06/07/2017 House of Commons


06/07/2017

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we ourselves hold as an opinion but what other people might think and

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we'll leave it there for now. We now come to business questions. Valerie

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vows. Could the Leader of the House please

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give us the forthcoming business? Thank you, Mr Speaker. The business

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for next week will be Monday 10th of July, second reading of the relief

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from non-domestic rate is built. 11 of July, consideration in committee

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and remaining stages of the organising bill following by the

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bill procedure. Wednesday 12 July, a general debate on the Grenfell Tower

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Fire enquiry and Thursday 13th July, general debate on the commemoration

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of Passchendaele. 14 July, the House will not be sitting. I would also

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like to inform the House that the business at Westminster Hall for the

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13th of July, will be Thursday 13th July, debate on the supply of homes

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and affordable homes to buy followed by a debate on the introduction of

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an opt out system for organ donation in England. Colleagues will want to

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be aware that the election of select committee chairs will take place on

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Wednesday 12 July from 10am until 4pm in committee room eight.

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Finally, Mr Speaker, I was delighted to hear of the hard work that both

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you and the lord Speaker have put in to ensure the parliament properly

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marks pride weekend. Among other activities, the rainbow coloured

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flag will be projected onto the Palace for the duration of the

:01:41.:01:44.

weekend and I am sure members from across the House in this, the most

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diverse parliament ever, will join me in sending our best wishes to all

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those celebrating this weekend and the rest of pride month. Thank you.

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Thank you, Mr Speaker and can I join the Leader of the House and her good

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wishes for everyone taking part in pride week and know that we are in

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the business of equality for everyone. Maybe you need to wear a

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rainbow tie next week. I probably want require any encouragement. Can

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I thank the Leader of the House but she made no mention of the specific

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debate I asked for last week on the judgments that were made in the High

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Court, particularly on the plan for clean air and the benefit caps. She

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also made no mention of any opposition dates. The last time we

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had an opposition date was in January. She also made no mention of

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when she is going to schedule the debate on the instruments on tuition

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fees regulations. It is important, Mr Speaker, particularly as the

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Institute for Fiscal Studies and the latest report said that students in

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England are going to graduate with an average debt of ?50,800 after

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interest rates are raised on student loans to 6.1% in September. Interest

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rates, they say, are very high compared with the current market

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rate. The report also goes on to state that with a higher debt,

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students from the purest 40% of families now accrue around 6500 in

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interest during the study. The first Secretary of State in a speech at

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earlier, said there was a national debate we need to have about

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university tuition fees. I do not know where he was from May until the

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8th of June but he is the got an answer, a minority Government. Could

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the Leader of the House please honour that parliamentary convention

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and let's debate that Dutch cherry instrument. It seems young people

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are being rejected by this minority Government. Can we also have a

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debate about women against eight pensions inequality. It is so far

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been signed by 124 honourable members from all parties. There was

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a debate in Westminster Hall yesterday, which was oversubscribed.

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Standing room only. Could the Leader of the House please find time to

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debate this injustice to 1950s women. Or are those 1950s women also

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rejected by the minority Government? So far the financial Hall is ?1.5

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billion for the deal, the National U-turn has left a 2 billion hole in

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public finances over the next five years. The concession last week in

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support of women in Northern Ireland quite rightly was made, but has not

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been costed. Many other Secretary of State had been acting for extra

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money, 1 billion for education, Secretary of State has also asked

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for money. The financial Hall is getting bigger. The Government

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announced in the Queen's speech that the world have refinanced bills over

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the course of this Parliament. Could she say when we will have the summer

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Finance bill, which I think has been suggested by the Treasury and picked

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up by the shadow Treasury team? Unless there is going to be no in

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Parliament, just an announcement in October in Manchester. Guess who

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said this, tell the others who have got their own opinion to shut up.

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There is a sense you have at the moment of everybody doing their own

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thing, nobody asserting what they want to do in the national interest.

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We cannot go on living from hand to mouth in this sort of shambolic way.

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Former Tory party chairman lord Patten. He said that, Mr Speaker,

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because of this... On the 3rd of July, in response to the honourable

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member's written question, the Government's manifesto had a free

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vote on the hunting bill. A U-turn. Free school meals, the Minister has

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responded this week. The Government has decided it is right to retain

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the existing universal infant free school meal provision. A U-turn.

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Grammar schools, the Secretary of State for Education confirmed any

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written to the honourable member there is no education bill in the

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Queen's speech and therefore, the ban on opening new grammar schools

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will remain in place. Another U-turn. The triple lock on pensions.

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The Government wanted to scrap the loch by 2020 because of their deal

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to stay in Parliament. Another U-turn. Winter fuel allowance. The

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Government's means testing has been dropped. Another U-turn. Everything

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in their manifesto, all dropped. No policy. What is left? Strong and

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stable. I think that is another U-turn. Mr Speaker, you will

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remember that the Prime Minister was billed as the second incarnation of

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another female Prime Minister, whose nickname for those of us who can

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remember was Jena. There is no alternative. We say, in Her

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Majesty's opposition, here we are, there is an alternative. -- nickname

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was Tina. Can I start by replying to the

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honourable lady on the subject of, as she puts it, U-turn is. Just

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explain to her that, as she knows, as all honourable members know, this

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result of the journal collection was not as we would have wished it. We

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do not have the majority we would have wished for. All members can

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satisfy themselves that therefore, the measures that are being brought

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forward by this Government are focused on those measures that we

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can all support. Making a success of leaving the European union, making

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sure that we can continue to trade and collaborate with our EU friends

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and partners. Secondly, strengthening the economy. New

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measures on being a world leader in autonomous vehicles, commercial

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space flights, industries of the future that will create the jobs of

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the future. Thirdly, improving our society. We went to see strength and

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support for the mental health problems in our society and measures

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to protect people from domestic violence. These are measures the

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whole house can get behind. More measures to strengthen the United

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Kingdom, to prevent extremism and to protect us from terrorism. These are

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the sorts of measures that this Government will be bringing forward

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that I do urge all members to look at and take very seriously. This

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will represent real progress in this Government. Specifically on her

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points on some of the court judgments that are before us, those

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remain with judges and so, as she will know, we do not comment on

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judgments, as she would wish is to do. On opposition days and sitting

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Fridays, Private member Hills days and so on, those will be brought on

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in due course. They will be at least in line with the number of days

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provided in standing orders but there will be other days provided in

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addition to that through the usual channels. Then she talks about the

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debate on student fees. She points out the interest rates on student

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fees. I do need to set clear for the House that student debt is not like

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normal commercial loans. Student fees are made available to all

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students, regardless of their financial history. The repayable

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according to income, not according to the amount due. Of course, the

:09:57.:10:02.

off by the taxpayer after 30 years. They are not like normal commercial

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loans. The act more as a contribution, only a contribution

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because the taxpayer continues to pacing of the concerns, towards the

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cost of receiving a degree that means that individual will earn more

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during their career. Erin more than those taxpayers who do not have the

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benefit of a degree. It tends to be fair to the student and fear to the

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taxpayer. I want to point out our measures to improve apprenticeships,

:10:36.:10:38.

nearly 3 million in the last Parliament and a commitment to many

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more millions of apprenticeships in this Parliament offer real

:10:43.:10:44.

alternatives to young people who do not want a good university. Finally,

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the point made by the University -- the point made by the Prime

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Minister, that should be a good thing, celebrated by the whole

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house. Thank you. I am sure the Leader of the House will agree that

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the House would want an early debate on any Government programme where

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the costs are rising, where it is looking like it is not good money

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for a value for the taxpayer, where senior personnel are leaving, where

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procurement processes are down and where technology is being overtaken

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by other more moderate developments. Can we have an early debate on the

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phase one of the high-speed rail before we enter into the folly of

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entering into phase two. Can we see whether if it is going ahead, it

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could be used for another form of transport, perhaps for those

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autonomous vehicles on which the Leader of the House is so keen.

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Well, my right honourable friend and I have worked for a very long time

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on representing both constituencies of hours in every way we possibly

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can. My constituents are to Iraq have grave concerns about the impact

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as it passes through our constituencies. -- have grave

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concerns. I am sympathetic to her cause. She knows as well as I do,

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that is a commitment to the high-speed rail. These one has

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received a cent. We will continue to look at the construction phase and

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what more can be done to compensate our constituents. A lot of my

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constituents are very hacked off about the matter as well. I thank

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the House for what passes for business for next week. Can I join

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her in wishing well all of those participating in pride week. There

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are no this week. Anon next week probably no votes before we get into

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the summer recess. This is quickly becoming the zombie cop flicks

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Parliament -- Apocalypse Parliament where they look for brains only to

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seek the help all left the country, like everybody else. I wonder how

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long they will be able to pad out the business. The will of this house

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will have to be tested. We are all going to be deciding the chairs of

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the select committee. It is good to see the select committees up and

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running but what is happening with the standing committees of this

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house? They have already passed secondary bills and another one next

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week, they have to have a conversation and discussion about

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them because they are important than the passing of legislation. I have

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looked at the arithmetic and I have figured out they should be nine

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Conservative members, seven Labour members and to SNP members. The

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reader of the House can correct me if I have that wrong but when will

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we see in Motion coming to this house. When will be standing

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committees be up and running? Can I support the shadow Leader of the

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House on having a full debate on the 50s women issue. There are so many

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members of Parliament wanted to represent their view my constituents

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born in the 1950s. We have to have the debate here on the House and

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noticed there is a cooling in the mid and Conservative members of

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this. We saw that ?1 billion bill for the DP. Let's have a vote here.

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Lastly, it was one year ago before we had the Chilcott report. I

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remember we debated this for two days. Today, Sir John Chilcott said

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that Tony Blair was not straight with the nation. Is it now not time

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for a parliamentary committee to investigate this properly and take

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appropriate action against the Thank you, Mr Speaker. I encourage

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the honourable gentleman to consider, perhaps in Hansard, if he

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wasn't listening, the strong case and made for the measures this

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government will be taking to significantly take steps forward for

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our country to improve the situation for all of our residents across the

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UK. He says there have been no votes, and that is testament to the

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agreement across the House that's what we are doing is right. I

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encourage him and his honourable friends to continue to support the

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government efforts. His comments on standing committees are being looked

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at. They will be appointed in due course and those issues will be

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resolved. On the Waspi issue, we have had five debates on this, and

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as with all high-profile and very concerning issues, the government

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continues to look at these issues. But he will appreciate that

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unfortunately, we are still trying to deal with the problems in our

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economy left to us by the last Labour government. No, you might

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groan on the opposition benches, but the reality is that this government

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is still clearing up the mess from the last Labour government.

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Therefore, we have had to take tough decisions across those people coming

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up to retirement age as well as those of working age. His final

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point about the Chilcot Inquiry, that was a seven-year long inquiry.

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The government has looked at this in great length and it has been

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discussed. And the government continues to learn the lessons from

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the Chilcot Inquiry and will be committed to continuing to do so.

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But it doesn't have plans at the moment to reopen a further inquiry.

:16:55.:16:59.

Can we have a statement from the Secretary of State for the

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environment about dog thefts and dogfighting? There are far too many

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dog thefts in my part of the world and probably others, many of which

:17:10.:17:14.

are used as bait for dogfighting, which is disgusting. There appears

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to be not enough done about this by the law enforcement agencies and

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animal welfare agencies. Can we have a statement from the Secretary of

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State as to what he intends to do to clamp down on this disgusting

:17:29.:17:35.

practice? Right honourable friend raises an important point. There is

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no doubt that we are a nation of dog lovers. As Secretary of State for

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Defra, I did spend a lot of time trying to improve the rules on puppy

:17:45.:17:49.

licensing, to get backstreet breeders out of the way and improve

:17:50.:17:52.

the issues around animal welfare and training. But he raises an important

:17:53.:17:59.

point and I encourage him to get in touch with Defra again on what is an

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important matter for all of us. South Yorkshire has lost over 400

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police officers since 2010. Can I ask the Leader of the House if we

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could have a debate on what extra resources can be made available to

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make people in Barnsley safe? I would like to welcome the honourable

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lady to her place and wish her success in her new role in this

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House. She raises an important matter across the country, that of

:18:30.:18:35.

policing. She will know the government has protected police

:18:36.:18:42.

funding in real terms. I met my own police and crime commission only

:18:43.:18:45.

yesterday to talk about the difference in the way that policing

:18:46.:18:50.

is happening. She will be pleased to know that crime has fallen by a

:18:51.:18:55.

third since 2010, enabling police forces to put more into cyber crime

:18:56.:18:58.

and crime prevention and online crime. Nevertheless, the relevant

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minister will have heard her points. With my honourable friend find time

:19:09.:19:11.

for a debate on the criteria for awarding city status? In every

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respect, Southend-on-Sea, with its many qualities, should already be a

:19:18.:19:23.

city. I believe it is an oversight which attention could be drawn to in

:19:24.:19:30.

a general debate. My honourable friend is a huge supporter of his

:19:31.:19:34.

constituency in Southend. I am sure all members will have spent happy

:19:35.:19:39.

hours on the beaches there. Nevertheless, he will appreciate

:19:40.:19:48.

that city status is a rare privilege to be conferred by Her Majesty on

:19:49.:19:51.

advice from ministers and not something for this House. In the

:19:52.:19:59.

last Parliament, I rose to seek the support of the then Prime Minister

:20:00.:20:03.

for a constituent who has been missing in Spain since November

:20:04.:20:07.

2015, Lisa Brown. I now found myself having to rise again in relation to

:20:08.:20:13.

an additional constituent, Caroline Hope, who in travelling to Turkey on

:20:14.:20:15.

personal matters before returning home to Scotland has been diagnosed

:20:16.:20:20.

with cancer and sought emergency surgery and has now been infected

:20:21.:20:24.

with E. Coli and is now having to rely on the support of family and

:20:25.:20:29.

friends and strangers to raise over ?30,000 to bring Caroline home to

:20:30.:20:33.

Scotland to West Dunbartonshire. Could I impress upon the Leader of

:20:34.:20:40.

the House to seek from the Foreign Commonwealth Office and the Foreign

:20:41.:20:42.

Secretary a quick response to a letter I have sent to them this week

:20:43.:20:48.

in terms of both Caroline's situation and for further support in

:20:49.:20:51.

terms of Lisa being missing in Spain? I am obviously incredibly

:20:52.:21:00.

sympathetic. That sounds like a terrible situation. He will be aware

:21:01.:21:05.

that there are oral questions to the Foreign Office next week and he may

:21:06.:21:12.

wish to raise it then. My village is lucky in the sense that it had flood

:21:13.:21:17.

defences put in place before the Boxing Day flood. But the water

:21:18.:21:20.

still got within one inch of people's doorstep and my village

:21:21.:21:26.

nearby had similar problems. The devastation has been huge and there

:21:27.:21:29.

has been a rush to put bigger flood defences in column but could I have

:21:30.:21:32.

a statement from the relevant minister in relation to the flood

:21:33.:21:37.

strategy for Leeds and with specific mention unconcern of what modelling

:21:38.:21:39.

has been done to ensure that more water is not coming down to my

:21:40.:21:43.

villages, which already have flood defences in place, but came close to

:21:44.:21:51.

being breached. I had the great pleasure as Environment Secretary to

:21:52.:21:54.

go to Leeds last year to see the new proposed move weirs, which should

:21:55.:21:58.

make a big difference to the ability to prevent water becoming

:21:59.:22:06.

overwhelming. The Environment Agency is working with Leeds City Council

:22:07.:22:10.

and the local flood groups to understand the latest flood

:22:11.:22:13.

modelling results and identify the most appropriate options. But there

:22:14.:22:17.

is a lot of work including ?3 million of additional government

:22:18.:22:22.

funding to try and address the leads flood alleviation scheme. In west

:22:23.:22:27.

Yorkshire, our bluelight services and those who represents rank and

:22:28.:22:32.

file staff are clear that our emergency services are in crisis and

:22:33.:22:37.

staff are struggling. West Yorkshire has lost more than 1200 police

:22:38.:22:42.

officers since 2010 and 554 firefighters. It is no wonder my

:22:43.:22:46.

constituents feel less safe. Given that we haven't had an opposition

:22:47.:22:51.

day since January, will the Leader of the House allow government time

:22:52.:22:55.

for this important debate before the summer recess? I refer the

:22:56.:23:02.

honourable lady to what I said to her honourable friend. Crime is

:23:03.:23:08.

down. This government has protected police funding. She may wish to

:23:09.:23:16.

raise the specific issues from her constituency by applying for an

:23:17.:23:18.

adjournment debate or a Westminster Hall debate. At the weekend, I

:23:19.:23:24.

joined a group of volunteers from the heart of Hednesford group who

:23:25.:23:30.

were planting hay racks on the platforms of the nearby rail station

:23:31.:23:33.

to give passengers a colourful welcome to the town. Will my right

:23:34.:23:38.

honourable friend join me in congratulating and thanking this

:23:39.:23:41.

group of volunteers, but could we also have a debate in government

:23:42.:23:45.

time about the role of volunteers and community groups in their local

:23:46.:23:52.

communities? I am delighted to share in her congratulations to her

:23:53.:23:58.

volunteers. We all appreciate the amazing work done by volunteers,

:23:59.:24:01.

whether it is litter picking, planting flowers, supporting

:24:02.:24:05.

vulnerable people and so on. We have frequent debates in this place on

:24:06.:24:10.

the subject of volunteers. I encourage her to have a further want

:24:11.:24:15.

to show our appreciation. Would the Leader of the House arrange for a

:24:16.:24:21.

statement to clarify the position of who is responsible for dealing with

:24:22.:24:24.

the increasing problem of urban foxes? This is something I have had

:24:25.:24:29.

huge buzz of complaints about recently. It is an area where no one

:24:30.:24:34.

takes responsibility. I am not suggesting the setting up of a

:24:35.:24:40.

Vauxhall hunt! But I am looking to help those constituents who are

:24:41.:24:43.

finding their lives not just intolerable in their homes, but what

:24:44.:24:51.

can be done and who takes responsibility? The more time the

:24:52.:25:01.

honourable lady is in her constituency, the more terrified the

:25:02.:25:06.

foxes will be! I think they have a cheek, going to Vauxhall with the

:25:07.:25:10.

honourable lady's views of foxes! Very brave of them. There are

:25:11.:25:15.

obviously strict rules around dealing with wildlife in urban as

:25:16.:25:18.

well as rural areas and keeping the fox population down is an important

:25:19.:25:22.

issue. I suggest that she writes to the Secretary of State for Defra.

:25:23.:25:27.

Gosh, just as we are talking about foxes, who should come into the

:25:28.:25:30.

chamber but the Secretary of State for International Development! How

:25:31.:25:36.

very timely. Given the number of terrorist acts carried out in the UK

:25:37.:25:40.

by people who are prevented from going to the Middle East, may we

:25:41.:25:46.

have a statement from an appropriate government minister setting out the

:25:47.:25:52.

arguments for and against preventing would-be jihadists who are adults

:25:53.:25:55.

from travelling abroad and keeping them at home when we know that they

:25:56.:26:00.

cannot all be monitored at home around the clock? My honourable

:26:01.:26:12.

friend raises an important issue. Approximately 850 UK linked

:26:13.:26:14.

individuals of national security concern have travelled to engage

:26:15.:26:18.

with the Syrian conflict. We think about half have returned to the UK

:26:19.:26:23.

and over 15% have subsequently been killed in fighting in the region.

:26:24.:26:27.

Our priority is of course to dissuade people from travelling to

:26:28.:26:31.

areas of conflict and our Prevent strategy includes a lot of work to

:26:32.:26:35.

support individuals at risk of radicalisation. This is clearly

:26:36.:26:38.

something for the commission of countering extremism which is being

:26:39.:26:44.

set up. And I am sure the foreign affairs select committee will also

:26:45.:26:51.

be interested. The Leader of the House mentioned in her opening

:26:52.:26:53.

remarks extremism. Will the Leader of the House make time available for

:26:54.:26:59.

us to have a debate on the report into extremism and the funding of

:27:00.:27:05.

extreme activity in the UK which has not yet been published by the

:27:06.:27:11.

government? Members are entitled to know, for instance, whether it is

:27:12.:27:15.

because there are many references to the activities of the Saudis in this

:27:16.:27:19.

report. Can we have time for such a debate? The honourable gentleman

:27:20.:27:26.

will appreciate that this is clearly something for the commission for

:27:27.:27:30.

countering extremism. It will be looking at reports of what has gone

:27:31.:27:34.

on already and they will be keen to take up. ChildLine, which is now

:27:35.:27:43.

part of the NSPCC, was founded 30 years ago and over that time has

:27:44.:27:47.

helped more than 4 million children. Can we have a debate about how the

:27:48.:27:51.

government could work more closely with ChildLine and the NSPCC,

:27:52.:27:55.

particularly in areas such as online abuse and children's mental health?

:27:56.:28:02.

My honourable friend has been a huge advocate of the work that ChildLine

:28:03.:28:07.

do and everybody across the House would want to congratulate them on

:28:08.:28:11.

show appreciation for the excellent work they do. He will be aware that

:28:12.:28:16.

teachers and school staff across the country have started training to be

:28:17.:28:20.

able to identify and respond to early signs of mental health

:28:21.:28:23.

problems among pupils, which is a very good thing. He may want to

:28:24.:28:27.

expand on that discussion in applying for a debate. I would

:28:28.:28:32.

encourage him to look at the early years infant mental health, which is

:28:33.:28:38.

so important is that young people up with lifelong emotional well-being.

:28:39.:28:46.

The M56 is the printable economic artery not just for West Cheshire,

:28:47.:28:49.

but large parts of north Wales and continues to jam up regularly, at

:28:50.:28:53.

which point all the roads around it jam up as well. Can we have a debate

:28:54.:28:58.

on why the Reg Treasury has failed to find any investment for the M56

:28:59.:29:05.

in the last 20 years -- the road strategy has failed to find

:29:06.:29:09.

investment. This government has significantly invested in roads and

:29:10.:29:13.

continues to do so. If he has specific issue about the M56, I

:29:14.:29:18.

encourage you to apply for an adjournment debate, but this

:29:19.:29:21.

government is committed to improving on our infrastructure to get the

:29:22.:29:24.

economy going and boost even more jobs for people in this country.

:29:25.:29:32.

We share a strong interest in giving babies the best start in life. I am

:29:33.:29:42.

greatly encouraged by the government 's's commitment to a mental health

:29:43.:29:48.

Bill in the green's speech and particularly for the amendments to

:29:49.:29:52.

an equalities Bill to reduce any discrimination against people with

:29:53.:29:58.

mental ill-health. Can she give us a timeline for that legislation and

:29:59.:30:04.

what it may cover, to promote perinatal mental health in giving

:30:05.:30:06.

our children the very best start in mental health in their lives? I am

:30:07.:30:13.

very grateful to him for raising that issue, very dear to his heart

:30:14.:30:19.

and mind, giving babies the best start in life through secure early

:30:20.:30:23.

bonding is absolutely vital, and I'm sure it will be part of our new

:30:24.:30:28.

Mental Health Act that was mentioned in the Queen's speech, and that

:30:29.:30:32.

there will be members right across the house keen to put forward their

:30:33.:30:37.

views. That's timing will be decided in due course. After Home Office

:30:38.:30:43.

questions on Monday, when the Home Secretary claimed police funding had

:30:44.:30:47.

been protected, although it has not been on Merseyside, there was yet

:30:48.:30:52.

another firearms discharge in my constituency. That makes over 100

:30:53.:30:56.

shootings across Merseyside in the last 18 months, involving five

:30:57.:31:01.

murders. Can we have a debate about the increasing gun crime happening

:31:02.:31:05.

across Merseyside, and what the government will do better to equip

:31:06.:31:09.

our police to deal proactively with the serious threat to public safety

:31:10.:31:16.

that it represents? She is exactly right to raise this issue, in her

:31:17.:31:22.

constituency, it's very serious. She will be pleased to know that since

:31:23.:31:28.

2010, there have been over 370,000 fewer violent crimes a year, but

:31:29.:31:33.

that doesn't help at all, when in her constituency, there have been

:31:34.:31:37.

many of them, and I do suggest she takes that up via a Westminster

:31:38.:31:44.

adjournment debate. Could we have a debate on the accountability of

:31:45.:31:50.

local councils? Taunton Deane council have given permission for

:31:51.:31:55.

