

:52:14.:52:19.

is that it has provided prosperity t peace and security for our nation.

:52:20.:52:26.

Because the economy does not get created out of nowhere, it depends

:52:27.:52:29.

pends on the constitutional structures that you have, that

:52:30.:52:35.

protect the rule of law, that protect the rule of law, allow

:52:36.:52:40.

corruption to be ex potioned by freedom of speech, -- exposed. And

:52:41.:52:46.

ensure that the democratic will ask act as the protect or of what is

:52:47.:52:52.

decided and property rights are respected. We are back to that happy

:52:53.:52:57.

constitutional system that was known in this country until 1972. In the

:52:58.:53:03.

glories of our constitution, and with the great wisdom of our

:53:04.:53:06.

parliamentary draft men we are doing it in one of the shortest bills to

:53:07.:53:11.

pass through this House, because all this bill does, and this is why the

:53:12.:53:16.

amendments are all such flotsam and jet Sam, designed to obstruct the

:53:17.:53:22.

will of the British people, all this will does is implement that noble

:53:23.:53:27.

brave glorious decision the people made on that day of legend and song,

:53:28.:53:34.

the 23rd June n the year of our Lord, 2016. Stephen Times. I am

:53:35.:53:43.

pleased to be following the honourable member for North East

:53:44.:53:47.

Somerset and the constitution a perspective he set out for our

:53:48.:53:51.

edification. And of course, it is the case that there are wholly

:53:52.:53:56.

honourable reasons for wanting to leave the European Union. The

:53:57.:54:00.

problem, however, Madam Deputy Speaker, is that we will pay a heavy

:54:01.:54:06.

economic price for leaving. Too many jobs will be forced out of the UK,

:54:07.:54:13.

and for that reason I shall be opposing the bill at its second

:54:14.:54:17.

reading tomorrow. We were told during the referendum campaign that

:54:18.:54:20.

leaving, yes of course I will give way. The prediction that the

:54:21.:54:24.

honourable gentleman makes that jobs will be lost, follows the prediction

:54:25.:54:29.

made by so many staying outside the single currency would lead to

:54:30.:54:33.

economic decline and the vote on June 23rd would trigger an instant

:54:34.:54:38.

recession, that was wrong then, with respect to his integrity why should

:54:39.:54:44.

we believe that now? I think it is clear there will be a heavy economic

:54:45.:54:49.

price, and within a couple of year, that will be absolutely clear, and

:54:50.:54:54.

my view is that in this House, if we belief this measure is contrary to

:54:55.:54:58.

the national interest, we should vote against it. We have heard a

:54:59.:55:03.

couple of speeches now from members opposite saying in terms they think

:55:04.:55:06.

this bill is contrary to the national interest. Many my view, if

:55:07.:55:11.

that the view we should be voting against the bill. Of course. Can I

:55:12.:55:18.

than thank him for his opening words, can I agree with him I

:55:19.:55:21.

believe it will make our constituents the poorer and that is

:55:22.:55:25.

why I will join him tomorrow, in the lobby, but can I say to him, isn't

:55:26.:55:31.

it a pity that part of the debate was to basically ignore what experts

:55:32.:55:35.

were saying, about the destination of our country should we leave the

:55:36.:55:40.

European Union. My right honourable friend is right. We should take, pay

:55:41.:55:44.

attention to those who know what they are talking about. The reality

:55:45.:55:49.

is our currency has fallen significantly in value, following

:55:50.:55:52.

the referendum. That means that we are poorer than we were before, that

:55:53.:55:57.

has already happened. But the real damage is going to be when jobs

:55:58.:56:00.

start to

:56:01.:56:01.

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