17,000 houses. One company alone has built up a multi-million pound land

:31:56.:31:58.

bank on the assumption that the council will be giving them

:31:59.:32:02.

permission. Could we please have the tightening of rules on that before

:32:03.:32:07.

that is a serious situation, where councils are accused of all sorts of

:32:08.:32:10.

things that I suspect they don't want to be. He raises an important

:32:11.:32:16.

point, which is that housing needs to be sited in an appropriate place

:32:17.:32:21.

and there needs to be clear and transparent rules around planning.

:32:22.:32:24.

But there is a balance, because we desperately need to be building more

:32:25.:32:31.

houses. We have a great record of building over 800,000 new homes

:32:32.:32:35.

since 2010 in this country, which is a very good contribution. More needs

:32:36.:32:40.

to be done. He may want to raise his specific point at the questions that

:32:41.:32:45.

will happen before the end of this summer session. Further to the point

:32:46.:32:52.

made just a moment ago, and in light of the recent terrorist attacks in

:32:53.:32:56.

London and Manchester, and yesterday's report by the Henry

:32:57.:33:01.

Jackson Society on foreign funding of extremism in the UK, can I ask

:33:02.:33:06.

when the Prime Minister will either publish the report into the foreign

:33:07.:33:10.

funding of terrorism that was commissioned when she was Home

:33:11.:33:14.

Secretary, or make a statement to this house on foreign funding to

:33:15.:33:21.

extremist groups in the UK? In answer, he will know that this is an

:33:22.:33:27.

enormously important issue for the Prime Minister personally, and that

:33:28.:33:30.

she has committed to doing everything possible to keep our

:33:31.:33:37.

people safe. She is setting up the commission for countering extremism

:33:38.:33:40.

and she is fully occupied in resolving this issue, so I'm sure he

:33:41.:33:44.

can rely on the fact that she will be doing everything possible to

:33:45.:33:48.

stamp out extremism in all its forms. One of the regular issues to

:33:49.:33:54.

land in my inbox is litter and fly-tipping, and I'm sure it lands

:33:55.:34:00.

in many other members' inboxes as well. Fly-tipping alone costs local

:34:01.:34:08.

authorities in England ?49.8 million in 2015/2016, that's on top of the

:34:09.:34:11.

cost of litter clean-ups. Family have a debate on more can be done,

:34:12.:34:16.

how effective the enforcement of fly-tipping and Leicester is, and

:34:17.:34:21.

how we can encourage members of the public to dispose of the litter and

:34:22.:34:29.

waste properly? I'm very happy to encourage everybody to take their

:34:30.:34:32.

litter home with them, but she is right, this cost of street cleaning

:34:33.:34:38.

costs local government nearly ?800 million in 2015/ 2016. There's a

:34:39.:34:44.

huge amount of money that could be better used to doing other things. I

:34:45.:34:49.

was very pleased to launch our national litter strategy for

:34:50.:34:55.

England, looking at the areas, enforcement, infrastructure for bins

:34:56.:34:58.

and also education. That consultation has finished and there

:34:59.:35:02.

will be further announcements coming forward very soon. Today is a sad

:35:03.:35:11.

day for Glasgow politics, as this morning is the funeral of Councillor

:35:12.:35:17.

Alistair Watson, whose life was celebrated in an early motion, a

:35:18.:35:20.

gentleman to give 22 years of service to the communities of

:35:21.:35:25.

Donald. I would like to send my condolences to his family and the

:35:26.:35:29.

members of the Glasgow Labour family. I would like to share with

:35:30.:35:42.

him in offering condolences to the family of the council that he

:35:43.:35:45.

mentions. And there are, right across the country, people who

:35:46.:35:50.

written many, many years of public service, trying to improve their own

:35:51.:35:54.

local community or indeed, the country that they live in, and

:35:55.:35:58.

that's absolutely vital to of us. I think he makes a very good points,

:35:59.:36:03.

that we should have a debate to try and encourage more people to get

:36:04.:36:07.

involved, but also to celebrate those who have, and I do encourage

:36:08.:36:10.

him to apply for a debate on that subject. As Daesh have failed to do

:36:11.:36:21.

love the caliphate, they grow more desperate. Maybe have an early

:36:22.:36:25.

debate on the application of international law to bring

:36:26.:36:29.

prosecution against Daesh fighters, those who choose to partner with

:36:30.:36:34.

them and even marry them, to make sure that every terrorist is held

:36:35.:36:38.

accountable for their barbaric crimes. We are very concerned about

:36:39.:36:46.

the appalling crimes committed by Daesh against Christians and other

:36:47.:36:52.

minorities, as well as against the majority Muslim population in Iraq

:36:53.:36:58.

and Syria. Ultimately, the only way to stop the abuse is to defeat Daesh

:36:59.:37:04.

and establish a long-term political settlement in Iraq and Syria. So we

:37:05.:37:08.

continue to work closely with the government of Iraq and the United

:37:09.:37:12.

Nations to do just that, but she should be reassured that any Daesh

:37:13.:37:16.

supporters returning to the UK will face the whole force of the law.

:37:17.:37:23.

Developers in London routinely use a variety of methods to aggressively

:37:24.:37:27.

drive down levels of affordable housing. The recent Battersea Power

:37:28.:37:32.

Station development being the most recent and high profile example. Can

:37:33.:37:35.

we have a debate about what more needs to be done to make sure that

:37:36.:37:40.

private development includes sufficient public gain an adequate

:37:41.:37:46.

levels of affordable housing? We all share the desire to see more

:37:47.:37:49.

affordable housing. There's a big commitment on the part of this

:37:50.:37:54.

government. More than 300,000 new affordable homes have been built

:37:55.:37:59.

since 2010. Of course, it is a matter for local planning

:38:00.:38:02.

authorities to make sure that the right proportions are built in new

:38:03.:38:10.

development. I heard what the Leader of the House said earlier about

:38:11.:38:14.

student loans. While the original policy introduced by the Coalition

:38:15.:38:18.

Government was widely supported and remains progressive, things have

:38:19.:38:21.

changed slightly, because the level of interest at which both living

:38:22.:38:26.

costs and studies will be repaid, rises to 6.1% this September, and

:38:27.:38:30.

that, allied with compound interest over a 30 year period, is what gave

:38:31.:38:37.

the IDF S in their reports yesterday the calculation of total debt being

:38:38.:38:42.

?55,000. A number of us are very concerned about this. Could I urge

:38:43.:38:46.

you to find government time for that debate, which the first Secretary of

:38:47.:38:51.

State intimated he would like to see as well? Of all people, I think my

:38:52.:38:58.

honourable friend would recognise that student finance is not like a

:38:59.:39:06.

normal commercial loan. The taxpayer contributes significantly still to

:39:07.:39:09.

the cost of higher education for university students, and it's right

:39:10.:39:14.

that those who will benefit from the higher earnings attractive

:39:15.:39:17.

undergraduate rules should contribute to that cost. However, I

:39:18.:39:22.

think the mood of many colleagues has been heard, and I'm quite sure

:39:23.:39:27.

at the Department for Education are considering this. Gun and knife

:39:28.:39:35.

crime is up across London, and this month marks the two-year anniversary

:39:36.:39:41.

of the high-profile trial by mistaken identity shooting in Wood

:39:42.:39:46.

Green. And despite a number of representations, this homicide

:39:47.:39:50.

remains unsolved. Could we have a debate in government time around

:39:51.:39:54.

resources, particularly for London boroughs, where there is this

:39:55.:39:59.

increase in gun and knife crime, and in the light of Grenfell Tower,

:40:00.:40:03.

where 200 officers have now been moved over to the important work,

:40:04.:40:08.

that we can still rely on the fact that there will be enough detectives

:40:09.:40:11.

working to solve what is now a two-year-old crime? I do think it's

:40:12.:40:18.

very important to be clear that there are of course pockets, and

:40:19.:40:21.

there are terrible incidents that take place, and this sounds like a

:40:22.:40:27.

really awful experience in her constituency. But nevertheless,

:40:28.:40:31.

there are 370,000 fewer violent crimes since 2010, I do think it's

:40:32.:40:36.

important we speak in measured terms, because it's very easy to

:40:37.:40:40.

scare people into thinking things are getting worse when they are

:40:41.:40:43.

getting better. It has been made very clear that police funding has

:40:44.:40:47.

been protected, but the police themselves are changing the way they

:40:48.:40:52.

manage things operationally to put more money into cyber policing and

:40:53.:40:58.

dealing with online crime and into counterintelligence and so on.

:40:59.:41:01.

Nevertheless, she may wish to raise the specific issues in her

:41:02.:41:05.

constituency through an adjournment debate. She may be aware of the

:41:06.:41:12.

problems which writing schools up and down the country are having with

:41:13.:41:18.

the valuation office agency and their valuations ascribed to their

:41:19.:41:21.

premises. Some are now closing because of this, and this will

:41:22.:41:26.

undoubtedly have an effect on writing for the disabled. Could we

:41:27.:41:31.

have a debate on the subject, and perhaps she could raise it with her

:41:32.:41:38.

colleague in the cabinets? I'm very much aware of the issue for riding

:41:39.:41:44.

schools and other large premises in rural areas with rates. He may know

:41:45.:41:48.

that as part of the package of support lunched at the budget, the

:41:49.:41:55.

Chancellor announced a ?300 million discretionary relief funds to 2018

:41:56.:41:59.

so that local authorities could provide additional support to local

:42:00.:42:04.

businesses. I encourage him to suggest his constituents that they

:42:05.:42:07.

apply to the local council to see whether they are eligible for this

:42:08.:42:15.

discretionary relief. Following the revelation contained in the

:42:16.:42:22.

independent audit on loans to state owned companies in Mozambique, those

:42:23.:42:26.

loans are now falling on the shoulder of any man, woman and child

:42:27.:42:33.

in the country. What measures are the UK Government considering to

:42:34.:42:37.

make sure that loans given to governments are transparent? The

:42:38.:42:43.

issue of transparency in government loans and indeed in overseas aid, is

:42:44.:42:48.

very important to the government. There are Foreign Office questions

:42:49.:42:51.

next week, I believe, and he will wish to raise that they are, I'm

:42:52.:42:58.

sure. There is some concern about broadcast media's coverage of the

:42:59.:43:03.

Brexit negotiations. You may have to watch Newsnight from last night to

:43:04.:43:07.

see why. One of my constituents has e-mailed me to say, I need to know

:43:08.:43:11.

whether I made the right decision, but the mainstream media just do not

:43:12.:43:15.

cover EU developments. Good the minister come to the dispatch box

:43:16.:43:20.

and justified that the BBC is continuing to comply with its Royal

:43:21.:43:26.

Charter? I think what we all want to see is balance in reporting. And

:43:27.:43:33.

giving as much time to the opportunities of leaving the EU as

:43:34.:43:37.

is given to the other side of the argument. I think a number of people

:43:38.:43:43.

expressed concerns that the balance isn't there. All of us across this

:43:44.:43:47.

house would wish to see that very closely. Will the Leader of the

:43:48.:43:54.

House provide temporary debate on local government funding. Kirklees

:43:55.:43:58.

Council, which covers my constituency, is losing ?1 million a

:43:59.:44:03.

week. Services are close to breaking point, with vulnerable people

:44:04.:44:07.

suffering the most. As the Cabinet now seem to be conducting a debate

:44:08.:44:12.

on a story ditty in the tabloid front pages, could we also have one

:44:13.:44:17.

in this house? I would remind her that it is this government that is

:44:18.:44:22.

sorting out our public finances. It is under this government that we

:44:23.:44:28.

have seen employment up by 2.9 million people. Over 800,000 fewer

:44:29.:44:37.

workless households. A pay rise by 30 million people through income tax

:44:38.:44:42.

cuts. Basic rate tax payers are ?1000 a year better off under this

:44:43.:44:45.

government, so to suggest everything is falling apart is simply not true.

:44:46.:44:51.

Opposition members need to stop scaremongering. And I do urge her to

:44:52.:44:54.

look at the facts. Hamble lane, Eastleigh town centre

:44:55.:45:07.

and Berkeley sent to leave consistent queues and jams on the

:45:08.:45:11.

resultant air pollution which remains a key concern for my

:45:12.:45:15.

constituents, particularly parents of children with asthma. Will the

:45:16.:45:21.

Leader of the House can define time for a debate on air pollution so

:45:22.:45:24.

that we can tackle and really talk about this growing public health

:45:25.:45:33.

concern? Air quality is a serious public health issue, as she is right

:45:34.:45:36.

to point out that one of the major links is to asthma and that is a

:45:37.:45:43.

serious condition in itself. The honourable lady will have many

:45:44.:45:46.

opportunities to raise this in the future, when we have the judgment

:45:47.:45:53.

from the High Court and when our proposals from our consultation are

:45:54.:46:01.

published later in the summer. 200 staff were let go on Sunday. There

:46:02.:46:04.

were supposed to be working at a Green Day concert which was

:46:05.:46:08.

cancelled at short notice by the promoters. And they were only

:46:09.:46:14.

offered their bus fare by their employer. Can we have a debate on

:46:15.:46:19.

contracts and workers' rights, and does she agree in this case that

:46:20.:46:23.

clearly, these workers have been exploited and that is unacceptable?

:46:24.:46:29.

I certainly agree that that does not sound acceptable if it is the case.

:46:30.:46:37.

On the wider point about zero hours contracts, there has been a lot of

:46:38.:46:41.

discussion in this House about the measures this government has taken

:46:42.:46:46.

to stamp out abuse of those contracts. It is the fact that for

:46:47.:46:53.

many people, they are content with their zero hours contracts and it

:46:54.:46:57.

works for them. So the honourable lady raises an important specific

:46:58.:47:01.

point, but the broader point has been well debated across this

:47:02.:47:11.

chamber. Some travel camps in Dudley have left behind them criminal

:47:12.:47:14.

damage and large clean-up bills for council tax payers. Could we have a

:47:15.:47:18.

debate on the use of police powers to remove illegal camps and also on

:47:19.:47:26.

proposals to allow combined authorities to pull provision for

:47:27.:47:31.

authorised travellers' sites, rather than insisting that each local

:47:32.:47:37.

authority has their own provision? My honourable friend raises a

:47:38.:47:41.

subject that has already been raised that every business questions so

:47:42.:47:45.

far, which highlights what an important issue this is for every

:47:46.:47:51.

member of Parliament. Local authorities and the police have a

:47:52.:47:57.

wide range of powers to help them take action, including being able to

:47:58.:48:00.

direct trespassers to leave the land, removing any vehicles and

:48:01.:48:04.

property from the land when there is a suitable pitch elsewhere in that

:48:05.:48:09.

authority area. I hear his point about pooling local authority

:48:10.:48:12.

resources. That is not something that is currently able to be done,

:48:13.:48:16.

but it is something he may wish to raise directly with ministers. Could

:48:17.:48:23.

I also raise with the Leader of the House the question of the need for a

:48:24.:48:30.

debate on illegal encampment is? In South Birmingham, the past few

:48:31.:48:33.

months have seen an unprecedented rise in the number of those

:48:34.:48:35.

encampments in their scale and frequency, often with public concern

:48:36.:48:40.

made worse by the anti-social behaviour associated with them and

:48:41.:48:43.

the level of mess that is left behind. Often, they will leave one

:48:44.:48:51.

place and be evicted, only to reappear down the road. So we need

:48:52.:48:57.

an early debate. We should review the status of the existing powers,

:48:58.:49:04.

review where best practice can be applied and if the powers that are

:49:05.:49:08.

available need further review, to set the ball rolling. Could we have

:49:09.:49:12.

short questions in order to get everybody in? I do not want to miss

:49:13.:49:15.

anyone out. Everybody has been standing. I say to the honourable

:49:16.:49:23.

gentleman again, there are already strong police powers. There are

:49:24.:49:29.

occasionally issues with enforcement, but where travellers

:49:30.:49:32.

fail to comply with a police direction, it is a criminal offence

:49:33.:49:36.

which is punishable by up to six months imprisonment. So is re-entry

:49:37.:49:40.

onto land by a person that is subject to that direction within

:49:41.:49:45.

three months afterwards. He should be aware that 84% of traveller

:49:46.:49:50.

caravans are now on authorised land compared to 77% in 2007. The

:49:51.:49:55.

government is committed to reducing the number of unauthorised sites by

:49:56.:49:58.

making sure there is reasonable provision for travellers that takes

:49:59.:50:04.

account of their cultural requirements to enable them to avoid

:50:05.:50:12.

being on unauthorised sites. The rugby club in Brecon and Radnorshire

:50:13.:50:19.

recently completed a sponsored bike ride in Wales, raising ?45,000

:50:20.:50:22.

towards the cost of purchasing their rugby pitches from the local

:50:23.:50:25.

authority. Would my right honourable friend join me in congratulating all

:50:26.:50:31.

of the town on this outstanding achievement and also allow a debate

:50:32.:50:35.

on what more could be done to transfer assets to local community

:50:36.:50:41.

groups without exceptionally high costs to those groups? I certainly

:50:42.:50:46.

congratulate all of those involved. That is an impressive sum for a

:50:47.:50:51.

sponsored bike ride. If he was involved, I commend him for that. As

:50:52.:50:55.

he will know, responsibility for grass-roots sport is devolved in

:50:56.:50:59.

Wales. Sport Wales are the organisation with responsibility for

:51:00.:51:04.

investing in and supporting grassroots sport. Sport England this

:51:05.:51:07.

year have launched a community asset fund worth up to ?15 million. He

:51:08.:51:11.

might want to talk to sport Wales about whether they have any similar

:51:12.:51:18.

schemes. I know the Leader of the House likes to be patriotic, like

:51:19.:51:23.

many of us, and used our national carrier airline, British Airways.

:51:24.:51:27.

But can we have a debate about the shameful way they are treating their

:51:28.:51:32.

cabin crew and the fact that the government has given permission to

:51:33.:51:36.

British Airways to do a wet lease, ie the planes on the stuff of cat

:51:37.:51:40.

are Airways, in order to keep flights going during the current

:51:41.:51:44.

industrial dispute, despite the terrible record that airline has

:51:45.:51:47.

with its female worker -- Qatar Airways? The honourable gentleman

:51:48.:51:52.

raises an important point about workers' rights. He will know that a

:51:53.:51:58.

good opportunity to raise that would be through applying for a debate in

:51:59.:52:01.

Westminster Hall or for an adjournment debate. However, it is

:52:02.:52:07.

important in all industrial disputes that the considerations for

:52:08.:52:09.

passengers are also taking into account. I am sure he would agree

:52:10.:52:13.

that that would be the right balance in all disputes. I welcome the

:52:14.:52:22.

government's commitment to expanding investment in our road networks such

:52:23.:52:28.

as the A303 in my constituency. I wonder if we could find time for a

:52:29.:52:34.

debate on how we can capitalise on that investment to deliver jobs,

:52:35.:52:40.

housing and skills development in association with that? My honourable

:52:41.:52:47.

friend is a great champion for his constituency and having spent many

:52:48.:52:52.

hours queueing patiently on the A303, I can understand his desire to

:52:53.:52:58.

see it upgraded. And also for the jobs and growth that new

:52:59.:53:01.

infrastructure brings in every constituency. It is something this

:53:02.:53:06.

government is committed to, with new investment in capital infrastructure

:53:07.:53:09.

spending. He may well wish to raise that through the usual channels to

:53:10.:53:16.

give all colleagues the opportunity to talk about the work this

:53:17.:53:18.

government is doing to build the economy. The Leader of the House

:53:19.:53:25.

will have heard, I hope, my question to the Prime Minister yesterday

:53:26.:53:29.

about my constituent and her daughter who is under threat of FGM.

:53:30.:53:38.

Unfortunately, the Prime Minister's reply was almost as bad as the

:53:39.:53:40.

letters I have had from the Home Office. Can we have a debate on the

:53:41.:53:44.

processes of the Home Office and the measures that are in place to

:53:45.:53:48.

protect women suffering from domestic violence on women and girls

:53:49.:53:56.

under the threat of FGM? There is nobody in this House would for a

:53:57.:54:00.

moment condone or have anything other than disgust and abhorrence at

:54:01.:54:05.

the whole subject of FGM. It is an appalling abuse of young girls and

:54:06.:54:13.

women and nobody would condone it. This government has made a huge

:54:14.:54:17.

effort to try and stamp out FGM. It is extraordinarily difficult, but we

:54:18.:54:24.

are getting breakthroughs. At least through her question today, we can

:54:25.:54:27.

highlight again the plight of those suffering this appalling abuse. The

:54:28.:54:32.

honourable lady raises a constituency point and I urge her to

:54:33.:54:36.

raise that in Home Office questions or to continue to raise it in PMQs.

:54:37.:54:41.

She has the support of the whole House in seeing this stamped out.

:54:42.:54:48.

Colin Smith received contaminated blood in 1983 when he was just eight

:54:49.:54:52.

months old. That blood turned out to be from Arkansas prison and he died

:54:53.:54:58.

aged just seven, his whole life spent fighting illness. So for

:54:59.:55:02.

Colin's family and all those affected, can we have an opportunity

:55:03.:55:06.

before recess to debate the new reports that suggest that risks of

:55:07.:55:12.

contaminated blood were known from 1980? Those affected need a public

:55:13.:55:22.

inquiry to get to the truth. I agree that the contaminated blood

:55:23.:55:25.

situation over several decades, affecting people in so many ways,

:55:26.:55:32.

was a terrible thing to happen. She will appreciate that successive

:55:33.:55:38.

governments over decades have reviewed the situation and made

:55:39.:55:40.

compensation available to the victims. I am aware that the last

:55:41.:55:47.

review in 2015 has made further recommendations and that there are

:55:48.:55:51.

concerns about the possibility that there was some cover-up. I encourage

:55:52.:55:55.

the honourable lady to seek an opportunity for a debate to try and

:55:56.:56:03.

air that issue further. As we have already heard, the broken business

:56:04.:56:07.

rate system is so judgmental to business and is frankly a shambles.

:56:08.:56:11.

In fact, this is echoed in businesses across Europe including

:56:12.:56:15.

those trading in the shambles Luke Shambles. Can we have the

:56:16.:56:24.

consultation brought to this house? We were promised this in February

:56:25.:56:28.

and has not seen the light of day, so I would like to know why not. The

:56:29.:56:34.

honourable lady will know that rateable values are set

:56:35.:56:40.

independently by the VOA and reflect open market rental value. The

:56:41.:56:45.

government doesn't intervene in the independent exercise, but I

:56:46.:56:47.

understand that if the market rent for the area has changed, then

:56:48.:56:51.

rateable values change with them. She will be aware that the

:56:52.:56:55.

Chancellor announced a ?300 million discretionary fund over four years

:56:56.:57:01.

from 2017-18 to deal with issues of rates changing for particular

:57:02.:57:07.

businesses. That has been made available to local authorities so

:57:08.:57:11.

that at their discretion, they can support individual businesses with

:57:12.:57:19.

their issues. The companies and markets page of the Financial Times

:57:20.:57:24.

had an article this Monday talking about how investment in the car

:57:25.:57:27.

industry has slumped amidst Brexit concerns. This was raised with me

:57:28.:57:32.

numerous times during the election, as I have a large Ford plant in my

:57:33.:57:37.

constituency. What is clear from the article and the experience of Ford

:57:38.:57:41.

workers is that new investment is not coming into the plant. It has

:57:42.:57:47.

slumped by 30% across the UK. The Association of automotive traders

:57:48.:57:51.

and manufacturers have said that it would be a devastating impact and

:57:52.:57:59.

permanent damage to the UK car industry if, when the UK leads the

:58:00.:58:03.

customs union and the single market, this is not addressed. Can we have

:58:04.:58:08.

an impact on the impact of Brexit on the automotive industry? The

:58:09.:58:13.

honourable lady raises an important issue for her constituency. The UK

:58:14.:58:20.

has a thriving automotive industry and I am sure she will be delighted

:58:21.:58:24.

that we are bringing forward measures to support electric

:58:25.:58:28.

vehicles and be a world leader in that area. She may also be pleased

:58:29.:58:34.

to know that the department for industry and trade figures released

:58:35.:58:38.

today show a record-breaking number of foreign direct investment

:58:39.:58:43.

projects coming into the UK, up 2% on 2015-16. So the direction is in

:58:44.:58:49.

the right place. But she may wish to raise specific issues for Ford in

:58:50.:58:53.

her constituency through a Westminster Hall debate. Before 2015

:58:54.:59:02.

general election, Chancellor Osborne made a commitment with the residents

:59:03.:59:10.

of Warrington that the Runcorn Bridge would be toll-free. Earlier

:59:11.:59:13.

this year, the junior transport minister broke that promise. Can I

:59:14.:59:18.

request that the Leader of the House arrange for the Secretary of State

:59:19.:59:21.

for Transport to come here and make a statement and inform when the

:59:22.:59:24.

government will announce that they will keep the promise, or arrange a

:59:25.:59:30.

debate? This issue is affecting the whole region. The honourable

:59:31.:59:39.

gentleman raises an important point for his constituency. He will be

:59:40.:59:42.

pleased to know that transport questions are on Thursday the 13th

:59:43.:59:46.

of July and I am sure he will be able to raise that with ministers

:59:47.:59:47.

then. Can be heavy debate on Home Office

:59:48.:59:57.

intransigence? Ten Minister come to the size and explain why, despite

:59:58.:00:02.

following Home Office advice in submitting his application for leave

:00:03.:00:05.

to remain, my constituents and his wife have been stripped of their

:00:06.:00:09.

status, forced to quit their jobs and let their children, British

:00:10.:00:13.

citizens, destitute. Can we have an urgent debate on review of Home

:00:14.:00:18.

Office procedures that leaves many vulnerable and in desperate

:00:19.:00:22.

situations? He raises a very concerning case in his own

:00:23.:00:25.

constituency and I'm sure he will want to raise that Adalat oral

:00:26.:00:28.

questions to the Home Office or through writing to ministers, but as

:00:29.:00:36.

we all know, there is an MPs hotline and they do deal with as matter of

:00:37.:00:42.

priority with MPs' cases, so he might want to take that up with

:00:43.:00:48.

them. In 2015, the government promised not to sell HMS Ocean and

:00:49.:00:52.

not to close a barracks in Plymouth. The helicopter carrier and both

:00:53.:00:56.

pieces are no Brasil. Local region agreed to debate on base closures

:00:57.:01:02.

and how we maintain helicopter capability at Devonport? I welcome

:01:03.:01:10.

him and wish him success. He is using something dear to all our

:01:11.:01:15.

hearts, which is the fortunes of our military, whether Royal Navy, royal

:01:16.:01:20.

air force or the Army. Sadly, I feel his views are not shared by many on

:01:21.:01:25.

his side of the house, who argue against protecting our citizens, but

:01:26.:01:30.

nevertheless, his point has been heard and I am sure he will be

:01:31.:01:33.

raising it with ministers whenever he can. It has been common practice

:01:34.:01:44.

in the NHS for employees to be required to repay redundancy

:01:45.:01:48.

payments if they secure another job in the health service within a

:01:49.:01:52.

certain period of time, so given the fact that several members who lost

:01:53.:01:55.

their seats at the last election have now taken up page rules as

:01:56.:01:59.

government advisers, will use set aside time for a debate on whether

:02:00.:02:05.

it's appropriate for members to receive redundancy payments and then

:02:06.:02:14.

take up a page role as an adviser? Sheep shouts from a sedentary

:02:15.:02:21.

position, named names! My concern has been that members who lost their

:02:22.:02:24.

seats, particularly this time around, have actually struggled in

:02:25.:02:33.

some cases, genuinely struggled. With an ability to feed into the

:02:34.:02:38.

policies for members' pay and expenses, he raises an important

:02:39.:02:42.

point, but I think he will find that members across the house are

:02:43.:02:45.

concerned that members who loses seats are not being fairly treated,

:02:46.:02:53.

quite the opposite to that point. I'm remember a sample size of the

:02:54.:03:00.

house will want to wish a happy 69th birthday to the NHS, which clocked

:03:01.:03:04.

up the milestone yesterday. But local provision seems to be less

:03:05.:03:12.

healthy. We have lost to A and if this continues, there will be hardly

:03:13.:03:19.

any beds left. Can we have a debate on this cherished Labour created

:03:20.:03:28.

institution? She will know that this government is totally committed to

:03:29.:03:32.

the NHS and is funding it to a far greater extent than the Labour

:03:33.:03:37.

Party's on manifesto would have pledged. Under this government, we

:03:38.:03:45.

have seen millions more operations, A visits, we have seen enormous

:03:46.:03:52.

strides forward in medical science, in technology, that enables people

:03:53.:03:56.

to have far better treatments. The Commonwealth fund says the NHS is

:03:57.:03:59.

one of the best health services in the world. We are absolutely

:04:00.:04:07.

committed to the success of the NHS on this side of the house and I

:04:08.:04:12.

think all members should really do more to support the excellent work

:04:13.:04:16.

of our NHS staff, who do so much to support all of us. The shadow Leader

:04:17.:04:24.

of the House and other honourable members have raised very important

:04:25.:04:29.

question is, why has there not been an opposition day since the 25th of

:04:30.:04:35.

January? Given the scarcity of substantive government business,

:04:36.:04:39.

given the huge red issues raised on these benches, why is the leader of

:04:40.:04:43.

the highest refusing to schedule one for the summer recess? Why does she

:04:44.:04:53.

want to commit to one now? I can say that there are standing orders

:04:54.:04:56.

around opposition day, sitting Fridays and back bench business

:04:57.:05:02.

days. The government, through the usual channels, is working on

:05:03.:05:06.

setting out those days and the house will be informed as soon as

:05:07.:05:07.

possible. Last week, I mentioned just a few of

:05:08.:05:22.

the failings in the Scottish Secretary of State and I challenged

:05:23.:05:26.

the Leader of the House to list some of his achievements. She said that

:05:27.:05:29.

he has spoken up for energy in Scotland and he's been an enormous

:05:30.:05:36.

advocate for Scottish agriculture. When the government pulled the plug

:05:37.:05:44.

on carbon capture storage and renewables, and the government has

:05:45.:05:48.

withheld nearly ?2 million of EU funding meant for Scottish farmers,

:05:49.:05:54.

given that is his achievements, is there any other outstanding

:05:55.:05:57.

achievements she colours that makes my point for me that he is not

:05:58.:06:05.

standing up for Scotland? That is at nonsense and not worthy of the

:06:06.:06:11.

honourable gentleman. Would you like to mention the Secretary of State

:06:12.:06:14.

for Scotland's support for the oil and gas sector in Scotland, where he

:06:15.:06:19.

gave hours and hours of permitted time to discuss a package of fiscal

:06:20.:06:23.

relief to support the oil and gas sector in Scotland? The hours he

:06:24.:06:29.

spent working with me as an energy Minster, so I know very well what he

:06:30.:06:34.

did, working on a supply chain to give Scottish fabrication yards the

:06:35.:06:38.

chance to the parts of the wind sector, which this government has

:06:39.:06:43.

supported. We have half of the world's offshore wind turbines. He

:06:44.:06:49.

not mentioning any of the Roses. This is their petty and spiteful act

:06:50.:06:53.

of an opposition should be ashamed of itself. The Secretary of State

:06:54.:06:56.

has spoken up at every opportunity for the people of Scotland. In the

:06:57.:07:05.

last Parliament, the Public Accounts Committee and a number of

:07:06.:07:08.

constituency members of all parliaments raised concerns about

:07:09.:07:14.

the HMR see State reorganisation. It appears major contracts were signed

:07:15.:07:17.

while this House was dissolved in that appears to fly in the face of

:07:18.:07:21.

official guidance to the civil servants about not making big

:07:22.:07:25.

decisions about commercial contracts during that time. Would you look

:07:26.:07:33.

into this and make sure that a minister reports back, and given

:07:34.:07:38.

that the HMR see is not led by a minister, would she also grabbed a

:07:39.:07:42.

debate so that we can raise our concerns very directly? If she would

:07:43.:07:51.

like to raise specific issues about process for each MRC, I will

:07:52.:07:54.

certainly take them forward for her, but I would like to use this

:07:55.:07:59.

opportunity to point out that since 2010, each MRC has secured ?150

:08:00.:08:06.

billion for this country in additional compliance revenues, as a

:08:07.:08:13.

result of their work to tackle tax avoidance. In 2016 alone, HMRC

:08:14.:08:21.

collected record revenues of ?26.5 billion for compliance activities.

:08:22.:08:25.

We've secured nearly 3 billion from offshore tax evaders. And in total,

:08:26.:08:30.

an additional 2.5 billion from the very wealthiest since 2010. So if

:08:31.:08:35.

she or anyone else in the chamber would like to praise HMRC for their

:08:36.:08:39.

contribution to sorting out our economy and getting it back to

:08:40.:08:42.

living within our means, then I'd be delighted to hear it. Earlier, the

:08:43.:08:54.

honourable member for Ealing Central and actor described the NHS as the

:08:55.:09:00.

Leeper institution. It is not a political institution, it does not

:09:01.:09:03.

belong to any party. There are members on all sides of this house

:09:04.:09:08.

who have served the NHS as we have the armed forces and other public

:09:09.:09:13.

services. If she was still in this place I would ask her to withdraw

:09:14.:09:18.

it. And therefore be in order to ask you that could be withdrawn? Your

:09:19.:09:24.

view is on the record and it is a point of order for the chair. We now

:09:25.:09:30.

come to the general debate relating to exiting the European Union and

:09:31.:09:37.

global trade. Secretary of State to move, Liam Fox. Thank you. This is

:09:38.:09:44.

an important debate, not only because it is our first full debate

:09:45.:09:48.

on global Britain, but because this debate was originally timetabled for

:09:49.:09:53.

the day on which the tragic terrorist attack on Westminster

:09:54.:09:57.

Bridge took place, and for all of us in this House, our thoughts are as

:09:58.:10:02.

ever with the families of those who were killed and injured, and none of

:10:03.:10:07.

us will ever forget the outstanding bravery of the emergency services

:10:08.:10:13.

and all those who restored order and worked tirelessly to keep us safe at

:10:14.:10:18.

all times. We stand at the vital juncture for this country, ready to

:10:19.:10:23.

write a new chapter in his today. As we begin the process of withdrawing

:10:24.:10:26.

from the EU, the government has promised we will hold a series of

:10:27.:10:31.

debates to allow this House to have a say on the future of the UK. I

:10:32.:10:36.

welcome that commitment and look forward to members from both sides

:10:37.:10:39.

of the House to engage with our proposals. The Department for

:10:40.:10:45.

International Trade was created as a result of the change of government

:10:46.:10:48.

that followed this country's votes to leave the EU in June last year.

:10:49.:10:53.

It has enabled us to take a fresh look at our national approach to

:10:54.:10:57.

trade and investment. Trade is vitally important to the economic

:10:58.:11:01.

well-being of our country, and as we leave the EU, we'll be able to sheep

:11:02.:11:06.

trade policy according to our own national interests. I believe that

:11:07.:11:11.

leaving the EU represents an unprecedented opportunity for the

:11:12.:11:17.

UK. The EU Commission was Mac own website on trade states that 90% of

:11:18.:11:21.

global growth in the next 20 years will come from outside Europe. As

:11:22.:11:25.

one of the world's largest economies, we have the chance to

:11:26.:11:30.

work with old and new partners to build a truly global Britain at the

:11:31.:11:32.

heart of international trade. We will support the conclusion of all

:11:33.:11:39.

that ongoing freedom trade negotiations while we are still

:11:40.:11:43.

members and seek to transition may adopt all those existing third-party

:11:44.:11:47.

agreements before we leave. As the Prime Minister has said, we want a

:11:48.:11:51.

deep and special partnership with the EU as we negotiate our own exit.

:11:52.:11:56.

The Department for International Trade will be making sure that the

:11:57.:12:01.

promotion of British goods and services abroad is promoted, while

:12:02.:12:05.

continuing to keep the UK as a top destination for UK investment --

:12:06.:12:12.

internal investment. As I indicated to the house earlier this day,

:12:13.:12:16.

figures published this morning should record foreign direct

:12:17.:12:23.

investment into the UK in 2016/2017, proving beyond doubt that Britain

:12:24.:12:31.

has the necessary economic essentials to attract investment.

:12:32.:12:38.

Free trade increases consumer choice, raises standard of living

:12:39.:12:42.

and makes wages go further, as global competition drives down

:12:43.:12:47.

prices on every day goods, a point comeback tour later. In our task,

:12:48.:12:56.

our own history is on our side. We were the trade capital of the world.

:12:57.:13:05.

I share his optimism about the future of our country once we leave

:13:06.:13:10.

the EU. Does he agree with me and witty breaks the myth, that somehow

:13:11.:13:17.

we need trade deals to trade? Of course, trade steels are important,

:13:18.:13:20.

but we can trade without trade deals. I would differentiate between

:13:21.:13:27.

trade deals and trade rules. Of course, we need trade rules

:13:28.:13:30.

governing the global environment, which is why we are committed to the

:13:31.:13:35.

World Trade Organisation, but we don't need agreements to treat.

:13:36.:13:42.

There are lots of other ways in which it is regulated. There are a

:13:43.:13:48.

number of tools that we can use in the way that we shape the global

:13:49.:13:52.

trading environment. She is quite right in that. I give way to my

:13:53.:13:57.

honourable friend. Further to that question, and he is quite right,

:13:58.:14:01.

even if there is no free trade deal, we'll be no worse off than the USA

:14:02.:14:09.

or Japan. I'm sure the Secretary of State can confirm that we are

:14:10.:14:12.

leaving the EU and the single market, but there was some doubt and

:14:13.:14:16.

comment about our state is inside the customs union. I'm sure my right

:14:17.:14:20.

honourable friend is happy to confirm today that we are leaving

:14:21.:14:22.

the customs union. Our manifesto talked about when we

:14:23.:14:31.

had left the customs union. That was the basis of which I was elected.

:14:32.:14:37.

Most of us in this House and according to polls, most of us in

:14:38.:14:40.

this country believe in the principles of free trade and the

:14:41.:14:44.

benefits it brings. Yet in the world today, free trade is in need of a

:14:45.:14:48.

champion. For the first time in decades, the established order of

:14:49.:14:52.

fair, free and open global commerce which has done so much to enrich and

:14:53.:14:56.

empower the world's nations is under threat. In April, the World Trade

:14:57.:15:02.

Organisation noted that in 2016, world trade in goods grew by only

:15:03.:15:07.

1.3%, the first time since 2001 that trade grew more slowly than GDP. Yet

:15:08.:15:15.

this threat to growth and prosperity is going largely unrecognised.

:15:16.:15:19.

Globally, there are signs of an increasing tendency towards

:15:20.:15:23.

protectionism. Barriers to trade are going up across the world and a

:15:24.:15:28.

particularly worrying report by the WTO highlighted the acceleration in

:15:29.:15:31.

protectionist measures since the 2008 financial crash. Some of the

:15:32.:15:38.

worst culprits in this are the countries of the G7 and G20. Those

:15:39.:15:44.

nations, including our own, who have gained the most from free trade, are

:15:45.:15:48.

at risk of forgetting our and principles. And yet protectionism

:15:49.:15:53.

hurts those it purports to help. This is especially important as the

:15:54.:15:57.

expansion of global production chains which sees goods across

:15:58.:15:59.

multiple borders before a final product is made means the barriers

:16:00.:16:03.

on imports damage a nation's exports. The right honourable

:16:04.:16:13.

gentleman speaks about the customs union, but does he not share my

:16:14.:16:16.

concern and the concern of the Scottish whiskey industry as we met

:16:17.:16:21.

for the first time last night, and I should declare an interest as the

:16:22.:16:26.

secretary of the APPG, that the customs processes as they stand are

:16:27.:16:31.

creaking under pressure. They are being transformed through a new

:16:32.:16:36.

digital process, but they are not confident that they will be able to

:16:37.:16:42.

manage the process of Brexit. What guarantees can he give to that

:16:43.:16:46.

industry that they will be solved? The honourable lady raises a fair

:16:47.:16:52.

point about global trade facilitation. We have just signed

:16:53.:16:56.

the trade facilitation agreement which aims to reduce border friction

:16:57.:16:59.

across the world. It is estimated that that is worth 70 billion in the

:17:00.:17:03.

global economy. One of the biggest barriers facing Scotch whiskey, is

:17:04.:17:08.

tariff barriers, and the department has been trying to talk to

:17:09.:17:12.

governments such as India, who have high tariffs against Scotch whiskey,

:17:13.:17:16.

which is not good for their own consumers because it encourages an

:17:17.:17:20.

illicit trade. I would encourage all those governments, as I do myself,

:17:21.:17:27.

to indulge liberally in the pleasures of single malt. Martin

:17:28.:17:34.

Deputy Speaker, by 2010 my G7 and G20 countries were admitted to the

:17:35.:17:40.

operating some 300 nontariff barriers to trade. By 2015, this had

:17:41.:17:46.

mushroomed to over 1200. Having accrued great wealth, there honour

:17:47.:17:48.

those who would pull up the drawbridge behind them and we cannot

:17:49.:17:54.

let this happen. This country's own commitment to free trade was most

:17:55.:17:57.

clearly illustrated by the repeal of the corn laws of 1846. The

:17:58.:18:03.

Conservative Prime Minister, Sir Robert Peel, rightly saw this

:18:04.:18:06.

protectionism as an attempt to preserve the wealth of a privileged

:18:07.:18:13.

few at the expense of the many. And import tariffs were all but

:18:14.:18:17.

abolished and Britain's free trade principles were created to put bread

:18:18.:18:20.

into the mouths of the hungry majority. Now as then, it is free

:18:21.:18:24.

trade and competition that will do most to address inequality and

:18:25.:18:28.

safeguard the interests of working people. More than ever, it is up to

:18:29.:18:32.

those nations who possessed the economic and diplomatic means to

:18:33.:18:35.

reassert the rationale of free trade to do so. I thank the honourable

:18:36.:18:40.

friend for his powerful and optimistic speech on free trade. In

:18:41.:18:44.

terms of reducing protectionism, does he agree that leaving the

:18:45.:18:48.

customs union will give us the ability to reduce import tariffs on

:18:49.:18:52.

many goods we do not produce at home which will reduce costs for working

:18:53.:18:56.

families and benefit many developing countries, helping them trading to

:18:57.:19:01.

prosperity? That is an important point. At this morning's trick

:19:02.:19:08.

questions, we made the argument that the freedoms we will have is to help

:19:09.:19:17.

developing countries is something which currently cannot do. We have

:19:18.:19:19.

to encourage poorer countries to trade their way out of poverty and

:19:20.:19:24.

become less dependent on international aid programmes. That

:19:25.:19:27.

is something I don't think would be a party political issue. The

:19:28.:19:31.

question is how to achieve it in practice. In terms of the progress

:19:32.:19:38.

that had been made, we have reduced poverty levels to their lowest in

:19:39.:19:43.

history. As the world's emerging economies have liberalised trade

:19:44.:19:45.

practices, prosperity has spread across the globe, bringing industry,

:19:46.:19:49.

jobs and wealth where once there was only depression. According to the

:19:50.:19:53.

World Bank, the three decades between 1981 and 2011 witness to the

:19:54.:19:59.

single greatest decrease in material deprivation in human history. It is

:20:00.:20:02.

a remarkable achievement. The Leader of the House has accused the Prime

:20:03.:20:07.

Minister -- the Leader of the Opposition has accused the Prime

:20:08.:20:10.

Minister of following "Free-trade dogma" at the expense of the world's

:20:11.:20:16.

most fragile economies. In fact, an economist worth their salt can see

:20:17.:20:19.

the free trade has been one of the most potent liberators of the

:20:20.:20:26.

world's poor. Take India. In 1993, 40 5% of India's population sat

:20:27.:20:30.

below the poverty line as defined by the World Bank. By 2011, it was 22%.

:20:31.:20:37.

Too many, but a phenomenal achievement. It is no coincidence

:20:38.:20:42.

that the in the intervening period, India embraced globalisation and

:20:43.:20:46.

started to liberalise its economy. It is hard to imagine an

:20:47.:20:49.

international aid programme, even one as generous as our own, that

:20:50.:20:53.

would or could ever have been so effective on its own. It's also

:20:54.:21:00.

sadly easy to find examples where a lack of free trade has harmed the

:21:01.:21:05.

most vulnerable. If you want to see the contrasting results of open and

:21:06.:21:09.

closed economies, then look across from China to the Korean peninsula,

:21:10.:21:12.

where so much attention is focused today. In 1945, both North and South

:21:13.:21:17.

Korea began from a very similar base. But while South Korea was more

:21:18.:21:23.

embracing of open trade and free markets despite any shortcomings,

:21:24.:21:28.

Pyongyang turned inwards, with the tragic consequences for its citizens

:21:29.:21:32.

that we see to this day. I am happy to give way to the honourable lady

:21:33.:21:35.

if she thinks that North and South Korea enjoy the same living

:21:36.:21:41.

standards today. Of course what the honourable gentleman says about the

:21:42.:21:43.

situation in those countries today is right. But the point I was

:21:44.:21:53.

chuntering about was that what the honourable gentleman says is not

:21:54.:22:00.

what was happening in South Korea in the 1960s and 1970s. And a lot of

:22:01.:22:04.

the south-east Asian economies did have protection in those two decades

:22:05.:22:09.

in order to modernise and build-up. I accept what the honourable lady

:22:10.:22:12.

has said, but that was why I chose my words and said South Korea was

:22:13.:22:17.

more embracing of free trade and open markets and despite the

:22:18.:22:20.

shortcomings, they nonetheless created a better standard of living

:22:21.:22:23.

for their people. Seoul is now at the heart of a thriving economy and

:22:24.:22:29.

incidentally, a dynamic democracy, where freedom and prosperity are

:22:30.:22:32.

shared amongst its people. It should come as no surprise that while 80%

:22:33.:22:37.

of South Koreans have access to the internet, less than 0.1% of North

:22:38.:22:42.

Koreans enjoy the same. And perhaps most tragically, there is a greater

:22:43.:22:46.

than 10-year discrepancy in the life expectancy of those north and south

:22:47.:22:51.

of the demilitarised zone. That is why we recognise that trade and

:22:52.:22:57.

development for my fundamental and synergistic partnership. Trade

:22:58.:23:00.

flourishes where there are high levels of education, developed

:23:01.:23:05.

financial sectors and importantly, sound government and minimal

:23:06.:23:08.

corruption. There is still much to do, but it is a direction of travel

:23:09.:23:13.

that we would be both foolish and irresponsible to abandon. An open

:23:14.:23:20.

and free trading system is part of a global and national prosperity

:23:21.:23:26.

agenda. As always, he presents a powerful case for free trade, but

:23:27.:23:31.

does he not agree with me that sometimes, there is too narrow a

:23:32.:23:34.

vision of this? We tend to think about free trade in goods because

:23:35.:23:36.

they are visible, and we talk about the problems and the opportunities

:23:37.:23:42.

there. But we forget about the free trade in services, and services are

:23:43.:23:45.

by far the largest part of what the UK has to offer the rest the world.

:23:46.:23:52.

My friend an excellent and key point. What we actually require to

:23:53.:23:59.

get the global economy moving is a major liberalisation of services in

:24:00.:24:02.

the way we had liberalisation of goods as the focus of the Uruguay

:24:03.:24:07.

round. One of the elements that comes from that is that countries

:24:08.:24:11.

like the UK, where 80% of our economy is service driven, are less

:24:12.:24:16.

dependent on being part of a geographical block for trade. When

:24:17.:24:20.

it comes to trade and services, what matters is that we are trading with

:24:21.:24:26.

countries which are functionally similar rather than geographically

:24:27.:24:29.

proximate. That is the changing globalisation that we would do well

:24:30.:24:33.

to understand in the debate we are having as we leave the European

:24:34.:24:39.

Union. Madame Deputy Speaker, it is not just about raising living

:24:40.:24:43.

standards in developing and developed countries. I think there

:24:44.:24:46.

is an even more compelling case for free trade. For the prosperity that

:24:47.:24:54.

it can create is in turn the basis of a social stability that in turn

:24:55.:24:58.

underpins political stability, and we have seen that around the world.

:24:59.:25:04.

And that political stability in its turn underpins our security. In

:25:05.:25:09.

other words, they are all part of the same continuum and you cannot

:25:10.:25:14.

disrupt one element without disrupting the whole, which is why

:25:15.:25:19.

governments of both colours in this country have tended to see

:25:20.:25:23.

development, prosperity and security as a single policy objective. It is

:25:24.:25:26.

a truth that we need to understand in this interdependent, globalised

:25:27.:25:37.

era. It is not just us that is making this case. The WTO have made

:25:38.:25:48.

it clear that they celebrate the re-arrival as a voting member of the

:25:49.:25:53.

UK at the WTO for one vital reason. They're feeling is that globally, it

:25:54.:25:58.

has begun to stall, and the UK is the single biggest exponent of free

:25:59.:26:02.

trade, always has been, and they want to welcome us back for that

:26:03.:26:05.

alone, if for nothing else. My right honourable friend is right. It's

:26:06.:26:12.

important that we can show our trading partners globally that

:26:13.:26:16.

whatever our differences about the mechanics in which we go about the

:26:17.:26:20.

task, there is an overwhelming belief in the concept of free trade

:26:21.:26:26.

in this country. As I said at the outset, the global trading

:26:27.:26:29.

environment needs someone to champion free trade at a time when

:26:30.:26:32.

many countries feel we are rolling backwards, away from the progress we

:26:33.:26:37.

have made. If we as a country can speak with a strong voice about the

:26:38.:26:42.

principles of free trade, citing examples from history as to why it

:26:43.:26:46.

has benefited some of the poorest people in the world, I think we make

:26:47.:26:50.

a moral as well as an economic case for what we are setting out. At one

:26:51.:26:58.

point the minister has not touched on yet is the question of exchange

:26:59.:27:04.

rates. Is it not essential that appropriate exchange rates are

:27:05.:27:07.

arranged between nations so that trade can operate fairly? If a

:27:08.:27:14.

country depreciates massively, they can develop a big trade surplus and

:27:15.:27:18.

China has done precisely that in recent decades. Would he not agree

:27:19.:27:26.

that exchange rates are crucial? It is an important point, but I would

:27:27.:27:29.

differentiate between artificial and intentional currency manipulation

:27:30.:27:34.

from a free market with floating currencies. I believe that floating

:27:35.:27:38.

currencies are one of the ways in which we allow our economies to have

:27:39.:27:43.

shock absorption so that we are not taking all the economic pain through

:27:44.:27:46.

unemployment. One of the problems with the existence of the euro is

:27:47.:27:49.

that some of the countries of southern Europe who might have

:27:50.:27:53.

chosen other mechanisms to adapt to the process of change had to, in the

:27:54.:27:58.

end, opt for high levels of structural unemployment because they

:27:59.:28:01.

were unable to have those mechanisms. But his point is

:28:02.:28:05.

correct. Artificial manipulation of currency is a different issue from

:28:06.:28:08.

the workings of the general economy and floating currencies. Such is the

:28:09.:28:15.

power of free trade that even if we ignore the social and humanitarian

:28:16.:28:18.

benefits it has brought to the developing world, it would still be

:28:19.:28:22.

indispensable from a purely economic standpoint. During the 1990s, the

:28:23.:28:27.

per capita income grew three times faster in those developing countries

:28:28.:28:29.

that lower trade barriers compared to those who did not. This effect is

:28:30.:28:35.

not confined to the developing world either. Analysis by the OECD has

:28:36.:28:41.

indicated that a 10% increase in economic openness is associated with

:28:42.:28:46.

a 4% increase in output per head of the working population. In other

:28:47.:28:50.

words, free trade works. Globalisation has been a huge and

:28:51.:28:54.

sustainable benefit of the world economy through trade migration,

:28:55.:28:58.

specialisation and innovation. These advantages exist at every level,

:28:59.:29:03.

from microeconomics down to individual firms. Increased

:29:04.:29:06.

competition, economies of scale and global value chains have all

:29:07.:29:11.

contributed to a productivity revolution, boosting the output of

:29:12.:29:14.

firms across the globe. Although it might not always be noticed, the

:29:15.:29:19.

wider benefits of liberal trading policy have spread benefits to

:29:20.:29:22.

consumers and households through providing a wider choice of goods at

:29:23.:29:28.

a lower price. In the decade to 2006, the real import price of

:29:29.:29:33.

clothing fell by 38%. In the same period, the price of consumer

:29:34.:29:38.

electronics, as we know, fell by 50% despite the rapid technological

:29:39.:29:41.

improvements which saw our mobile phones go from a $4000 brick that it

:29:42.:29:47.

was hard to carry in one hand to computers little bigger than the

:29:48.:29:49.

palm of one hand. They are tangible benefits of trade and they are

:29:50.:29:54.

important to improving the lives of the people of Britain cannot be

:29:55.:30:00.

overestimated. In any rapid change, which should ensure that the

:30:01.:30:03.

country's growing prosperity spreads to all corners of the UK, of course.

:30:04.:30:08.

It is therefore not only important, but right that governments are able

:30:09.:30:11.

to mitigate the effects of globalisation and provide the tools

:30:12.:30:14.

through which individuals and economies can adapt and prosper.

:30:15.:30:19.

This is how we provide both economic opportunity and also security in an

:30:20.:30:22.

era of sometimes broil during change. -- bewildering change.

:30:23.:30:30.

On his comments about the interdependent global world, we've

:30:31.:30:37.

been warned that hard Brexit could affect small and medium ports, which

:30:38.:30:45.

rely on Sea trade. They are worried about new customers requirements and

:30:46.:30:49.

tariffs. Given that 95% of international trade by tonnage goes

:30:50.:30:54.

through airports, and ask what action is being taken to address

:30:55.:30:56.

those concerns and make sure that Brexit will not affect the trade?

:30:57.:31:02.

The first service we can do is not add adjectives in front of the word

:31:03.:31:05.

Brexit, because what the government wants to achieve is is an open

:31:06.:31:11.

trading relationship as possible. If you think about it, the FTA we

:31:12.:31:16.

Booker once a organised with the EU, ought to be the easiest FTA in his

:31:17.:31:23.

study. We're starting from 100% regulatory and legal equivalents.

:31:24.:31:26.

The only reason you would not get a free and open trading environment is

:31:27.:31:30.

if the politics of the process to presidents over the economics of

:31:31.:31:32.

prosperity and well-being of the people. That is the challenge. I

:31:33.:31:37.

will give her a second challenge, this is not just about Europe,

:31:38.:31:42.

because the decisions we take will reverberate throughout the global

:31:43.:31:46.

economy. If we put impediments into the European economy that do not

:31:47.:31:50.

exist today, it will cause ripples across the global economy that are

:31:51.:31:54.

felt well beyond our own borders. I give way on this point. On the

:31:55.:32:00.

specific question of the ports, there is the ports regulation, but

:32:01.:32:06.

was from the European Union and opposed by all 47 of the ports in

:32:07.:32:12.

this country. It was inimical to our national interests, which is the

:32:13.:32:16.

lifeblood trading relationship. So the ports issue is central to this

:32:17.:32:20.

question, that why there another very good reason for leaving the EU.

:32:21.:32:26.

I did not need any more reasons, but I'm all welcome to take another

:32:27.:32:30.

reason on board for the decision we have already taken. I am most

:32:31.:32:38.

grateful. Could the government make it clearer that we want an open

:32:39.:32:42.

trading relationship with our European partners? And it's up to

:32:43.:32:47.

the European Union to decide whether they want that to or not? But pretty

:32:48.:32:54.

also ask them who is arguing for protectionist measures against an

:32:55.:32:58.

independent United Kingdom, because I don't hear many voices in the EU

:32:59.:33:02.

are doing for that. I think this is just there is a bit around by people

:33:03.:33:09.

who want us to stay in the EU. Our debates here I watched the on our

:33:10.:33:13.

own shores, so perhaps the first point to make is we are leaving the

:33:14.:33:17.

European Union. That is not any sense that they won't be leaving the

:33:18.:33:22.

European Union. The British people have spoken and the parliamentary

:33:23.:33:26.

process has begun to make that happen. We have to look beyond our

:33:27.:33:30.

membership of the EU and determine what sort of global trading

:33:31.:33:34.

environment we want to live in. Very clear about model we want. As I have

:33:35.:33:40.

travelled to other countries, we are encouraging other governments beyond

:33:41.:33:43.

the EU to see Jerry European partners that it is in everybody's

:33:44.:33:48.

interests, Europe and the wider global trading environment, that

:33:49.:33:52.

they retained as open a global trading process as we can. That

:33:53.:33:57.

includes student. It would make no sense at a time when the direction

:33:58.:34:00.

of travel and the rest of the world is towards greater liberalisation,

:34:01.:34:05.

that Europe, for internal political reasons, would introduce impediments

:34:06.:34:10.

to that trading environment, in a way that some have suggested. I do

:34:11.:34:13.

not believe that is in the interests of the citizens of Europe, whether

:34:14.:34:18.

in the UK or in the European continent. If we are guided not by

:34:19.:34:25.

obstruction but by the prosperity and well-being of our people in the

:34:26.:34:30.

negotiation, we are likely to come to the right outcomes. To build a

:34:31.:34:35.

free trading worlds, the UK must continue to support, strengthen and

:34:36.:34:39.

promote the existing global trading structures. The World Trade

:34:40.:34:45.

Organisation is the home of the rules -based international trading

:34:46.:34:48.

system, as the Shadow Secretary of State and I agreed on earlier this

:34:49.:34:54.

morning. It is a system that we unequivocally support. Its

:34:55.:34:59.

predecessor, the General agreement on tariffs and trade, was

:35:00.:35:04.

established in 1948, to offer a war-torn world stability and

:35:05.:35:07.

prosperity and security through international trade cooperation. The

:35:08.:35:12.

UK was there from the beginning, and have essentially, we work with our

:35:13.:35:16.

international partners in a series of ministerial rounds, dedicated to

:35:17.:35:20.

removing barriers to do it -- to trade and liberalising the global

:35:21.:35:26.

economy. The WTO was established in 1994, following the success of the

:35:27.:35:30.

Uruguay round. By the first time, we had an international body with truly

:35:31.:35:36.

global reach, which existed to regulate trade and encourage

:35:37.:35:39.

patients to adhere to the principle of ever greater trading freedom. If

:35:40.:35:45.

the WTO did not exist today, we would need to invent it now. Britain

:35:46.:35:51.

is a founding member of the WTO and a member in our own right, but on

:35:52.:35:57.

leaving the EU, we will be to update the terms of WTO membership, with at

:35:58.:36:01.

present on our commitments are applied through the EU as a whole.

:36:02.:36:07.

Constancy and continuity will be key to our approach. As I set out in the

:36:08.:36:11.

recent ministerial statement, we anticipate our rights and

:36:12.:36:15.

obligations with respect to other WTO

:36:16.:36:29.

members, as provided for under the WTO agreements, to remain largely

:36:30.:36:32.

unchanged. Will achieve this through the process of replicating our

:36:33.:36:34.

current commitments, which will cause the minimum disruption to

:36:35.:36:36.

trade and the maximum level of certainty and confidence. And I'm

:36:37.:36:38.

grateful to the secretary-general of the WTO for confirming that this aim

:36:39.:36:40.

for stability is fully supported by the WTO itself. I would like to

:36:41.:36:44.

thank him and his staff for the support they have given the United

:36:45.:36:48.

Kingdom in Geneva. The meals be clear that replicating the EU WTO

:36:49.:36:54.

schedules for the UK's independent use in the weepy judges the outcome

:36:55.:37:00.

of the Article 50 negotiations with the EU. This process is largely

:37:01.:37:03.

technical one and reflects the close ties of trade and commerce we will

:37:04.:37:08.

continue to share with the EU even after exit. And throughout this

:37:09.:37:13.

process, it is imperative that we maintain transparency, both with

:37:14.:37:17.

this House and with our fellow WTO members. I reiterate the offer I

:37:18.:37:20.

have made in private to the opposition front bench, but should

:37:21.:37:25.

they wish to visit Geneva and get a high-level briefing with our

:37:26.:37:28.

ambassador and the secretary-general, then the

:37:29.:37:30.

government will happily facilitate that. The better informed we all are

:37:31.:37:34.

in the house in these discussions, the better. Quite often when there

:37:35.:37:44.

is talk of falling back on WTO rules. But WTO rules fall, form the

:37:45.:37:53.

basis of any agreement, there are not something to fall back on if

:37:54.:37:58.

there is no deal. Indeed, WTO rules are the basis on which the world

:37:59.:38:03.

trade. On top of the basic WTO rules and our most-favoured-nation status,

:38:04.:38:08.

we have a number of agreements which give us in effect exemptions to

:38:09.:38:12.

that. But we trade fairly freely with countries where we don't have a

:38:13.:38:17.

specific free-trade agreement, at the present time the United States

:38:18.:38:23.

is worth about 20% of global export. We don't have a specific FTA, but

:38:24.:38:28.

really able to trade barely freely. That's not to say we can't, through

:38:29.:38:37.

FTA's and other tools available to us, improve the function of the

:38:38.:38:41.

global trading system, but we need to do so. And the Department of

:38:42.:38:46.

Trade and Industry has a highly skilled team dedicated to the

:38:47.:38:50.

rectification of WTO schedules and collaborating with officials in

:38:51.:38:55.

Whitehall and the WTO to make sure our transition to independent

:38:56.:38:57.

membership is both smooth and fully understood by our trading partners.

:38:58.:39:03.

I will give way to my honourable friend and later I will give way to

:39:04.:39:07.

my other honourable friend. He's very generous. He mentioned the word

:39:08.:39:12.

transition, which many people have now mentioned, including those who

:39:13.:39:15.

supported the vote to leave. In terms of smoothing that process of

:39:16.:39:20.

Britain leaving the EU, I wonder does he support transition

:39:21.:39:24.

arrangements in terms of the EU and concerned about the comments today

:39:25.:39:27.

that any negotiations on transition will have to be late 2018 at the

:39:28.:39:31.

earliest, which doesn't leave as much time? I think it's simply a

:39:32.:39:38.

matter of common sense, that if we have a transition into undue

:39:39.:39:44.

environment, it makes sense to do so. What could not be acceptable

:39:45.:39:47.

would be to have any of the elements we have sought to leave on leaving

:39:48.:39:51.

the EU as a binding on that particular transitional agreement.

:39:52.:39:55.

That is something that is part of the negotiation. It is a negotiation

:39:56.:40:00.

and frankly, at any point in that, I would be taken too seriously or too

:40:01.:40:04.

literally anything that the negotiators were saying in the

:40:05.:40:08.

public domain. I will give wee one last time in just a moment. After we

:40:09.:40:16.

leave the EU, we negotiate free-trade agreements with new

:40:17.:40:19.

partners around the world. Although we cannot negotiate and conclude

:40:20.:40:25.

FTAs while we remain in the EU, the Department has instigated ten

:40:26.:40:29.

working trips with 15 countries, as well as a high-level dialogue with

:40:30.:40:34.

the USA, which will develop into a fully fledged trade and working

:40:35.:40:39.

group next month. Going forward, we may find that a new FTA may not be

:40:40.:40:43.

the correct solution for every partner, but we will look at all the

:40:44.:40:48.

measures available to us to ensure the best outcomes for citizens and

:40:49.:40:52.

businesses across the UK. Our dedication to free trade will be

:40:53.:40:57.

constant. That the nation, we will work to remove barriers, liberalise

:40:58.:41:01.

trade and ensure access for British resources. As we move towards

:41:02.:41:05.

greater trade liberalisation, we will make sure that we continue to

:41:06.:41:10.

protect and promote British producers. The first duty of

:41:11.:41:14.

government is the protection of its citizens, then the Department for

:41:15.:41:17.

International Trade must extend that to businesses and work to defend the

:41:18.:41:22.

drivers of Arab asperity from rule breaking an anti-competitive

:41:23.:41:27.

measures. Free trade is not a free for all. That is why we have the

:41:28.:41:33.

WTO. If we support a rules -based system, we must ensure those rules

:41:34.:41:37.

are respected and vigorously enforced. I give way for the final

:41:38.:41:44.

time to my honourable friend. I understand and take on board

:41:45.:41:48.

everything he says about the WTO and the rules -based system, but as he

:41:49.:41:51.

observed earlier, the bulk of our economy and the bulk of our current

:41:52.:41:55.

competitive advantage lies in the services sector, which is not

:41:56.:42:02.

covered by WTO rules. Would he agree that the government is equally

:42:03.:42:06.

committed to making sure we have a global liberalisation of the service

:42:07.:42:12.

sector, which is so critical to us. I think I said that earlier and also

:42:13.:42:16.

said it this morning at questions. If there is a real cause for us to

:42:17.:42:23.

champions beyond the basic case for free trade, it's liberalisation of

:42:24.:42:27.

the service sector. At is the way in which we will unlock the potential

:42:28.:42:31.

of many economies around the world and incidentally, the best way to

:42:32.:42:35.

unlock Britain's economic potential in trade. Let me make one final

:42:36.:42:41.

point. In my discussions around the world, I have been struck by the way

:42:42.:42:46.

in which products, either goods or services, that originate in the

:42:47.:42:50.

United Kingdom, are regarded as being at the top end of the quality

:42:51.:42:56.

market. That is where we are best able to compete. There are those who

:42:57.:43:02.

would make the case for a Britain with lower regulatory standards and

:43:03.:43:06.

fewer protections in place across the economy, by the environment,

:43:07.:43:10.

foreign workers and for consumers. Let me tell the house that Britain

:43:11.:43:15.

will not put itself at the low-cost, low quality end of the spectrum, for

:43:16.:43:20.

it would make no sense for this country economic league to do so,

:43:21.:43:23.

nor morally would it give the leadership that we seek. I believe

:43:24.:43:29.

there is no case for bargain basement Britain. High standards and

:43:30.:43:34.

high quality are what our global customers demand, and that is what

:43:35.:43:39.

we should provide. From our food and drink industry to technological

:43:40.:43:43.

expertise, to our financial services, people across the world by

:43:44.:43:47.

British because they see the Union flag as a kite mark of quality. The

:43:48.:43:52.

key to our long-term economic prosperity lies not in abandoning

:43:53.:43:56.

our standards and values but in reinforcing them. High quality high

:43:57.:44:01.

reputation goods and services are the root to highly paid jobs and the

:44:02.:44:07.

security of the future in this country. The highest ambition of

:44:08.:44:10.

this government is to build a Britain that works for everyone, not

:44:11.:44:16.

just a privileged few. Moreover, it must also be a global Britain,

:44:17.:44:20.

willing to support a rules -based global trading system and

:44:21.:44:24.

championing the cause of free trade itself. We do not pretend that the

:44:25.:44:29.

era of globalisation is without its challenges, but we must never cease

:44:30.:44:33.

to sure our own citizens the benefit that free trade brings the lives and

:44:34.:44:39.

this country. We realise that the challenges and opportunities of

:44:40.:44:41.

globalisation, allied to the rapid change in technology, will also

:44:42.:44:47.

reduce its share of problems and security. We must strive to address

:44:48.:44:51.

the negative aspects of globalisation and make sure no one

:44:52.:44:54.

is left behind by the pace of change, while harnessing the power

:44:55.:44:59.

of the global economy to spread prosperity across Britain and our

:45:00.:45:02.

trading partners. We must make sure we equip a country with the

:45:03.:45:06.

necessary skills to navigate these challenges and make sure those who

:45:07.:45:10.

are disadvantages are given necessary support. We must

:45:11.:45:14.

unfailingly uphold the principles of free trade across the world,

:45:15.:45:18.

nurturing prosperity and banishing poverty to the pages of his study.

:45:19.:45:25.

-- the pages of his study. The Leader of the Opposition has

:45:26.:45:36.

wrongly dismissed political trade as dogma. -- he has dismissed free

:45:37.:45:43.

trade as political dogma. To attack free trade and undermine our

:45:44.:45:46.

nation's proud tradition will deny prosperity to those who need it

:45:47.:45:49.

most. I would hope that all members of the House, regardless of their

:45:50.:45:56.

political persuasion, would like to see the benefits bestowed on this

:45:57.:45:59.

country and back our vision of Britain as a champion of global free

:46:00.:46:04.

trade with the benefits it brings. Two centuries ago, Thomas Babbington

:46:05.:46:09.

described free trade as one of the greatest blessings a government can

:46:10.:46:14.

confer on its people. We intend to do just that. It is in our power to

:46:15.:46:20.

build a better and fairer Britain for future generations. We require

:46:21.:46:24.

courage to do so, particularly at a time when protectionism is rearing

:46:25.:46:31.

its ugly head. Prosperity, stability and security are the prizes for a

:46:32.:46:36.

strong, rules -based international trading order. That is what we seek

:46:37.:46:44.

to achieve. The question is that this House has considered exiting

:46:45.:46:48.

the European Union and global trade. Barry Gardner. Madam Deputy Speaker,

:46:49.:46:58.

thank you. I want to join with the Secretary of State in paying tribute

:46:59.:47:01.

to PC Keith Palmer and all the other victims who suffered on that fateful

:47:02.:47:06.

day in March when this debate was last scheduled. The Secretary of

:47:07.:47:15.

State is at the dispatch box, fielding for the first time since

:47:16.:47:19.

the creation of his department almost a year ago, a debate on

:47:20.:47:27.

government trade in government time. You see, it's not exactly normal

:47:28.:47:31.

practice for trade ministers to hasten to the dispatch box when a

:47:32.:47:34.

country has just posted one of the worst sets of balance of payments

:47:35.:47:38.

figures in the country's recorded history. So whilst I admire the

:47:39.:47:43.

Secretary of State's cheap spa, I am not entirely convinced about his

:47:44.:47:48.

timing. The ONS figures released last week showed that in quarter

:47:49.:47:54.

one, the UK's current-account deficit was ?16.9 billion, a

:47:55.:48:02.

widening of 4.8 billion from a deficit of 12.1 billion in the

:48:03.:48:07.

previous quarter, most of which is due to the widening of the trade

:48:08.:48:11.

deficit. Despite sterling being solo, exports only increased by 1.7

:48:12.:48:17.

billion, whereas imported goods increased by ?4.3 billion, a

:48:18.:48:26.

widening of 2.6. At a time when we are importing more than we are

:48:27.:48:30.

exporting, surely this means it should be easier to get a deal with

:48:31.:48:35.

our European colleagues, it is to continue exporting to us? Look, I

:48:36.:48:42.

want us to get a deal. We want the best deals of this country. The

:48:43.:48:51.

honourable gentleman has to take on board that since the referendum

:48:52.:48:55.

decision took place, the value of our country's currency has

:48:56.:49:02.

depreciated by 12%. I trust but that is not something that he feels

:49:03.:49:08.

Sangin about. -- that is not something that he feels Sangin

:49:09.:49:14.

about. In the areas where our economy will respond most quickly to

:49:15.:49:20.

devaluation of sampling food and drink, we have seen an increase in

:49:21.:49:23.

our exports in this quarter. I would like him to comment on why he

:49:24.:49:27.

thinks, in light of the uncertainty that he paints, why our foreign

:49:28.:49:35.

investment records in Britain are at an all-time high in the previous

:49:36.:49:41.

year? Can I be chair with the Secretary of State? I welcome

:49:42.:49:46.

foreign direct investment in this country. Of course we do. We want

:49:47.:49:50.

people to be investing in our jobs, economy and future. Perhaps if I can

:49:51.:49:58.

finish responding to the intervention from the Secretary of

:49:59.:50:00.

State, than after an appropriate juncture, the honourable gentleman

:50:01.:50:05.

might catch my eye. There is no difference between the Secretary of

:50:06.:50:09.

State and eye on those matters. In fairness to the honourable

:50:10.:50:12.

gentleman, I want to set out that in the past 50 years, there have been

:50:13.:50:17.

15 sets of quarterly balance of payments figures that have been

:50:18.:50:24.

worse than last week's. One of them was under a Labour government, just

:50:25.:50:28.

after the global financial crisis. The other 14 have all been in the

:50:29.:50:36.

past five years under the Conservatives. But it would be mean

:50:37.:50:40.

of me to give the right honourable gentleman too much of a slap down,

:50:41.:50:44.

because the Chancellor has been doing it all so effectively on

:50:45.:50:48.

behalf of us all. Just yesterday, we read that the Chancellor is

:50:49.:50:50.

demanding that the Secretary of State prove the case that our

:50:51.:50:54.

ability to strike trade deals after Brexit will make up the losing

:50:55.:50:58.

tariff free access to the EU. In other words, to justify his job as

:50:59.:51:04.

International Trade Secretary once leaving the customs union gives us

:51:05.:51:10.

the competence, or perhaps in this case, the right to negotiate are an

:51:11.:51:15.

independent trade agreements. So a year on from the referendum, a year

:51:16.:51:21.

from the government's announcement that it was taking back competence

:51:22.:51:24.

on International trade negotiations, the Cabinet is still divided on what

:51:25.:51:32.

it has all been about. This is extraordinary, Madame Deputy

:51:33.:51:35.

Speaker. The country is crying out for leadership, and all its current

:51:36.:51:40.

leaders can do is sit around the Cabinet table, plotting who amongst

:51:41.:51:52.

them should be their next leader. A year on, what has been achieved? I

:51:53.:51:56.

give way to one of their previous leaders. I thank the honourable

:51:57.:52:02.

gentleman forgiving way. He is very busy asking the government what

:52:03.:52:04.

their position is on the government has said it out clearly. Out of the

:52:05.:52:09.

single market, out of the customs union, setting trade deals. As he

:52:10.:52:13.

speaks for the opposition, perhaps he could clarify their position.

:52:14.:52:16.

After the election, having fought the manifesto on a clear commitment

:52:17.:52:20.

to leave the European Union, his leader and Shadow Chancellor both

:52:21.:52:24.

said, we are leaving the single market and Customs union. The member

:52:25.:52:29.

for Camberwell and Peckham said, we are leaving the singles market --

:52:30.:52:33.

single market and customs union. But when he was interviewed and his

:52:34.:52:35.

colleague the shadow Brexit Secretary were interviewed, they

:52:36.:52:39.

never confirmed what their leader and Shadow Chancellor said. They

:52:40.:52:41.

have done an inch or could dance around it. So I ask him a simple

:52:42.:52:46.

question. Is the Labour Party's position to leave the single market

:52:47.:52:54.

and the customs union? I would urge the right honourable gentleman to

:52:55.:53:00.

read precisely what our manifesto says. We have made our position

:53:01.:53:14.

extremely clear on these points. And that is that we are leaving the

:53:15.:53:19.

European Union. That means that if we leave the European Union, we are

:53:20.:53:28.

wanting to secure the best benefits. And we will look to secure exactly

:53:29.:53:35.

what the Secretary of State Brexiting the European Union said he

:53:36.:53:40.

would achieve, which is the exact same and if it's that we currently

:53:41.:53:45.

have inside the European Union. The honourable gentleman really does

:53:46.:53:52.

need to allow me to respond to one of his interventions before he seeks

:53:53.:53:57.

to follow up with a second! The trouble with the honourable

:53:58.:53:59.

gentleman is that he doesn't want to listen to the answer.

:54:00.:54:11.

Keep going, Barry. Is the honourable gentleman quite calm? No! Order. I

:54:12.:54:27.

am sure Mr Gardiner will take the intervention when he wants to. Barry

:54:28.:54:34.

Gardiner. Thank you, Madame Deputy Speaker. As I was saying before I

:54:35.:54:39.

was persistently and quite rudely interrupted, we have set out that we

:54:40.:54:49.

will try to secure the exact same benefits that the Secretary of State

:54:50.:54:56.

for Exiting the European Union claimed would be procured in the

:54:57.:55:00.

negotiations, but we are not fixated on the structures, we are fixated on

:55:01.:55:07.

the outcomes. But we will be leaving the European Union. The honourable

:55:08.:55:10.

gentleman can be assured that we are committed to honouring that

:55:11.:55:15.

manifesto commitment. The honourable gentleman has had his chance. So a

:55:16.:55:22.

year on, what has been achieved? It took Donald Trump's administration

:55:23.:55:26.

seven weeks to produce a trade policy paper. This maladministration

:55:27.:55:33.

has failed to do so in an entire year. I have been asking the

:55:34.:55:37.

Secretary of State to produce a trade White Paper now for seven

:55:38.:55:43.

months. How extraordinary that the department of international trade

:55:44.:55:46.

has existed for a year, but has completely failed to set out its

:55:47.:55:51.

mission and his vision in a white paper so the British businesses can

:55:52.:55:54.

have some clarity about their future. Nor was there any clarity in

:55:55.:56:00.

the Conservative manifesto. Scan on detail, it was peppered with vague

:56:01.:56:04.

promises. We will work to forge a new culture of exporting. "We Will

:56:05.:56:10.

take a more active role in supporting British consortia to win

:56:11.:56:15.

contracts". Of course, we were promised a trade bill, now confirmed

:56:16.:56:18.

in the Queen's Speech. And the accompanying notes state that one of

:56:19.:56:27.

the main benefits of the trade bill would be to meet the manifesto

:56:28.:56:31.

commitment to introduce the trade bill. Well, hmm, yes. That is

:56:32.:56:39.

something of a tautology. Now, I am heartened to know that the Secretary

:56:40.:56:42.

of State clearly read our manifesto, because since the general election

:56:43.:56:47.

his department has adopted Labour's manifesto pledge to guarantee market

:56:48.:56:50.

access for least developed countries at the same level that they

:56:51.:56:53.

currently have with the EU. Since the general election, the government

:56:54.:56:56.

has agreed with Labour's pledged to address trade remedies. If they will

:56:57.:57:01.

only agree to publish a trade White Paper that integrates industrial

:57:02.:57:04.

strategy with international trade policy, that creates a network of

:57:05.:57:06.

regional trade and investment champions to promote

:57:07.:57:18.

exports, that promises transparency and scrutiny of future trade deals

:57:19.:57:21.

and builds human rights and social justice as a key strand of trade

:57:22.:57:23.

policy, perhaps our encounters over this dispatch box may become a lot

:57:24.:57:25.

more consensual. The challenges that face us in leaving the EU are not

:57:26.:57:28.

insurmountable. Ours is a great and proud country, and we are an

:57:29.:57:31.

enterprising people. Our goods and services are amongst the best in the

:57:32.:57:37.

world. Our economy is a dynamic and attractive marketplace for

:57:38.:57:41.

investment, and we will be a thought leader in the next wave of

:57:42.:57:45.

industrial growth. But if we are to rise to the we need more that the

:57:46.:57:49.

patriotic flag-waving we have had from the front bench opposite. We

:57:50.:57:56.

need clarity and careful planning. And that is what we have not had. We

:57:57.:58:04.

are setting out to leave our major trading partner. Where is the road

:58:05.:58:12.

map? No White Paper. Where is the estimate of costs? That appears to

:58:13.:58:16.

be what the Chancellor has now started demanding. Government

:58:17.:58:19.

ministers appear capable of presenting anything approaching a

:58:20.:58:22.

unified view on the matter. The Prime Minister repeatedly tells us

:58:23.:58:26.

no deal is better than a bad deal. Her Chancellor says that actually,

:58:27.:58:30.

no deal would be a very bad outcome for Britain, while her Brexit

:58:31.:58:33.

secretary tells us he is pretty sure, but not certain, not 100%

:58:34.:58:39.

sure, that there will ever be a deal. The truth is that no deal is

:58:40.:58:45.

not a trump card to be thrown on to the negotiating table in some macho

:58:46.:58:50.

gesture. It is actually the procedural outcome of Article 50. If

:58:51.:58:55.

you fail to negotiate a deal within the two-year period, you are ejected

:58:56.:59:01.

from the single market of the European Union and onto World Trade

:59:02.:59:04.

Organisation terms. Far from being a trump card to be played, no deal is

:59:05.:59:08.

actually a cliff edge over which you are pushed. My honourable friend

:59:09.:59:16.

rightly focuses on the trade deficit, which is gigantic with the

:59:17.:59:21.

rest of the European Union. And we have a trade surplus with the rest

:59:22.:59:25.

of the world. So the problem is essentially with trade with the EU.

:59:26.:59:29.

Does that not put us in a strong position to negotiate with the rest

:59:30.:59:33.

of the EU, whatever happens afterwards?

:59:34.:59:37.

I have absolutely said I want us to be in a strong position in these

:59:38.:59:44.

negotiations, but what I also wants is clarity for businesses about what

:59:45.:59:48.

the future will mean. Of course I give way. He talks about the

:59:49.:59:55.

possibility that we crash out of Europe without a deal. If we don't

:59:56.:59:59.

achieve a deal in those negotiations, he will be responsible

:00:00.:00:06.

for not having achieved a deal? I think we must all hope that we will

:00:07.:00:10.

make sure that we get a deal and that it is a deal that is absolutely

:00:11.:00:18.

going to provide us with the friction free access we need, both

:00:19.:00:22.

for our goods and for our service industry. I give wee one last time.

:00:23.:00:29.

We talk about whether no deal is better than a bad deal. And I put it

:00:30.:00:35.

to him that without accepting that, it doesn't mean were going to get a

:00:36.:00:40.

good deal, but if we don't accept no deal is an option, we're guaranteed

:00:41.:00:43.

we will not get an exceptional deal. If you were to go and buy a car and

:00:44.:00:50.

say, I have to buy a car today, or you said, I would like to buy a car

:00:51.:00:55.

today, but I don't have too, which would be the better deal? And would

:00:56.:01:01.

he like to buy a car? The point I would make to him is that the

:01:02.:01:06.

triggering of Article 50 was sitting precisely the time frame in which he

:01:07.:01:12.

bought the car. It said that within two years, we either had to

:01:13.:01:18.

negotiate a deal we would then be trading on WTO terms. He makes my

:01:19.:01:26.

point precisely. My party has consistently said that economic

:01:27.:01:31.

logic... Sorry, I would give way any more, because unconscious more than

:01:32.:01:35.

20 people want to take part in the debate. I've given away many times

:01:36.:01:38.

and I think we need to be fair to colleagues who want to speak in the

:01:39.:01:42.

debate. My party has consistently said that economic logic should

:01:43.:01:48.

dictate the negotiations. We should not jeopardise the new trade deal

:01:49.:01:53.

for some arbitrary migration targets set for political reasons. We need a

:01:54.:02:01.

new trade deal with the EU, it must maintain that which links us and

:02:02.:02:07.

which is so critical. The EU currently accounts for 44% of our

:02:08.:02:11.

exports. It remains closest trading partner in terms of the volume of

:02:12.:02:16.

trade and geographical proximity. The top ten Commonwealth trading

:02:17.:02:23.

partners combined account for just 8% and the entire Commonwealth

:02:24.:02:28.

account for just 9%. The Secretary of State once referred to

:02:29.:02:31.

protectionism as a class C drug. But if he really thinks that his current

:02:32.:02:37.

round of trade talks could make up for the shortfall of goods in

:02:38.:02:46.

leaving the EU, then protectionism is not the only class a drug used in

:02:47.:02:51.

smoking. Labour is united in prioritising the best possible

:02:52.:02:55.

access to the single market once we have left the EU. This means

:02:56.:03:01.

continuous tariff free access and if necessary, a transitional

:03:02.:03:04.

arrangement to avoid any cliff edge. It seems as if lately we may have

:03:05.:03:09.

recruited the Chancellor to our cause. His Mansion House speech seem

:03:10.:03:16.

to have swallowed the Labour Party handbook called. No deal being a

:03:17.:03:21.

very, very bad deal. Securing the trade agreement with the EU must

:03:22.:03:28.

remain the number one priority. Leaving the EU without an agreement

:03:29.:03:30.

would be a significant failure by the government and the British

:03:31.:03:35.

government -- the British people will will remember what they were

:03:36.:03:43.

told repeatedly. Without an earlier comprehensive deal with the EU,

:03:44.:03:47.

there will be substantive tariff and nontariff measures which will cause

:03:48.:03:51.

friction in trade between the UK and the EU. Whether this is in customs

:03:52.:03:56.

duties, custom checks or Visa processes were service providers or

:03:57.:04:02.

VAT procedures. The government is to bring in the Rate Repeals Bill,

:04:03.:04:08.

which incorporates European legislation into domestic law and

:04:09.:04:12.

France's supremacy over domestic law. European legislation currently

:04:13.:04:18.

in place will be converted into ordinarily rip peelable legislation.

:04:19.:04:21.

On the face of it, this appears to mean that the UK can legislate

:04:22.:04:25.

without any regard to EU law going forward. But if we are to maintain a

:04:26.:04:30.

high level of access into the single market and preserve the supply chain

:04:31.:04:34.

is currently in place, are explorers. Have to meet European

:04:35.:04:40.

standards and requirements. Much of the current legislation will have to

:04:41.:04:44.

remain as is. Our future framework will be to be alone to that of the

:04:45.:04:49.

EU in order to maintain mutual recognition and equivalent is

:04:50.:04:51.

necessary to trade into the European market. This is something many

:04:52.:04:57.

British and foreign companies have been calling for, including Toyota

:04:58.:05:01.

and BMW. No longer will we have secretly negotiating table that

:05:02.:05:06.

decides on product and other standards, but we will be forced to

:05:07.:05:10.

accept them if we wish to continue trading into the single market.

:05:11.:05:15.

People might think this is a rather Holloway of returning sovereignty to

:05:16.:05:20.

the UK. In any free trade agreement that the UK negotiates after we've

:05:21.:05:25.

left the EU, will have to make some compromises on our sovereignty. The

:05:26.:05:30.

UK will subject to some supranational courts system, if not

:05:31.:05:34.

the European Court of Justice, we will at least be subject to the WTO

:05:35.:05:41.

dispute settlement procedures. Modern free-trade agreements often

:05:42.:05:49.

involve the harmonisation of your country and their partner country.

:05:50.:05:53.

International trade agreements provide an opportunity to promote

:05:54.:05:55.

higher standards across the world rather than a race to the bottom, if

:05:56.:06:01.

they're negotiated correctly. There is no dichotomy between trade with

:06:02.:06:05.

the EU in trade with the rest of the world. That is simply absurd. But

:06:06.:06:11.

our global trade opportunities will be shaped by whatever our future

:06:12.:06:16.

relationship with the EU is. Prospective trade agreement partners

:06:17.:06:20.

will want to know what trading bilaterally with the UK will mean in

:06:21.:06:29.

terms of access onward into the EU. One last time. I want to be helpful.

:06:30.:06:35.

This constant emphasis on access to EU markets when they have a gigantic

:06:36.:06:43.

surplus in our markets. John Maynard Keynes said Britain was concerned

:06:44.:06:47.

about Rose trading balances between nations and they try to sort out the

:06:48.:06:50.

system that would avoid it in future. Be happy gigantic trade

:06:51.:06:54.

distortion with the rest of the EU, which as to be sorted out one way or

:06:55.:07:03.

another. I would say to him that he does not want to see a decline in

:07:04.:07:09.

jobs in any sector in this country. And it is really not right, simply

:07:10.:07:16.

to dismiss the fact that if we do not secure friction free, tariff

:07:17.:07:23.

free arrangements with the EU, then those jobs could be prejudiced in

:07:24.:07:26.

this country. I'm sure he would want to take licence of that.

:07:27.:07:33.

Cross-border data flows are a key cornerstone of the digital economy.

:07:34.:07:39.

They help drive business efficiency through facilitating data transfers

:07:40.:07:43.

between organisations located in different countries. To help our

:07:44.:07:46.

economy grow and create jobs, we need to create a trade environment

:07:47.:07:50.

that drives innovation and positions the UK as a leader in the digital

:07:51.:07:56.

economy. Tech UK speaks the business when they say that the government

:07:57.:07:59.

needs to facilitate access to both the European market and the rest of

:08:00.:08:04.

the world, but this requires appropriate cross-border data-flow

:08:05.:08:06.

arrangements with very different trading partners. It sounds simple,

:08:07.:08:13.

it is not. That teetered negotiations on the privacy shield

:08:14.:08:18.

framework to protect us, demonstrated that cross-border data

:08:19.:08:23.

flows between the European system and the American system is a genuine

:08:24.:08:28.

challenge that will not be addressed overnight in future FTAs. We can

:08:29.:08:33.

simply create a separate trade policy on this issue for the EU and

:08:34.:08:37.

a different one for non-EU countries. What direction we take on

:08:38.:08:42.

one influences our options on the other. In his response to the

:08:43.:08:46.

debate, I would ask the Minister to set out what discussions he has had

:08:47.:08:51.

with the industry on this and what decision, if any, he has taken about

:08:52.:08:56.

the appropriate way to go forward. I know they will appreciate the issue

:08:57.:09:00.

of cross-border data flows is not just about facilitating market

:09:01.:09:05.

access, it's also about the regulatory framework to provide data

:09:06.:09:08.

protection for privacy and human rights. The second example of the

:09:09.:09:14.

inseparable at the of trade and our policy with the rest of the world

:09:15.:09:19.

refers to the support we provide agricultural industry. Our food and

:09:20.:09:24.

farming are not only important to our national identity, but

:09:25.:09:27.

agriculture also contributed 9.7 billion to the UK economy in 2016.

:09:28.:09:33.

Our food and farming industry as a product of decades of shipping by

:09:34.:09:38.

the EU single and of course the ?3 billion of support from the Common

:09:39.:09:44.

agricultural policy. The EU's combined rights ensured obligations

:09:45.:09:49.

under the WTO include a specified limit on the amount of agricultural

:09:50.:09:53.

subsidies that the EU may utilise. The UK is entitled to a shade of

:09:54.:09:58.

these as part of the Brexit divorce and could, in theory, continue with

:09:59.:10:02.

the modified version of the CAP. But the Secretary of State will know

:10:03.:10:05.

there are rumours has government is considering a deal whereby the UK

:10:06.:10:10.

would give up a share of its agricultural subsidies to the EU, in

:10:11.:10:15.

order to secure a more favourable deal for other sectors of our

:10:16.:10:20.

economy. Can the Secretary of State guaranteed today that our future

:10:21.:10:24.

trading relationships will not be based upon the sacrificing of

:10:25.:10:29.

British farmers and their livelihoods? And it's not just the

:10:30.:10:32.

EU who will be pressurising the UK to drop its share of agricultural

:10:33.:10:38.

subsidies. Already, a number of countries have expressed interest in

:10:39.:10:42.

free-trade agreements with the UK, on the basis of liberalising our

:10:43.:10:48.

agricultural market. Countries like Australia, Canada, New Zealand are

:10:49.:10:53.

active members the Cairns Group, which is the WTO negotiating group

:10:54.:10:59.

for agricultural liberalisation and the deduction of subsidies. Is this

:11:00.:11:03.

a liberalisation that Secretary of State regards as positive for our

:11:04.:11:13.

farmers? I'm extremely concerned to hear what my honourable friend is

:11:14.:11:19.

saying, given that there are 400 sheep farmers in my constituency.

:11:20.:11:23.

They would be very happy if we were to have a flood of cheap imports of

:11:24.:11:30.

lamb from Australia. Would there be with me there can be no virtue in us

:11:31.:11:34.

destroying the hill farmers in our country, to benefit the sheep

:11:35.:11:40.

farmers in wealthy countries like Australia and New Zealand? My

:11:41.:11:48.

honourable friend is right to point out, she is absolutely right to

:11:49.:11:53.

point out that if we were to go on to WTO terms, I think the tariff

:11:54.:12:00.

rate for sheep meat, from memory, is about 44%. That would absolutely

:12:01.:12:05.

destroy the capacity of our hill farmers in particular to compete

:12:06.:12:08.

with foreign imports. The government needs to come clean, it leads to

:12:09.:12:13.

give clarity to the British food and farming industry on what our future

:12:14.:12:20.

trading policy is. It's not good enough to tell them that the status

:12:21.:12:24.

quo will be maintained until 2020 and then leave an abyss as to what

:12:25.:12:29.

options are available for their future. These people needed

:12:30.:12:32.

comprehensive international trade policy and the need to know what it

:12:33.:12:37.

is. Beyond Brexit, as the UK once again assumes competence for our own

:12:38.:12:41.

trade agreements, the Secretary of State must set out Harry is pursuing

:12:42.:12:45.

agreements and share the benefits of globalisation more equitably. One

:12:46.:12:48.

can only wonder that this government thought it sensible to embark on a

:12:49.:13:00.

new industrial strategy without first publishing a White Paper on

:13:01.:13:02.

trade. Will he publish a trade White Paper? He has introduced the trade

:13:03.:13:05.

bill and the Queen's speech, but he hasn't set out to Parliament or

:13:06.:13:08.

business any policy on which to base it. The Secretary of State has been

:13:09.:13:10.

travelling around the world, holding preliminary talks with his

:13:11.:13:14.

counterparts. He has recently returned from a visit to the USA.

:13:15.:13:18.

And the Prime Minister first announced talks with the USA, the

:13:19.:13:22.

American farm Federation wasted no time in seeing BBC came food hygiene

:13:23.:13:29.

changes in any UK/ US the deal, namely to end restrictions on US

:13:30.:13:35.

exports of chlorine washed chicken and hormone grown beef. The solvency

:13:36.:13:42.

of our food safety and environmental protection standards will not be

:13:43.:13:46.

sacrificed in the name of regulatory harmonisation. The reason the White

:13:47.:13:52.

Paper should have come together is precisely because of the

:13:53.:13:55.

interdependence of trade, job creation and economic growth, and

:13:56.:13:59.

that makes those of us on the site of the How is fearful that they have

:14:00.:14:02.

not done the proper assessment of the danger that future trade

:14:03.:14:06.

arrangements could pose to job losses and breach depression. The

:14:07.:14:10.

government has put the cart before the horse. A trade White Paper

:14:11.:14:14.

should set out what our future policy on trade defence instruments

:14:15.:14:19.

will be. The EU currently has in place a series of measures against

:14:20.:14:29.

China and to a lesser degree, India and Malaysia, one steel, other

:14:30.:14:31.

metals and solar panels. The duty has famously opposed such measures

:14:32.:14:34.

at the EU. Now that will be able to set our own trade policy, the

:14:35.:14:38.

government must tell us if they will stick to that line. If they don't

:14:39.:14:42.

plan to introduce defence measures, they need to set out if and how they

:14:43.:14:47.

will protect sensitive sectors such as the steel industry and the solar

:14:48.:14:48.

panel industry from cheap imports. Or will the government sell out our

:14:49.:15:04.

steel sector? The UK steel sector is in an existential crisis. My

:15:05.:15:07.

honourable friend the members for Middlesbrough and Cleveland and the

:15:08.:15:13.

member for Aberavon, who launched the steel 2020 report earlier this

:15:14.:15:17.

year, alongside my honourable friend the member for Redcar, expressed

:15:18.:15:22.

outrage at the government's leaked memo suggesting that steel would not

:15:23.:15:27.

be a priority industry post-Brexit, threatening to destroy the

:15:28.:15:31.

livelihood of communities across England and South Wales. Similar

:15:32.:15:36.

concerns that were raised by my honourable friend the member of

:15:37.:15:40.

Stoke-on-Trent Central as the ceramics industry faces increasing

:15:41.:15:45.

competition from Chinese dumping on world markets. The British

:15:46.:15:47.

government has for the last number of years been blocking efforts by

:15:48.:15:51.

the EU to introduce the sort of anti-dumping measures employed by

:15:52.:15:56.

the US by repeatedly exercising a veto and actively encouraging a

:15:57.:16:00.

blocking group of other nations. One official in Brussels is reported as

:16:01.:16:04.

saying that the British are sacrificing an entire European

:16:05.:16:07.

industry to say thank you to China for signing up to the nuclear power

:16:08.:16:11.

project at Hinkley Point and pretending is about free trade. It

:16:12.:16:19.

is right that we reach out to our international counterparts by

:16:20.:16:23.

travelling around the world to hold pre-negotiations. But it is no

:16:24.:16:27.

substitute for clear policy that sets out what our negotiating

:16:28.:16:30.

armoury is. An international trade White Paper should set out the

:16:31.:16:33.

government's principles, a clear plan of what the UK intends to

:16:34.:16:37.

achieve through future trade negotiations. To that end, I would

:16:38.:16:41.

ask the minister to respond to the following questions about the

:16:42.:16:44.

government's international trade policy. What are its principal trade

:16:45.:16:52.

policy objectives? What will be their guiding principles for our

:16:53.:16:56.

future negotiations? How will they seek further liberalisation from our

:16:57.:17:00.

current tariff levels and in which sectors? What transparency and

:17:01.:17:04.

Parliamentary scrutiny will be given over our future trade negotiations?

:17:05.:17:08.

Will they disclose whether any obligations in trade agreements,

:17:09.:17:13.

both in negotiation or finalised, are the motivation for legislation

:17:14.:17:16.

before the House or regulatory changes by the government? How will

:17:17.:17:19.

they ensure that future trade agreements benefit British SMEs as

:17:20.:17:23.

well as big business? How do they propose to protect and enhance

:17:24.:17:26.

workers' rights? How will they address human rights within the

:17:27.:17:31.

context of trade agreements? How will sustainable development be a

:17:32.:17:35.

guiding principle for trade policy? How will they ensure that current

:17:36.:17:38.

environmental protections are maintained and enhanced in future

:17:39.:17:42.

trade agreements? What investment dispute resolution model is the

:17:43.:17:47.

government prepared to adopt? The department's recruitment

:17:48.:17:51.

advertisement suggests that the priority for trade sectors are in

:17:52.:17:55.

health care, financial services and education. But clearly, food and

:17:56.:18:00.

farming do not feature as their priorities. How will trade policy

:18:01.:18:03.

address the sectors that do not appear to have been identified as a

:18:04.:18:08.

priority, and will be government exclude devolved administrations and

:18:09.:18:11.

local government agencies from trade agreement commitments on government

:18:12.:18:15.

procurement? How will they ensure that British businesses maintain

:18:16.:18:18.

access to both European markets and the markets of other trading

:18:19.:18:23.

partners, especially where there is considerable regulatory divergence,

:18:24.:18:26.

and will the UK be adopting any nonconforming measures for

:18:27.:18:29.

investment and service commitment in its future trade agreements? By

:18:30.:18:33.

providing answers to all these questions and publishing an

:18:34.:18:37.

international trade White Paper, the government may be able to restore

:18:38.:18:40.

business confidence that it is holding current trade dialogues and

:18:41.:18:44.

working groups that are backed by a clear and strategic plan. If not, it

:18:45.:18:50.

will reinforce the sense that the government is blundering into this

:18:51.:18:55.

process without a clear endgame and lacking a strategic understanding of

:18:56.:19:00.

the issues at stake. For the UK economy and jobs in this country.

:19:01.:19:08.

Sir William Cash. I would like to start by quoting what Angela Merkel

:19:09.:19:15.

has said recently. And I would also like to say that I endorse every

:19:16.:19:18.

word my right honourable friend has said, not in a flattering sense, but

:19:19.:19:23.

because it is practical. He has shown command of the subject which

:19:24.:19:27.

completely belies the tittle tattle that the member for Brent North was

:19:28.:19:32.

referring to earlier. It has been my happy experience to notice that my

:19:33.:19:37.

right honourable friend has got a complete command of this subject and

:19:38.:19:42.

what he's saying is important, including in particular the historic

:19:43.:19:46.

but not nostalgic background to what he said. This country has for the

:19:47.:19:55.

last 400 years built itself upon the external trading policy, global

:19:56.:20:01.

trading policy, right the way from the Elizabethan period and even

:20:02.:20:09.

earlier than that. We have built up a policy of external global trading,

:20:10.:20:18.

and when he mentioned Robert Peel, he was of course driven into the

:20:19.:20:23.

repeal of the corn laws by no less than Richard Cobden and John bright

:20:24.:20:27.

in that massive battle over the repeal of the corn laws. And that

:20:28.:20:32.

did liberalise the trading system. It was the French commercial treaty,

:20:33.:20:38.

the first-ever free trade treaty in the world of 1860, which was

:20:39.:20:45.

negotiated on the initiative of John bright and indeed with Maurice

:20:46.:20:53.

Chevalier, who was the president of the board of trade in France at the

:20:54.:21:00.

same time. This is the basis on which our history has been

:21:01.:21:05.

developed. We have been right all the time we have stuck with

:21:06.:21:09.

free-trade, and we have been much encouraged by the attitude of other

:21:10.:21:13.

countries, including his meeting with Mr Ross in the United States a

:21:14.:21:20.

few days ago. On the question of the US, I watched a live speech by

:21:21.:21:26.

Donald Trump only one and a half hours ago from Poland. And amongst

:21:27.:21:36.

other things he said, he said we must get rid of government

:21:37.:21:40.

bureaucracy. We must deal with overregulation. We must insist upon

:21:41.:21:45.

sovereignty. He said this is the basis of our freedom which is for

:21:46.:21:52.

free sovereign nations. That is why when my right honourable friend was

:21:53.:21:57.

speaking about the question of our ability to conclude our own trade

:21:58.:22:06.

agreements, we have to unshackle ourselves from the fact that the

:22:07.:22:11.

European Commission determines our trade policies. There is no getting

:22:12.:22:14.

away from that. The honourable member for Brent North is in a bit

:22:15.:22:20.

of a pickle, because he knows that only last week, the member forced

:22:21.:22:27.

dress -- the member forced debt moved a motion and they were

:22:28.:22:30.

defeated by the opposition itself. They were not prepared to go along

:22:31.:22:37.

with it. I have heard similar remarks made with respect to the

:22:38.:22:41.

noble Lord Lord Adonis's debate in the House of Lords. There is a kind

:22:42.:22:44.

of schizophrenia in the Labour Party at the moment on these questions.

:22:45.:22:48.

They don't really know where they stand. They are completely confused.

:22:49.:22:52.

But I do think there is a realism which is coming into it, and I want

:22:53.:22:58.

to pay tribute to those sensible members of the opposition benches

:22:59.:23:03.

who are beginning to realise that this is what is going on, that we

:23:04.:23:07.

cannot stay in the single market and the customs union and leave the

:23:08.:23:15.

European Union. They are completely inconsistent. I know the member for

:23:16.:23:26.

Brent North accept that now. I would also say that the speech by Mr

:23:27.:23:31.

Barnier today is also extremely relevant. I have the benefit of

:23:32.:23:35.

having the full text of it. I am not going to go through every detail, I

:23:36.:23:41.

can assure you, but some of the things he said are highly relevant

:23:42.:23:45.

to what my right honourable friend rightly pointed to in his speech. On

:23:46.:24:01.

the issue of a new deal, he says" no deal means a return to the status

:24:02.:24:06.

quo. In the case of Brexit, no deal would be a return", he claimed, to a

:24:07.:24:17.

distant past. He is wrong. The reality is that of as far as the WTO

:24:18.:24:21.

is concerned, and I heard the honourable gentleman talking about

:24:22.:24:28.

40% tariffs on land, actually even Mr Barnier himself says there would

:24:29.:24:33.

be customs duties on certain matters. He says there would be an

:24:34.:24:41.

average of 12% on lamp and also fish. That is way different from

:24:42.:24:45.

what the honourable gentleman was saying. I don't blame him, he was

:24:46.:24:48.

speaking from memory, but this is what Mr Barnier said. The reality is

:24:49.:24:57.

that he also goes on to say, and I found this an extraordinary

:24:58.:25:03.

assumption - in practice, no deal, he says, would worsen the lose lose

:25:04.:25:06.

situation which is bound to result from Brexit. Again, he is wrong. He

:25:07.:25:14.

said the UK would have more to lose than its partners. It is just not

:25:15.:25:20.

so. He then goes on, and this is where he reveals the real position

:25:21.:25:26.

which is going on inside the EU. He says" to my mind, there is no

:25:27.:25:33.

reasonable justification for the no deal scenario. There is no sense in

:25:34.:25:39.

making the consequences of Brexit even worse. That is why we want an

:25:40.:25:49.

agreement. " They want an agreement because they know that just as

:25:50.:25:54.

Allister Heath pointed out, now distinguished editor of the Sunday

:25:55.:25:58.

Telegraph, in an article he wrote two weeks ago, that as far as the

:25:59.:26:02.

German car-makers are concerned, they are getting worried at the idea

:26:03.:26:05.

that there would not be an agreement, because it is not in

:26:06.:26:08.

their interest either. So from the point of view of our internal

:26:09.:26:11.

trading relationships with the single market, it is essential that

:26:12.:26:17.

although we will continue to trade something like 40% within the

:26:18.:26:25.

internal market or within the framework of the 27 member states

:26:26.:26:32.

which will remain, the truth is that we run a monumental deficit, as the

:26:33.:26:37.

honourable gentleman from Luton said earlier, we run a monumental trade

:26:38.:26:43.

deficit with the EU and it is ?71 billion a year. If you're trading at

:26:44.:26:49.

a deficit of seven to 1 billion a year, which went up by 10 billion

:26:50.:26:54.

last year alone and we haven't even got the current figures, which will

:26:55.:26:58.

be even greater, my right honourable friend may have some indication from

:26:59.:27:05.

the ONS of how much worse it will be by this time next year. By the same

:27:06.:27:09.

token, our global trade surplus with the rest of the world, in goods and

:27:10.:27:16.

services, imports and exports, this is the golden thread, the parameter

:27:17.:27:22.

that international statistics rely upon. Our global trade surplus is

:27:23.:27:28.

expanding at an enormously accelerating rate and is the basis

:27:29.:27:32.

on which our future prosperity and if I may say with respect to the

:27:33.:27:36.

ladies and gentlemen opposite, the basis of which is the result of our

:27:37.:27:43.

trading more effectively and with greater profitability in relation to

:27:44.:27:47.

the rest of the world as a result of those companies being taxed, we will

:27:48.:27:52.

then be able, after that growing prosperity zone, to be able to pay

:27:53.:27:56.

for the public services that they want and we want. The National

:27:57.:28:00.

Health Service will have more money at its disposal as a result of a

:28:01.:28:05.

successful international trading relationship with the rest of the

:28:06.:28:14.

world. He then went on, and this was an interesting observation. "I Say

:28:15.:28:18.

to my British partners, a fair deal is better than no deal". That may be

:28:19.:28:25.

the way it looks, but the truth is that they will need to be very

:28:26.:28:29.

careful that they don't put us into a position in which we are having to

:28:30.:28:37.

accept the idea of no deal. If we did, the advantages to us of trading

:28:38.:28:43.

on WTO terms are not unsatisfactory at all, quite the opposite. So we

:28:44.:28:49.

all need to be realistic about this. And then he refers to the great port

:28:50.:28:56.

of Zeebrugge, where he is shortly going for a visit and where the UK

:28:57.:29:02.

is the primary market for 17 million tonnes of roll on, roll off traffic

:29:03.:29:10.

in 2016. "I Cannot imagine", he says, "In the interests of the UK,

:29:11.:29:14.

Flanders and Belgium, that it would be a good idea for an interruption

:29:15.:29:19.

of supply to be called into question". Well, we don't want to

:29:20.:29:22.

have a trade war over ports with the rest of the European Union. As I

:29:23.:29:28.

pointed out in an intervention, it is the European Union that brought

:29:29.:29:33.

in the ports regulation. We had a massive row in the House of Commons,

:29:34.:29:36.

in committee and elsewhere and we have carried on for the last two

:29:37.:29:44.

years over this. But it is going ahead because there is no way we can

:29:45.:29:48.

stop it. That is the answer to these questions. Until we get our

:29:49.:29:54.

sovereignty back and our ability to run our own port system on our own

:29:55.:29:58.

terms, we will be subjected to things like the ports regulation,

:29:59.:30:02.

put through act by a majority vote behind closed doors. Nobody really

:30:03.:30:07.

knows who decides what. I tried to find out. We couldn't make any

:30:08.:30:11.

progress in discovering who was making the decisions. I think a lot

:30:12.:30:16.

of it was coming from Hamburg, because they have an enormous

:30:17.:30:21.

interest in preserving their own position. So imposing rules which

:30:22.:30:26.

are rejected by all 47 of our ports, and all the trade unions. It wasn't

:30:27.:30:33.

just the port employers. It was the trade unions as well, who all piled

:30:34.:30:38.

into safe, we can't tolerate this new ports regulation.

:30:39.:30:45.

And yet, there it is going through, and the bottom line is that all

:30:46.:30:54.

these are reasons why our ports are the lifeblood, they are the arteries

:30:55.:31:00.

for our international trade. They been for the four centuries my right

:31:01.:31:03.

honourable friend referred to. I will certainly give way. I would

:31:04.:31:09.

remind him and the How's that the reason this is a ports regulation is

:31:10.:31:14.

that when it was a director, it was actually blocked by the European

:31:15.:31:18.

Parliament, but so undemocratic is a legislative system in the EU, the

:31:19.:31:23.

commission can force it through as a regulation, so that even the

:31:24.:31:26.

European Parliament cannot block it. What kind of democracy is that? And

:31:27.:31:31.

isn't it a good thing we're getting control back edge we have been

:31:32.:31:40.

battling about this for years and what he has said is on a nail. It is

:31:41.:31:45.

the democracy that is lacking in the EU and the freedom of choice to

:31:46.:31:50.

which Donald Trump referred today and the freedom of sovereign nations

:31:51.:31:56.

to decide their own democratic decision-making processes, including

:31:57.:31:59.

the right to determine their own trading policies. It doesn't say

:32:00.:32:03.

that anything negative about our ability to deliver what is in our

:32:04.:32:08.

national interest, or our history, every single aspect of our life in

:32:09.:32:13.

this Parliament and four centuries, has depended on our ability to make

:32:14.:32:17.

up our own minds about what is in the interests of our own electorate,

:32:18.:32:22.

based on general elections, when they exercise their freedom of

:32:23.:32:26.

choice. And that freedom of choice is based on the word freedom. Once

:32:27.:32:40.

you have arrived at the next point, the key point is this, and this is

:32:41.:32:47.

understood, freedom includes freedom of choice. Freedom of choice in the

:32:48.:32:51.

marketplace and economic is, freedom of choice in the ballot box in terms

:32:52.:32:55.

of electoral decisions. That's why they went forgiving the right for

:32:56.:33:03.

the working person to have the vote in 1867. That's what it's all about.

:33:04.:33:07.

It's about freedom, and when you have that freedom, you can make

:33:08.:33:11.

decisions in your own national interest. We've done it for

:33:12.:33:15.

centuries and been successful. I'm delighted to give way to the

:33:16.:33:21.

honourable gentleman. He complains that the EU is not democratic, while

:33:22.:33:26.

at the same point worrying about the EU being a superstate. The reality

:33:27.:33:39.

is a regional trade agreement. The wrongly five not like that. The UK

:33:40.:33:45.

has agreements with a lot of countries. That is where he's taking

:33:46.:33:48.

the UK and many people are wondering if he really understands what he's

:33:49.:33:55.

doing. I know where he's coming from, but I simply say, as far as

:33:56.:34:00.

independence for Scotland is concerned, actually even his leader

:34:01.:34:07.

isn't now appealing to abandon it. That's the bottom line. And

:34:08.:34:11.

actually, the truth is that comparisons between our great

:34:12.:34:18.

countries, Somalia and Sudan, are simply absurd. Because this is a

:34:19.:34:21.

great country which has been making its own laws were centuries. We went

:34:22.:34:27.

into the European communities with a hope, and I voted yes in 1975 in the

:34:28.:34:32.

referendum, because I wanted to see if this could work. But I have to

:34:33.:34:37.

tell you that my 40 years in the European scrutiny committee has

:34:38.:34:41.

proved absolutely that it doesn't, it is undemocratic, it is actually a

:34:42.:34:45.

system that operates behind closed doors, and I doubt that even that

:34:46.:34:48.

would apply in some of the countries to which the honourable gentleman

:34:49.:34:52.

has referred. I now want to conclude by simply referring... I know are

:34:53.:35:03.

making an impact when my right honourable friend stars wanting to

:35:04.:35:10.

get onto his feet. My very good right honourable friend, I have

:35:11.:35:12.

great respect for him, although we don't always agree about everything,

:35:13.:35:14.

but let's not worry about that. I just want to conclude with this.

:35:15.:35:32.

When you look rest of the world, we actually enjoy trade surplus with

:35:33.:35:35.

the rest of the worlds of 34.4 billion. 44% of our trade is with

:35:36.:35:46.

the EU... All right. Is that surplus not smaller than our surplus and

:35:47.:35:52.

services with the EU? When you're dealing with the question of whether

:35:53.:35:56.

or not we're making a deficit or surplus, you have to look at the

:35:57.:35:59.

totality and the position, but I would say this, the chief trade

:36:00.:36:07.

negotiating adviser has in fact got an enormous amount of experience,

:36:08.:36:10.

and I'm extremely glad to hear he's been given the job of negotiating

:36:11.:36:19.

with countries such as the USA, Canada and Australia. The position

:36:20.:36:23.

is that as far as our trade surplus with the USA is concerned, last year

:36:24.:36:31.

it was 39.6 billion with the USA, 1.3 billion in Canada and in 2015,

:36:32.:36:38.

the trade surplus of 3.7 billion with Australia. They have all of

:36:39.:36:43.

them said that they want to trade with us. It is absolutely right that

:36:44.:36:48.

we should go into those negotiations on the basis that this will lead to

:36:49.:36:54.

greater prosperity for everybody, including ourselves, and that is the

:36:55.:36:58.

means whereby our economic growth and our prosperity will increase

:36:59.:37:03.

exponentially, and it will be the means of providing security and

:37:04.:37:08.

stability and with that, the provision of an effective economy

:37:09.:37:11.

and the provision of public services through the taxation that comes to

:37:12.:37:16.

those companies who trade there. This is a virtuous circle, this is

:37:17.:37:21.

something we are dedicated to, not out of any ideology, not actually

:37:22.:37:26.

from any sense of anti-Europeanism, but simply because it actually does

:37:27.:37:31.

work. It is a good policy the Prime Minister has put her own will behind

:37:32.:37:37.

it, and my right honourable friend the Secretary of State has explained

:37:38.:37:43.

it thoroughly today. In all the circumstances, I would say that

:37:44.:37:47.

whether we voted yes or no, we must continue with the policy we have now

:37:48.:37:53.

got. Angela Merkel says it is the future of Europe that matters, not

:37:54.:37:57.

Brexit. That's the policy of the German Chancellor. Let us seize the

:37:58.:38:02.

opportunity to make sure we make Brexit work for us in our national

:38:03.:38:11.

interest. After the next Speaker, I will be setting a six minute time

:38:12.:38:16.

limit. I'm afraid a lot of members have put in to speak and it may have

:38:17.:38:27.

to be reduced further. First, I would like to associate myself and

:38:28.:38:31.

those in the SNP with the comments that the Secretary of State made in

:38:32.:38:36.

regards to a PC Keith Palmer and the fact that this debate was due to

:38:37.:38:41.

take place on that day. Our thoughts continue to be with him and with his

:38:42.:38:48.

family and his friends. Madam Deputy Speaker, I welcome you to your

:38:49.:38:52.

position in your chair, is thy city we have a gender balance among the

:38:53.:38:59.

Speaker and Deputy speaker. I would like to speak for the first time in

:39:00.:39:02.

a substantive debate since the election and me my re-election. I'm

:39:03.:39:09.

grateful to my constituents are re-electing me. I want to pay

:39:10.:39:15.

tribute to my former colleague and the member for or call and South

:39:16.:39:22.

Perthshire. She was previously our spokesperson for international trade

:39:23.:39:25.

and investment. She was one of the hardest working MPs this Parliament

:39:26.:39:30.

has ever seen. She was a champion for people, she pursued many causes,

:39:31.:39:35.

from matters relating to international trade, to the plight

:39:36.:39:39.

of the people of war-torn Serbia, the UK Government involvement in the

:39:40.:39:43.

Yemen conflicts and her dog at work in should time and time again the UK

:39:44.:39:47.

Government was dragged to the dispatch box to answer the SNP's

:39:48.:39:51.

questions. We will continue to pursue with bigger and passion those

:39:52.:40:00.

issues. Let me be clear, she, as my former colleague, was a far cry from

:40:01.:40:04.

some of the Conservative members serve you have replaced her and some

:40:05.:40:12.

of my SNP colleagues. And I do not mean to be on terror the kinds, but

:40:13.:40:16.

they are not in places today, they have only been here for a few weeks

:40:17.:40:20.

and already they have rolled over on a distasteful deal with the DUP.

:40:21.:40:29.

This Tory government has found ?1.5 billion to do a deal so that they

:40:30.:40:37.

can vote with them to keep the pay down of emergency services workers.

:40:38.:40:40.

Those workers who we've come to rely so heavily on. They should hang

:40:41.:40:46.

their heads in shame, because the Scottish Conservatives and I have a

:40:47.:40:50.

choice in front of them. They can choose to do what is now best

:40:51.:40:53.

interests of Scotland, and the constituency voted the men, or for a

:40:54.:40:58.

moment the rest of their party in support of a hard Brexit. I

:40:59.:41:00.

challenge them to use the opportunities that lie ahead, to

:41:01.:41:04.

make sure that the Prime Minister reconsiders her position, to join us

:41:05.:41:09.

and other parties in defending Scotland boss might place in the

:41:10.:41:14.

single market. Because the trade and customs bill seeks to put in place a

:41:15.:41:18.

legislative framework to allow the UK to operate its own trade policy

:41:19.:41:23.

and provide new domestic legislation to replace EU customs legislation.

:41:24.:41:27.

The problem is that despite all the bluff and bluster from the Tories,

:41:28.:41:32.

the UK had to cave in on the first day of Brexit talks and agree that

:41:33.:41:38.

the divorce deal will have to be established before any trade deals

:41:39.:41:43.

are agreed. Leaving the business, economy and workers across our

:41:44.:41:49.

country in limbo. Just a day ago or earlier today, they said that

:41:50.:41:56.

frictionless trade cannot take place. Frictionless trade of goods

:41:57.:42:00.

and services is not possible outside of the single market and customs

:42:01.:42:04.

union, and we need to know from the Secretary of State and his

:42:05.:42:06.

colleagues, will there be transitional arrangements for our

:42:07.:42:12.

economy, for our goods and services? Because we know the track record of

:42:13.:42:18.

this government on scrutiny and probe says. It avoids it at all

:42:19.:42:22.

costs. They had to be dragged through the courts to give

:42:23.:42:25.

Parliament as the triggering Article 50. What hope do we have but we will

:42:26.:42:30.

get to properly scrutinise the many laws and legislations that will be

:42:31.:42:39.

coming back from the EU. This involves the so-called Henry VIII

:42:40.:42:43.

powers to avoid scrutiny. What guarantees does the government

:42:44.:42:47.

offered that they will not abuse those powers? What guarantees do

:42:48.:42:51.

they offer that they will not use these antiquated measures to avoid

:42:52.:42:57.

scrutiny and consent of devolved administrations? The public rejected

:42:58.:43:00.

the Prime Minister's call to strengthen her hand on the Brexit

:43:01.:43:04.

negotiations at the last election. She cannot carry on as if the

:43:05.:43:17.

election result has not happened. Leaving the single market would be

:43:18.:43:26.

an unprecedented act of self harm. Does my honourable friend agree with

:43:27.:43:29.

me that it would be an act of self harm first Scotland, because at

:43:30.:43:32.

present, EU trade deals with the likes of South Korea have meant the

:43:33.:43:37.

tariff on a major export Scotch whiskey is reduced to nil, winners

:43:38.:43:42.

other exporters coming in to South Korea have 20%. Does she agree that

:43:43.:43:48.

we are unlikely to get these favourable deals without the

:43:49.:43:54.

considerable weight of the EU behind us? I agree with everything she

:43:55.:44:01.

says. The Secretary of State in his opening comments alluded to trade

:44:02.:44:07.

deals with countries such as India particularly on whiskey, but are he

:44:08.:44:10.

and his colleagues not concerned that chilling discussions recently

:44:11.:44:14.

when the Foreign Secretary was visiting, he was advised that

:44:15.:44:19.

mobility issues are of huge importance to us. We cannot separate

:44:20.:44:23.

free movement of people from the free flow of goods, services and

:44:24.:44:25.

industry. Trade agreements are about give and

:44:26.:44:35.

take and it seems to me that this Government does not understand that

:44:36.:44:40.

concept. The plans for a hard Brexit have immersed the UK economy in

:44:41.:44:45.

uncertainty with inflation escalating and companies preparing

:44:46.:44:48.

to move outside of the UK. Figures... Members chanter but you

:44:49.:44:57.

only need to open the papers to see the news and examples of this.

:44:58.:45:03.

Figures from the National in such of economic and social research says

:45:04.:45:08.

Scotland's export could be cut if we fail to retain full membership of

:45:09.:45:12.

the single market. Trade and goods script declined by 35 said its

:45:13.:45:18.

Scottish goods exports were to fall by a similar amount. The cost would

:45:19.:45:24.

be an additional ?3 billion and leaving the single market could

:45:25.:45:28.

lower Scotland's GDP by more than ?10 billion. We must at the end of

:45:29.:45:37.

this process when we have clarity on whether there is a deal or not a

:45:38.:45:41.

deal, the Government must accept that if it is not taking on board

:45:42.:45:46.

Scotland's position, that we must have an insurance policy, a say over

:45:47.:45:52.

our own future and be able to decide whether we want to be an independent

:45:53.:45:58.

nation within Europe. Scotland's main businesses issued a statement

:45:59.:46:04.

last year confirming that Scotland's businesses need continued access to

:46:05.:46:07.

the single market and free movement of Labour. We have raised concerns

:46:08.:46:13.

about the impact of Brexit on business. The loss of EU nationals

:46:14.:46:21.

will seriously harm our rural economy. Around 8000 EU nationals

:46:22.:46:27.

come to live in Scotland and work in the food and drink industry and

:46:28.:46:32.

15,000 migrant workers harvest our fruit and vegetables. We cannot put

:46:33.:46:37.

their futures or the future of our vital sectors at risk. EU nationals

:46:38.:46:43.

make a huge contribution to our NHS. One in 20 doctors come from the EU.

:46:44.:46:48.

There are more than 1000 EU and companies, employing over 120,000

:46:49.:46:58.

people. They bring vital skills and expertise. We heard last week that

:46:59.:47:03.

the rate of applicants for nursing posts from you had dropped to 96%.

:47:04.:47:11.

That is going to be devastating across the UK. Scotland is an open

:47:12.:47:17.

and modern economy. Our exports account to around 50% of our GDP and

:47:18.:47:22.

this is why our membership of the single market is crucial. Scotland

:47:23.:47:28.

trades with the world, the EU has signed free-trade agreements with

:47:29.:47:35.

nearly 90 non-EU countries. And 28 countries are still to be applied.

:47:36.:47:40.

The Secretary of State said he hoped they would be ratified soon, but

:47:41.:47:45.

this is the driving growth in Scotland. To allow us to trade with

:47:46.:47:50.

the rest of the world which has increased by 55%, if we are not able

:47:51.:47:55.

to continue those trade agreements and we know how long many of them

:47:56.:48:00.

could take, cumulatively we could be decades before we even stand still

:48:01.:48:04.

in terms of the position that we have with full access to the single

:48:05.:48:09.

market. Scotland's businesses are well placed to take advantage of the

:48:10.:48:14.

opportunities to sell their products across Europe and the world. If we

:48:15.:48:19.

leave, we gambled these trade agreements. The Tory manifesto

:48:20.:48:25.

contained a pledge to leave the single market and the customs union.

:48:26.:48:29.

Given they failed to gain a clear majority they must think again and

:48:30.:48:34.

put options back on the table to make that central to their

:48:35.:48:38.

negotiating position. It goes to show the contempt the UK Government

:48:39.:48:42.

has for Scotland when you hear the Brexit secretary admitting to the UK

:48:43.:48:51.

exiting the EU select committee that no economic analysis, none had been

:48:52.:48:56.

done to address the impact of Brexit on the UK economy. How can we have

:48:57.:48:59.

been in a position that knowingly was an impact study not done, but in

:49:00.:49:05.

all of that time between the referendum and coming to that

:49:06.:49:10.

committee, no work-out been done? This was compounded by the comments

:49:11.:49:14.

recently where the right honourable gentleman said open now pushing

:49:15.:49:21.

shins would confirm the UK would get a free trade agreement with the EU

:49:22.:49:29.

was a case of maybes aye, maybe not. His comments show how the Tories

:49:30.:49:37.

are... Just this week the Financial Times reported that London was

:49:38.:49:41.

sending out a delegation to Brussels to present a secret blueprint for

:49:42.:49:45.

post-Brexit free trade deal on financial services. The city are

:49:46.:49:49.

left to do the work of the Government for themselves. Concern

:49:50.:49:54.

over the damage facing employers if forced to move operations to the

:49:55.:49:59.

continent. Not every sector is able to do that more should do that. We

:50:00.:50:04.

should have a government listening to the devolved nations and all

:50:05.:50:08.

those sectors. This is the latest indication that business do not

:50:09.:50:14.

trust the Tories. The SNP put forward a sensible compromise

:50:15.:50:18.

agreement in Scotland's place in Europe. It respected the result in

:50:19.:50:24.

2014 and respected the result of the EU referendum. It gave a sensible

:50:25.:50:29.

approach to the situation we find ourselves in that Scotland could

:50:30.:50:32.

retain its ownership of the single market and remain within the UK. We

:50:33.:50:38.

are working hard to support S M Ds and corporate with initiatives such

:50:39.:50:46.

as border enterprise, we have launched a Scottish European growth

:50:47.:50:50.

current asthma programme, the first part of the Scottish growth scheme

:50:51.:50:58.

worth 50 million pounds. It will average at least ?100 million for

:50:59.:51:01.

private sector fund managers. Evidence of the fruits of the

:51:02.:51:06.

Scottish Government's Labour were born out yesterday when GDP data

:51:07.:51:10.

showed the Scottish economy defy recession concerns compared to the

:51:11.:51:20.

UK. This is set against the backdrop of accept uncertainty. The

:51:21.:51:27.

Chancellor has conceded that a large amount of UK business investment is

:51:28.:51:32.

being postponed and urged early agreement with the EU on

:51:33.:51:35.

transitional arrangements. Our growth is under threat and we need

:51:36.:51:40.

to hear more than warm words from the Government benches. The

:51:41.:51:42.

Government of the bank of England spoke of anaemic wage growth and

:51:43.:51:48.

said he would like to see what their wages begin to farm and generally

:51:49.:51:53.

how the economy reacts to the prospect of tighter financial

:51:54.:51:57.

conditions and the reality of Brexit negotiations. Scotland's voice is

:51:58.:52:02.

being ignored, it is not democratic and it is not acceptable. Scotland

:52:03.:52:06.

is a top destination in Europe for exports in the UK so it isn't

:52:07.:52:12.

everybody's interest to have a close trading relationship. The Secretary

:52:13.:52:22.

of State for exiting the EU recently said that Ireland will not have to

:52:23.:52:24.

choose between having a strong commitment to the EU or the UK, it

:52:25.:52:30.

can and should have both. Why then can that not apply to Scotland? In a

:52:31.:52:37.

press conference of this year, the Prime Minister said the UK would

:52:38.:52:42.

maintain the Common travel area, and excellent economic links with

:52:43.:52:47.

Ireland. Why then can that not apply to Scotland? There must be a meeting

:52:48.:52:52.

of the UK and devolved governments to decide objectives before the next

:52:53.:52:56.

cycle of negotiations with the EU and there must be a commitment to

:52:57.:53:01.

take seriously the interests of Scottish businesses, universities

:53:02.:53:04.

and a range of other groups becoming alarmed at the way Brexit is being

:53:05.:53:10.

handled. Scotland's voice must be heard during these Brexit

:53:11.:53:14.

negotiations. Recently we had a surprise reporter of that long held

:53:15.:53:19.

SNP view. The Labour Party leader took time out from partying in

:53:20.:53:25.

Glastonbury to say, Scotland needs a clear input into Brexit negotiating

:53:26.:53:30.

processes. He said the Scottish gum that must have regular and

:53:31.:53:33.

systematic access to the British negotiating team so deep Scottish

:53:34.:53:38.

perspective, especially in those areas for which the Scottish

:53:39.:53:43.

parliament is responsible, is fully taken into account. That is very

:53:44.:53:47.

welcome, it is just a shame his party cannot be united on access to

:53:48.:53:53.

the single market. With this Government acknowledge the support

:53:54.:53:56.

for a Scottish seat at the Brexit table and extend the hand of

:53:57.:54:00.

friendship to all devolved nations to take part in these negotiations

:54:01.:54:04.

that will affect their people, their economies and future. The

:54:05.:54:09.

Conservative government is reduced and has failed to resolute a trade

:54:10.:54:15.

negotiating deal with the EU. It is also important that the SNP and we

:54:16.:54:23.

believe in the SNP that we maintain our international development goals

:54:24.:54:28.

and ensure an ethical trade policy. Ensuring those are maintained, the

:54:29.:54:31.

Scottish parliament must have a say on any real trade deal.

:54:32.:54:46.

That is not acceptable and it does the UK's reputation no good on the

:54:47.:54:54.

stage said the SNP will defend Scotland's interest and prioritise

:54:55.:54:57.

maintaining membership of the single market and the customs union for

:54:58.:55:03.

Scotland in the Brexit negotiations. She mentioned our relationships with

:55:04.:55:11.

developing countries and resolving the tax treaty with Malawi was a

:55:12.:55:15.

priority in the last parliament. Today is Malawi Independence Day.

:55:16.:55:23.

Despite its many challenges, it is an independent country so we wish

:55:24.:55:29.

them a happy Independence Day. Of course I share his sentiment wishing

:55:30.:55:33.

Malawi a happy Independence Day and noting the work that members across

:55:34.:55:38.

many benchers have done in terms of Malawi, not least the former Labour

:55:39.:55:43.

First Minister, Jack McConnell who continues to challenge that work. If

:55:44.:55:50.

Brexit negotiations alongside a firm commitment to developing an ethical

:55:51.:55:56.

trade policy are by two. They will not get any kind of unity by

:55:57.:56:01.

ignoring the issues they find in front of them. It is time to take

:56:02.:56:06.

their heads out of the sand, face the music, work with the devolved

:56:07.:56:10.

administrations so that we can get the best possible deal. I refer all

:56:11.:56:21.

members... I am grateful, this is the first time I have had a chance

:56:22.:56:26.

to speak in this new parliament. Let me praise the incredible work

:56:27.:56:29.

undertaken by the Department for International Trade. I know everyone

:56:30.:56:36.

in this chamber will have availed themselves of it. Ministers have

:56:37.:56:42.

travelled to 50 countries. Ten trade groups have been setup, we have an

:56:43.:56:46.

instructional trade advisor and the shrewd decision to make the

:56:47.:56:51.

brilliant Antonia remainer at the permanent secretary and we have a

:56:52.:56:55.

minister fluent in German, so everything is in place for progress

:56:56.:57:03.

to be made. I have to say that I am sceptical about the future and may I

:57:04.:57:09.

quickly say I do not work for the BBC. But they are used this

:57:10.:57:15.

opportunity to say I am a huge supporter of the BBC and BBC News,

:57:16.:57:20.

which is respected all around the world. Those who questioned the

:57:21.:57:26.

BBC's patronage system will claim it is buyers are absurd. You can see me

:57:27.:57:33.

when I defended George Osborne's Brexit emergency budget debate being

:57:34.:57:38.

torn apart by Andrew Neil. He gave me no slack as a remainer coming on

:57:39.:57:44.

his programme. The BBC is not biased or impartial and people claim that

:57:45.:57:48.

it is have simply lost the argument, but let me get back to the main

:57:49.:57:52.

point of this debate which is about trade and I confess that I find us,

:57:53.:57:58.

this country in a confusing edition. We are needing a free trade area

:57:59.:58:04.

with the EU in order to trade with them on the basis of WTO. At the

:58:05.:58:11.

same time we can negotiate a free trade deal with the United States

:58:12.:58:15.

because we do not like trading with the United States on a WTO basis, so

:58:16.:58:21.

I am unclear as to what our position is on free trade and why we are

:58:22.:58:25.

walking away from 500 million consumers and I find it odd that we

:58:26.:58:30.

want to have no deal because we do not want a bad deal. It is quite

:58:31.:58:38.

clear that we cannot pick and choose the different sectors that might

:58:39.:58:42.

benefit from access to the single market and it is quite clear that

:58:43.:58:46.

having access to the single market and being members of the youth

:58:47.:58:52.

enable us to have free trade. The EU has negotiated 60 free trade deals,

:58:53.:58:57.

we approved one in the House with Canada, they started their free

:58:58.:59:01.

trade deal with career which has seen exports rise by 54%. They have

:59:02.:59:08.

started negotiations with Japan and it is through no fault of the EU

:59:09.:59:11.

that we have no trade you with the United States. Trade deals are not

:59:12.:59:20.

necessarily... And once I hear ministers say that when we leave the

:59:21.:59:25.

EU, we will have free trade deals, I would caution them. I had one of my

:59:26.:59:30.

colleagues talk about the virtues of free trade which I share and the

:59:31.:59:34.

opportunity to reduced import tariffs, but he has to beware of the

:59:35.:59:40.

reaction of the British public and different sectors if we simply

:59:41.:59:43.

reduced tariffs against their competitors. Not every free trade

:59:44.:59:49.

deal will be plain sailing which is why it has taken seven years to

:59:50.:59:55.

negotiate the free trade deal with Canada.

:59:56.:00:00.

Is he aware of the research which says the average length of time it

:00:01.:00:09.

takes to negotiate a free trade agreement is 18 months? It would

:00:10.:00:12.

take cross 91 years to get to where we are. Does he think that would be

:00:13.:00:19.

a problem? The idea that we can take a free trade deals of the shelf and

:00:20.:00:23.

not faze lobbies in our own economy about possible threats to their own

:00:24.:00:32.

position... All the sectors... These are extremely conjugated

:00:33.:00:38.

arrangements. And we do benefit, although my honourable friend says

:00:39.:00:41.

we don't have a free-trade deal with EU, but we do have access to a

:00:42.:00:46.

market without quotas, with no tariffs and no nontariff barriers.

:00:47.:00:52.

But remember, free-trade deals are constructed by human beings. I was

:00:53.:00:57.

meeting someone this week who was a US trade negotiator and was very

:00:58.:01:01.

well plugged in to that entire scene, who told me that the US trade

:01:02.:01:07.

representative organisation is at full stretch already. It is quite a

:01:08.:01:11.

list by President Trump canning the trade Pacific partnership. It has

:01:12.:01:17.

got to renegotiate Nafta. TTIP is being put back on the agenda. When

:01:18.:01:21.

President Obama said we were back of the queue, the language may have

:01:22.:01:25.

been unfortunate. But I think we should be realistic about where we

:01:26.:01:30.

are in line with the US and where we are in terms of the capacity to

:01:31.:01:34.

connect -- for the US to negotiate with awesome. I have few questions

:01:35.:01:40.

for the Minister on the front bench, and he is free to reply in German or

:01:41.:01:49.

Russian. I would like to hear which countries and why we have chosen

:01:50.:01:53.

those countries. We do have ten trade groups. I would like to hear

:01:54.:01:57.

his thoughts on a timetable for a freight treat -- free-trade deals

:01:58.:02:00.

with those countries. And I would like to know if there is economic

:02:01.:02:04.

analysis as to what the growth of GDP will be once those free-trade

:02:05.:02:10.

deals have been negotiated. Another point made by the Secretary of State

:02:11.:02:13.

at the dispatch box, and I say this as a great supporter of his work,

:02:14.:02:17.

was the welcome for investment we have seen in the last year. I

:02:18.:02:23.

welcome that as well. As a former minister responsible for the digital

:02:24.:02:27.

industries, particularly from companies like Facebook and Google,

:02:28.:02:32.

which have many issues but we welcome their inward investment. But

:02:33.:02:35.

would he agree that is predicated on their ability to recruit people with

:02:36.:02:40.

specialist abilities? Will reassure us that as part of the negotiations,

:02:41.:02:44.

as my honourable friend says, they will be able to continue to recruit

:02:45.:02:51.

companies that want to invest in UK, people with the right skills both

:02:52.:02:55.

from the European Union and from around the world? One of the

:02:56.:02:59.

benefits of the single market was that you could recruit somebody from

:03:00.:03:03.

the European Union and their partner and members of their family could

:03:04.:03:06.

also come here and work. That was a huge incentive. On the issue of

:03:07.:03:14.

benefits of our single market, and I fully respect that we will be

:03:15.:03:17.

leading the single market and needing a new deal, if I take fro

:03:18.:03:23.

example the arrangements we have at the moment, if you were to send a

:03:24.:03:28.

scanner to a Spanish hospital you would need a maintenance contract

:03:29.:03:33.

with it. You could send your engineer to go and service that

:03:34.:03:36.

under the posting of workers arrangement. You have mutual

:03:37.:03:41.

recognition. Other professional qualifications. Would you agree that

:03:42.:03:44.

it is not only important to have in our new trade agreements the ability

:03:45.:03:49.

to trade goods easily, but also to trade services and to have that

:03:50.:03:55.

ability to send workers flexibly from one jurisdiction to another? My

:03:56.:04:00.

honourable friend makes a fantastic point. She was incredibly effective

:04:01.:04:07.

as an MEP. She would have turned up to Jean-Claude Juncker's speech

:04:08.:04:12.

yesterday. I hope the government will listen to her as we negotiate

:04:13.:04:17.

Brexit. She has unparalleled experience in this House. The point

:04:18.:04:21.

she makes is very effective and pertinent to my constituency where

:04:22.:04:25.

MRI scanners are made at Oxford instruments. I would finally

:04:26.:04:36.

asked... We have a debate in Westminster Hall on Wednesday. I

:04:37.:04:39.

don't know if my member -- my honourable friend will be speaking

:04:40.:04:47.

at the debate. I will speak about it on Wednesday morning. I have run out

:04:48.:04:50.

of time. I have only got 30 seconds left. I want to conclude with a

:04:51.:04:55.

plea. I know that we have this two-year timetable for Article 50,

:04:56.:05:01.

but as the Secretary of State said, this is a political process. He is

:05:02.:05:06.

hoping the European Union will do a deal because their politicians want

:05:07.:05:10.

to see what -- to do what is right for their people. Why are we wedded

:05:11.:05:15.

to a two-year cliff edge process? Even in a six minute speech I have

:05:16.:05:19.

been able to highlight some of the extraordinary complexity is we are

:05:20.:05:23.

facing. If I had longer I could have expanded.

:05:24.:05:30.

Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. It's a pleasure to follow the

:05:31.:05:34.

honourable gentleman. Perhaps unusually, I agree with almost

:05:35.:05:38.

everything he said. It is a year since the referendum. It is three

:05:39.:05:42.

months since we triggered Article 50. We wasted two months with a

:05:43.:05:50.

general election that has left the Prime Minister enfeebled and the

:05:51.:05:53.

front bench confused, and the impact on our economy is potentially hugely

:05:54.:05:59.

serious. We are running out of time. The public services are in crisis.

:06:00.:06:03.

We need the sort of confident direction which is necessary to

:06:04.:06:06.

attract investment in the economy, to enable growth. And the taxation

:06:07.:06:12.

receipts which are necessary to bolster our services. When I debated

:06:13.:06:20.

in the EU referendum debate a year ago, and I have heard similar

:06:21.:06:25.

sentiments reiterated in the debate today, one of the arguments I heard

:06:26.:06:32.

regularly was that because of the trading imbalance between us and the

:06:33.:06:37.

EU, they need us more than we need them, and therefore there will be

:06:38.:06:42.

very friendly -- favourably inclined to a generous settlement. If that is

:06:43.:06:48.

the case, what I can't understand is why there is a problem with saying

:06:49.:06:53.

that we want to remain part of the single market, we want to remain

:06:54.:06:58.

part of the Customs Union, and must go throughout -- for a transitional

:06:59.:07:02.

arrangement until we get it. But somehow we don't seem to be getting

:07:03.:07:06.

that from the government, and that is what is needed to get the

:07:07.:07:13.

confidence, to get investors investing in our country. Now I make

:07:14.:07:20.

it clear that I have a constituency interest. I have more foreigners in

:07:21.:07:29.

my constituency than any other. They are tied into the manufacturing

:07:30.:07:34.

supply chain, particularly the car industry, and the future welfare of

:07:35.:07:37.

the car industry is absolutely essential for the future jobs Zander

:07:38.:07:43.

Diamond prospect of my constituents. And we must be quite clear the role

:07:44.:07:48.

that the car industry plays in the national economy. 7070 -- 77% of

:07:49.:07:55.

cars manufactured in Britain are exported. 56% of these to Europe. If

:07:56.:07:59.

you look at our overall trading statistics by value, the

:08:00.:08:04.

contribution of the car industry is huge and significant. And it is no

:08:05.:08:11.

coincidence that what I articulated as our objectives earlier are

:08:12.:08:16.

exactly what the Society of motor Manufacturers and traders want. This

:08:17.:08:21.

idea that no deal is better than a bad deal and falling back on WTO

:08:22.:08:27.

tariffs is a nonsense. It would add 10% to car prices. 2.5% to 4.5% for

:08:28.:08:36.

parts. And given the toing and froing of car parks in the industry,

:08:37.:08:40.

the potential cost is ?2.6 billion per -- for imports and 1.6 billion

:08:41.:08:47.

pounds for exports. The cost of an average car could increase by 1500.

:08:48.:08:53.

The mixed messaging and hostile rhetoric from the government has

:08:54.:09:00.

caused damage. The figures earlier, mentioned by my honourable friend

:09:01.:09:04.

for Bridgend in the business questions, about investment in the

:09:05.:09:08.

car industry, which is dropped from 2.56 billion in 2015 to only 322

:09:09.:09:16.

million in the first half of this year, these are hugely significant

:09:17.:09:21.

for the future of a Manufacturing industry that is crucial for our

:09:22.:09:29.

export performance. I would just like to comment on the approach and

:09:30.:09:38.

the potential of some of the alternative scenarios that I have

:09:39.:09:40.

heard outlined. And I would like to make it clear, Mr Speaker, Madam

:09:41.:09:46.

Deputy Speaker, that I am as in favour of trading with other

:09:47.:09:52.

countries as anybody is. And I think implicit in a lot of the arguments I

:09:53.:09:57.

have heard said is that somehow the EU is a barrier to us having good

:09:58.:10:01.

trading relations with other countries. I would say to them...

:10:02.:10:15.

Thank you. Our markets and economy are at a Cliff edge due to the

:10:16.:10:20.

responsible behaviour of the UK government at the moment. I agree

:10:21.:10:24.

with my honourable friend in the statements he has made. Can I also

:10:25.:10:28.

correct the honourable member for a stone in his Commons he made earlier

:10:29.:10:38.

on sheep market imports. And Miss quoting Michel Barnier in the

:10:39.:10:42.

tariffs of 12%. What is actually the case is that sheep market imports

:10:43.:10:47.

outside of the EU are subject to tariffs of 12%, plus a fixed amount

:10:48.:10:59.

ranging from 900 euros... Order! I have been very lenient with the

:11:00.:11:02.

honourable lady because I appreciate she has only been in the House for a

:11:03.:11:07.

matter of days. But what she is actually doing is intervening on the

:11:08.:11:12.

honourable gentleman for West Bromwich. She making a speech about

:11:13.:11:16.

something that was said earlier by someone else. I am sure she will get

:11:17.:11:22.

the hang of it. But I can't let her go on any longer. I am sorry. Mr

:11:23.:11:27.

Bailey. Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. I do think the ability to

:11:28.:11:31.

make a speech whilst doing an intervention demonstrates that the

:11:32.:11:37.

member is rapidly acquiring the skills! Can I just get back to the

:11:38.:11:51.

point that I was making? If being a member of the EU is an impediment to

:11:52.:11:55.

trading with other countries, why is it that some of our key EU rivals,

:11:56.:12:01.

such as Germany and France, actually managed to trade far more

:12:02.:12:07.

successfully with those at market than we do? Could it be that

:12:08.:12:10.

notwithstanding their membership of the EU, they are doing something

:12:11.:12:16.

right that we are not doing? And our approach should take that into

:12:17.:12:20.

account rather than blaming the EU for some of our deficiencies in our

:12:21.:12:26.

ability to get the maximum from our trading potential with countries

:12:27.:12:31.

outside. I would also like to make the point, there is this rather

:12:32.:12:37.

naive and I think totally fallacious belief that somehow been coming out

:12:38.:12:41.

of the EU, it is gone to be easy to trade with other countries. The fact

:12:42.:12:46.

is, and again if you look at the biggest market abroad, the expanding

:12:47.:12:54.

markets, China, India and Brazil, if you look at the World Bank ratings

:12:55.:13:00.

on ease of doing business, China is 96, India 149th and Brazil 143rd.

:13:01.:13:08.

The idea that by coming out of the EU they are going to become any

:13:09.:13:12.

easier to trade with quite frankly is self-delusion. The honourable

:13:13.:13:18.

member for Wantage outlines some of the practical difficulties there are

:13:19.:13:22.

in setting up any trade negotiations with other countries. And those will

:13:23.:13:30.

still be alive. The fact is by coming out of the EU we are moving

:13:31.:13:34.

from a trading bloc which is relatively easy to deal with, the

:13:35.:13:39.

one that isn't. And we need at this point to make it quite clear that we

:13:40.:13:44.

want to remain within the EU single market and Customs union.

:13:45.:13:50.

Maiden speech. Julia Dockrell.

:13:51.:14:00.

CHEERING. I thank the honourable member Fred 's contribution and I am

:14:01.:14:04.

grateful to you Madam Deputy Speaker for calling me to make my maiden

:14:05.:14:07.

speech in this important debate about trade. I am also thankful to

:14:08.:14:11.

my honourable friend 's for a gathering around like a protective

:14:12.:14:14.

huddle of penguins. I very much appreciated! We must be realistic,

:14:15.:14:20.

pragmatic and determined about how we best shape this country as we

:14:21.:14:22.

leave the European Union. Too often debate about how we do this is

:14:23.:14:28.

infected by corrosive pessimism that betrays a lack of confidence in our

:14:29.:14:30.

nation and what we can offer the world. Now is it time for

:14:31.:14:34.

resilience, resourcefulness and self belief. Not a crowing self regard,

:14:35.:14:38.

but nevertheless an appreciation for our people and we have created

:14:39.:14:39.

together. First I would like to pay tribute to

:14:40.:14:50.

my predecessor dame Angela Watkinson, a lady of grace and who

:14:51.:14:57.

leaves a proud legacy. She embodies the essence of conservatism. From

:14:58.:15:02.

humble roots she not only built a flourishing career through her hard

:15:03.:15:07.

work and talent but her record of public service, particularly through

:15:08.:15:11.

her church and a half of children with disabilities. I offer her my

:15:12.:15:16.

profound gratitude on behalf of the people of one chance and often

:15:17.:15:22.

stuff. Like me Hornchurch and not Minister will always and forever

:15:23.:15:27.

have an Essex heart. It was an agricultural parish and the vestiges

:15:28.:15:32.

of a simpler past scattered across the seat like and antiques joules.

:15:33.:15:46.

From the mid-17th century, the area attracted successful merchants from

:15:47.:15:48.

London looking to build their country pads and Upminster was first

:15:49.:15:54.

formally collected to the metropolis by rail. Its population remained

:15:55.:16:00.

modest when a developer sported the chance to turn the area into a new

:16:01.:16:05.

garden suburb. One church was similarly swept up and by 1965 both

:16:06.:16:12.

were formally incorporated into favouring. The area's role in

:16:13.:16:18.

defending against the war was played out in my constituency and it later

:16:19.:16:22.

helped revive London by providing land for a large new housing estate

:16:23.:16:27.

on Harold Hill to alleviate housing shortages. What more fitting

:16:28.:16:33.

location for the first sale of a council home to a tenant by the GLC.

:16:34.:16:41.

For aspiration, hard work and a deep sense of family, community and

:16:42.:16:44.

nationhood flow through the veins of my constituents. Ours is the seat

:16:45.:16:50.

where stability mixes with the upward mobility of the metropolis.

:16:51.:16:58.

It is a place where taxis, bands and the tools of trade people rests,

:16:59.:17:04.

where doorways are swept, Holmes taken pride in and where people hold

:17:05.:17:10.

honest hopes for good schools, jobs, public services and homes. My

:17:11.:17:13.

constituents contribute and believing what this nation has to

:17:14.:17:18.

offer but they expect our nation's politicians to hold that belief as

:17:19.:17:21.

well. I began my career working for my right honourable friend the

:17:22.:17:27.

member for the City of London and Westminster, he gave me the space

:17:28.:17:31.

and confidence to flourish. It fills me with enormous joy to see him

:17:32.:17:38.

promoted to serve his country. Those were deceptively sunny days but in

:17:39.:17:43.

quick succession I was to witness the expenses crisis, the financial

:17:44.:17:48.

crisis and then an unending series of scandals that systematically

:17:49.:17:52.

undermined public trust in nearly every institution. I shared in the

:17:53.:17:57.

national mood of disillusionment. Not long afterwards I attended a

:17:58.:18:01.

town hall meeting where I saw councillors physically attacked and

:18:02.:18:05.

issued death threats to one another. I felt a profound sense of horror

:18:06.:18:09.

over what has happened in the borough, the divisive, identity

:18:10.:18:15.

politics of race, religion and class had turned out to breed a culture of

:18:16.:18:19.

grotesque corruption, instability and isolation while local

:18:20.:18:24.

politicians self congratulatory mantras were used only as a cloak to

:18:25.:18:31.

retain power. That night inspired me to become one in five feisty

:18:32.:18:35.

Conservative councillors who has fought to expose what was going on.

:18:36.:18:39.

Tower Hamlets is a byword for what can go wrong when we failed to

:18:40.:18:43.

uphold the systems, is that you should that make Britain work. I

:18:44.:18:48.

spent time working with European and developing nations on governance

:18:49.:18:53.

issues. In witnessing developing niche and spat on corruption it

:18:54.:18:57.

became clear that without decent governance all other efforts to

:18:58.:19:00.

raise living standards and increase the spirit he will struggle.

:19:01.:19:06.

Meanwhile, in seeing the EU in close quarters I reluctantly came to the

:19:07.:19:10.

view that it was divorced from the reality from those it represents and

:19:11.:19:15.

it is now time to return our accountability. I should like to see

:19:16.:19:20.

post Brexit Britain as one of a group of modern, open nations

:19:21.:19:24.

pursuing close corporation in matters of security and defence and

:19:25.:19:27.

an ambitious agenda of free trade covering goods and services,

:19:28.:19:32.

economic prosperity and the creation of international standards for the

:19:33.:19:36.

new technologies shaping our lives. This must sit alongside a

:19:37.:19:40.

restatement of the importance of the nation state with a loose focus on

:19:41.:19:44.

intergovernmental corporation rather than collected decision-making. For

:19:45.:19:52.

our Parliamentary democracy is a precious and delicate gift, the sum

:19:53.:19:58.

of the toil, sacrifice, disagreements and compromises that

:19:59.:20:02.

generations before us have made. Its principles have proved a temp fate

:20:03.:20:06.

governance across the globe and provided a space for millions of

:20:07.:20:11.

individuals to flourish. It is a dynamic system that works because it

:20:12.:20:15.

is lubricated by trust and because each generation tries their best to

:20:16.:20:20.

find chewing it to reflect the needs and wants of the citizens they

:20:21.:20:24.

represent. The past decade may have undermined trust in the economy,

:20:25.:20:28.

politicians and media that crises can drive improvements and should

:20:29.:20:32.

not be taken as a reason to give up or dismiss our nation with a

:20:33.:20:37.

relentless and virulent negativity. Quite the opposite, it is the duty

:20:38.:20:43.

of our politicians to reform and to pursue the hopes and ambitions of

:20:44.:20:48.

British people of every background as we enter this challenging but

:20:49.:20:53.

enormously exciting new era. Helen Goodman. I would like to begin by

:20:54.:21:05.

congratulating the honourable member for Hornchurch and Upminster on her

:21:06.:21:10.

agent speech. She demonstrated how attached she feels to her

:21:11.:21:13.

constituency and that is the best start for being an effective MP. It

:21:14.:21:21.

is also a demonstration of progress we're making when a member can stand

:21:22.:21:26.

up and say that they are the second woman member in their constituency.

:21:27.:21:31.

This is the first time I have spoken since the general election and of

:21:32.:21:37.

course I want to begin by thanking my constituents since for taking

:21:38.:21:40.

part in the general election, especially those who voted Labour.

:21:41.:21:47.

The majority of my constituents voted to leave the European Union in

:21:48.:21:53.

the referendum last year. And when I have discussed this with them what

:21:54.:21:57.

they have told me is that they want a Brexit that immigration but one

:21:58.:22:03.

that boosts exports and secures long-term jobs, particularly in

:22:04.:22:06.

manufacturing. What they were like about the European Union is the

:22:07.:22:11.

social chapter, the Common Market, what we call the customs union, the

:22:12.:22:16.

environmental protections, corporations on our NT and the

:22:17.:22:21.

European arrest warrant. Because of their views on migration, I have to

:22:22.:22:26.

say I think it is inevitable that we are going to have to as part of the

:22:27.:22:31.

event the European Union also believe the single market. But I

:22:32.:22:35.

think the issues on the customs union are rather different and I am

:22:36.:22:43.

very pleased that with the speech that my honourable friend made from

:22:44.:22:46.

the front bench and the remarks made by the honourable member for Saint

:22:47.:22:51.

pancreas who said we must keep the customs union on the table. I do not

:22:52.:22:57.

know why the Chancellor were suggesting that there are legal

:22:58.:23:02.

difficulties in this. Turkey belongs to the customs union and not the

:23:03.:23:06.

European Union, it is the position this country had in the period

:23:07.:23:13.

between 1975 and 1992, and this gives us not just tariff free trade

:23:14.:23:19.

but barrier free trade. When I went to talk to the north-east chamber of

:23:20.:23:23.

commerce, they were worried about how firms would handle the rules of

:23:24.:23:29.

origin if we were to leave the customs union. It is not enough for

:23:30.:23:37.

the customs, that HMRC to have computer systems, that does not deal

:23:38.:23:44.

with the bureaucracy because all the individual firms have to apply in

:23:45.:23:51.

order to be able to use, to get the stages they need in order to be able

:23:52.:23:56.

to use this system and that is immensely bureaucratic and

:23:57.:23:59.

time-consuming and what we have found is this increases costs by

:24:00.:24:07.

about 25%. Another thing which I think it is very important is what

:24:08.:24:11.

we are going to do and the Government has not been clear at all

:24:12.:24:16.

about all the European agencies. In my constituency areas is a Glaxo

:24:17.:24:23.

plant, it employs 1000 people, it produces 500,000 drugs a day. I have

:24:24.:24:29.

been working with Glaxo to look at what kind of Brexit deal would be

:24:30.:24:33.

good for the pharmaceutical industry. They want a level playing

:24:34.:24:36.

field with the other drugs manufacturers across Europe and what

:24:37.:24:43.

that means is staying inside the European medicines agency. The

:24:44.:24:49.

European medicines agency is located at the moment in London because

:24:50.:24:54.

Britain is one of the best producers or pharmaceuticals and we helped to

:24:55.:25:00.

draft almost all the walls that the European medicines agency applies.

:25:01.:25:05.

What Glaxo have said in their paper on priorities for the UK's accident

:25:06.:25:11.

which they sent to me is this, any UK withdrawal from the EU that ends

:25:12.:25:16.

damages the UK's ability to benefit from the EU framework could

:25:17.:25:25.

significantly impacts patients and hinder GS K's operations in the UK

:25:26.:25:31.

and across the EU. Any future regulatory processes must avoid

:25:32.:25:36.

introducing delays, significant costs or unpredictable outcomes. It

:25:37.:25:41.

is critical that an agreement is reached early in negotiations

:25:42.:25:47.

between the UK and EU, that the European regulatory framework will

:25:48.:25:51.

continue to apply to medicines, vaccines, medical devices and

:25:52.:25:56.

consumer ticks that are already authorised or undergoing trials to

:25:57.:26:00.

ensure supply or development of these products are maintained

:26:01.:26:08.

without disruption. Thank you to the honourable member to give way. I was

:26:09.:26:12.

interested in in what she was saying about the issues to do with

:26:13.:26:17.

medicines and vaccines because yes the mutual recognition principle is

:26:18.:26:21.

helpful in allowing British companies to work with others across

:26:22.:26:24.

Europe and the single market, but there are issues which make it

:26:25.:26:30.

difficult for those same pharmaceutical developers to then

:26:31.:26:34.

share data with American counterparts and under the seat

:26:35.:26:40.

agreement, which is not perfect for the UK, there are potential and fits

:26:41.:26:45.

of having mutual recognition not only with Europe but also there, and

:26:46.:26:51.

with the honourable member not agree we would have both types agreement

:26:52.:26:57.

if possible? What we really want to have is minimal regulatory costs on

:26:58.:27:02.

the businesses and that means that we should stay in the European

:27:03.:27:06.

medicines agency because it really is and we have to setup our own we

:27:07.:27:13.

would then be imposing yet a third regulatory system on them and that

:27:14.:27:21.

is immensely expensive. We have a lot of exports and a lot of jobs in

:27:22.:27:26.

this sector. Quite down a lot of peak yous before the election to the

:27:27.:27:33.

Department, I got content free answers. I now want ministers to

:27:34.:27:38.

come clear on what they are going to do that just about the European

:27:39.:27:42.

Medicines Agency but about the 40 other agencies we belonged to

:27:43.:27:45.

ranging from aviation safety to plant health. All of which

:27:46.:27:51.

facilitate trade on a level playing field for British businesses. The

:27:52.:27:55.

second group of people I am concerned about are the hill

:27:56.:28:04.

farmers. I have 400 hill farmers. After Brexit, three things matter

:28:05.:28:09.

for them- the new trade rules, the support systems and their

:28:10.:28:14.

regulations on food safety and the environment. Again, we have had no

:28:15.:28:18.

clarity whatsoever from ministers. If ministers agreed the import of

:28:19.:28:24.

meat with lower animal welfare standards, lower consumer safety and

:28:25.:28:33.

lower prices, they can decimate British agriculture. This would be a

:28:34.:28:37.

disaster for farmers and a disaster for the environment.

:28:38.:28:44.

Can I shock the front bench by saying I agree with absolutely

:28:45.:28:48.

everything the honourable member for Bishop Auckland said. About the

:28:49.:28:55.

member for Hornchurch and Upminster, who is indeed truly fabulous! As we

:28:56.:29:03.

all cuddled around her in what is now known as a doughnut. I'm used to

:29:04.:29:08.

being called a doughnut. I have never before being called a penguin.

:29:09.:29:12.

I have waddled back to my usual place. I am proud to have supported

:29:13.:29:19.

Brexit. And while there were many reasons to support Brexit, the

:29:20.:29:25.

principal reason was around taking back control of our laws, my

:29:26.:29:28.

principal reason was not around that, although I did also campaign

:29:29.:29:32.

on that issue, but about the economic future of Britain. Prior to

:29:33.:29:37.

entering this place I was a banker. When I rang banks in various African

:29:38.:29:45.

countries, the backbone of those countries and the bank was

:29:46.:29:50.

commodities and trading goods. So I have some degree of experience with

:29:51.:29:55.

trade finance, with letters of credit, export guarantees and also

:29:56.:30:03.

doing business across different territories and trading across

:30:04.:30:07.

different territories. As such, I think it is quite good that this

:30:08.:30:13.

parliament is not jam-packed full of detailed legislation beyond Brexit.

:30:14.:30:17.

Because Brexit is going to become placated enough in the detail today.

:30:18.:30:23.

I personally think we will look back with a selective memory and not see

:30:24.:30:27.

Brexit as a great revolution in retrospect. It feels very

:30:28.:30:30.

problematic at the moment and I feel for the Minister who is responsible

:30:31.:30:34.

on a day-to-day basis for delivering. In many ways I'm

:30:35.:30:38.

grateful for being on the backbenches having campaigned for

:30:39.:30:40.

something and letting him do some of the details list. I would like to do

:30:41.:30:47.

more of the next 18 months on trade and customers -- customs. The

:30:48.:30:54.

honourable member of Stone gave us a bit of history lesson. But I think

:30:55.:30:57.

an A-level history student could be confused by some of the debates. If

:30:58.:31:04.

you look through the corn laws or a gunboat diplomacy, trying to build

:31:05.:31:08.

trade and open markets, it feels like an A-level student will be

:31:09.:31:14.

taught a trajectory more open free trade. It seems like a good thing.

:31:15.:31:22.

In a time of uncertainty, the thing that I'm perhaps most concerned

:31:23.:31:25.

about is Donald Trump's comments in relation to trade. At a time when

:31:26.:31:32.

there is uncertainty about QE, sub-prime, eurozone collapse, and I

:31:33.:31:38.

could go on. But actually, I think we need to take responsibility,

:31:39.:31:42.

whether it is G7, G20, the big nation states, to not only look for

:31:43.:31:45.

a free trade for our own benefit but to look at free-trade for other

:31:46.:31:50.

benefits, particularly in the Commonwealth and Africa, which I

:31:51.:31:54.

will come to if I have time. Since I have been in this house in 2005, we

:31:55.:32:03.

have gone from exporting 48% of our goods to outside Europe, to 56%. The

:32:04.:32:08.

growth areas are beyond the European Union. I raised an intervention to

:32:09.:32:14.

the shadow front bench, the issue of us importing more than we are

:32:15.:32:18.

exporting. Quite understandably in the UK, we look at Brexit from our

:32:19.:32:23.

own position because we voted on it, we wanted it, as a nation. There

:32:24.:32:28.

were clearly debates across the parties on all sides. I think

:32:29.:32:31.

thinking more about the German exporters of BMW's, or Prasad echo

:32:32.:32:41.

and champagne etc, we look at it from a European perspective. I think

:32:42.:32:47.

Brexit could seem close to being delivered. I mentioned the

:32:48.:32:53.

Commonwealth. I meant -- welcome the Department's meeting of trade

:32:54.:32:57.

ministers. I was fortunate enough to attend some of those early meetings.

:32:58.:33:01.

There was a real appetite to refresh what should have been happening

:33:02.:33:05.

anyway, but Brexit allows us to refresh the relationships with the

:33:06.:33:09.

Commonwealth. In Africa more generally I'm glad we are taking a

:33:10.:33:12.

step back from the European partnership agreements and would

:33:13.:33:16.

encourage the government, particularly this department, to

:33:17.:33:19.

pursue government policies overall in terms of growing countries out of

:33:20.:33:26.

poverty, which has a great impact on us in terms of cutting migration,

:33:27.:33:29.

cutting terrorism and growing people out of poverty. And that, quite

:33:30.:33:34.

frankly, is as important, if not more important, than getting a

:33:35.:33:36.

short-term benefit of the trade exports. It is a very good

:33:37.:33:44.

opportunity. I do express some concern about the way the department

:33:45.:33:47.

is organised at a time when the Foreign Office at ministerial level

:33:48.:33:51.

is joining with Dyfed so there is a united approach. I think they are

:33:52.:33:57.

taking a regional, country by country approach. The trade envoys

:33:58.:34:04.

will be country approach. However, ministers are taking a more

:34:05.:34:10.

secretary liberals. When I was on the Gold Coast, gold miners would

:34:11.:34:13.

come to me and ask me about the country, how easy it was to do

:34:14.:34:17.

business. But they wouldn't ask about technology and gold and so

:34:18.:34:21.

forth. They would ask about more regional issues and doing business.

:34:22.:34:28.

But perhaps in the round government can provide these services. I would

:34:29.:34:34.

love to see more of the high-value opportunity study, which we can

:34:35.:34:40.

leveraged. The blockage should be freed up and we should appoint more

:34:41.:34:47.

trade envoys as soon as possible. Maiden speech, Karen Lee.

:34:48.:34:58.

An area which covers not only the city of Lincoln but also the

:34:59.:35:05.

surrounding villages of Scunthorpe and Warrington East. I'm proud to

:35:06.:35:09.

have been elected and have the chance to serve my city. Being

:35:10.:35:12.

Lincoln through and through, in electing me as member of Parliament,

:35:13.:35:16.

Lincoln have truly elected one of their own. I will ensure the people

:35:17.:35:19.

of Lincoln that I will be their voice in Westminster. Until just a

:35:20.:35:25.

few wakes ago I was in NHS nurse. Having worked in the NHS on -- since

:35:26.:35:32.

2003, I am aware of the challenges a running down of the service means

:35:33.:35:35.

for health workers and my constituents. I am proud to have

:35:36.:35:39.

been part of the Labour led city council and watched its many

:35:40.:35:44.

positive achievements, including the new transport hub currently

:35:45.:35:46.

undergoing construction in the city centre. As a local councillor, I

:35:47.:35:51.

have witnessed the impact of cuts on budgets and how austerity for some

:35:52.:35:54.

has caused untold misery for the many but not the few. At the

:35:55.:35:58.

beginning of the general election campaign, it was on tear if I would

:35:59.:36:01.

be standing here today making this speech, but Lincoln and its citizens

:36:02.:36:06.

have a history of defying the odds. From the development of the first

:36:07.:36:10.

tank during World War I by determined engineers, to the runaway

:36:11.:36:15.

success of the Lincoln City football club recently, who took the FA Cup

:36:16.:36:19.

to the Emirates Stadium last season, Lincoln has a proud history of going

:36:20.:36:22.

the extra mile. Who would've thought that just a few weeks ago Lincoln

:36:23.:36:27.

would elect one of its own, born and bred, working class citizens as a

:36:28.:36:32.

Thampi to Henry VIII looted Lincoln's Cathedral of its treasures

:36:33.:36:38.

in 1538. Over the last seven years, the Tories' austerity programme has

:36:39.:36:42.

seen a similar looting of services in Lincoln and an increase in social

:36:43.:36:46.

inequality. Our public services, including the local hospital where I

:36:47.:36:49.

worked as a nice, are under tremendous pressure because of the

:36:50.:36:55.

current austerity for some. Likewise, there is huge pressure

:36:56.:36:59.

with the closure of local GP practices. Since my first day in

:37:00.:37:03.

Parliament I have been inundated with messages of concern from

:37:04.:37:08.

residents worried about the possible closure of a walk-in centre. Every

:37:09.:37:10.

day I went to work I witnessed first-hand the strain Lincoln A

:37:11.:37:18.

was under. Chronically shortage -- chronically short of doctors and

:37:19.:37:23.

nurses... As a single parent in 2000, I relied upon the nursing

:37:24.:37:26.

bursary to undertake my training. During my election campaign I

:37:27.:37:30.

visited some of the city's food banks, again a testament to the

:37:31.:37:33.

stark poverty found in parts of Lincoln. Surely in 2017 the need for

:37:34.:37:42.

food banks in the world's fifth richest country is proof of the

:37:43.:37:47.

inequality present. Hard-working people just about managing, people

:37:48.:37:52.

sleeping on the streets, are just as much the norm in Lincoln as many

:37:53.:37:56.

other areas of this country. Over a quarter of all Lincoln children, in

:37:57.:38:01.

some areas of Lincoln, live in poverty. Yet Theresa May has found

:38:02.:38:04.

the key to the magic money tree which has enabled her to find over

:38:05.:38:09.

?1 billion to keep government in power, proving that austerity is

:38:10.:38:14.

indeed an ideological choice and not a necessity. Madame Deputy Speaker,

:38:15.:38:18.

Lincoln has two great universities which we are very proud of, both of

:38:19.:38:22.

which recently achieved the highest rating possible in a new national

:38:23.:38:24.

assessment for the quality of teaching, learning of student

:38:25.:38:28.

achievement in UK higher education. Yet many of the student to live in

:38:29.:38:32.

our city struggle with a mountain of debt because they are paying huge

:38:33.:38:36.

tuition fees, and living privately rented homes which are often poorly

:38:37.:38:41.

maintained, paying high rents which increased the mad of debt they queue

:38:42.:38:46.

Millett. How can that be fair? During my time in this House I will

:38:47.:38:49.

strive to represent Lincoln and all that that is good about it. But I

:38:50.:38:53.

will also champion because of those left without a voice and left

:38:54.:38:57.

behind. And I hope that when my time here is done, Lincoln is a fairer

:38:58.:39:01.

and more equal place for all of its residents. Members may know that

:39:02.:39:04.

Lincoln boasts a stunning Gothic cathedral, and even -- medieval

:39:05.:39:14.

castle and historical quarter... However, perhaps fewer members know

:39:15.:39:18.

that 2017, the year of my election, marks the 800th anniversary of the

:39:19.:39:22.

Charter of the forest, signed in Lincoln and on display in Lincoln

:39:23.:39:27.

Castle. Tradition has it that I mention my predecessor, Karl

:39:28.:39:30.

McCartney. He was a strong advocate for transport and its infrastructure

:39:31.:39:34.

within the city and its surrounding area. Lincoln is still struggling to

:39:35.:39:39.

cope with the heavy demands placed on a modern city. And as part of my

:39:40.:39:44.

election pledges, I will continue the work that Karl contributed to

:39:45.:39:49.

and look forward to positive and effective relationships with the

:39:50.:39:53.

county and city councils and other stakeholders to find the solution is

:39:54.:39:58.

to keep Lincoln moving. I would like to pay tribute to Gillian Merrin,

:39:59.:40:04.

Lincoln's MP from 1997 to 2010, who worked incredibly hard for Lincoln

:40:05.:40:09.

and achieve much for our city. Turning to Brexit, Lincoln voted

:40:10.:40:13.

overwhelmingly to leave. Whilst there will be significant

:40:14.:40:18.

implications for trade, employment and services, the decision to leave

:40:19.:40:21.

was a democratic one and our task is to ensure we get the best possible

:40:22.:40:27.

deal for everyone. Lincoln has a guard -- large European country --

:40:28.:40:30.

community. We need to ensure EU nationals are protected. In closing,

:40:31.:40:36.

Madame Deputy Speaker, I want to restate my hope and aspirations for

:40:37.:40:40.

Lincoln as its MP. I will campaign hard to get a medical school in

:40:41.:40:43.

Lincoln which will attract the doctors we so desperately need to

:40:44.:40:47.

start to address the crisis in our local NHS. I will work with local

:40:48.:40:50.

councils, business and community stakeholders to attract the funding

:40:51.:40:54.

and transport networks and infrastructure which will bring jobs

:40:55.:40:58.

and training my constituents so badly need after seven years of Tory

:40:59.:41:02.

austerity. And I will campaign for extra housing to be built in

:41:03.:41:06.

addition to the plan by the Labour led City Council which will benefit

:41:07.:41:09.

local families and those unfortunate enough to be homeless. And finally,

:41:10.:41:13.

and this comes from the heart, I hope that by the end of this

:41:14.:41:17.

Parliament, however long it lasts, the indignity and suffering and

:41:18.:41:21.

jawed by those who have to use one of Lincoln's many food banks is

:41:22.:41:24.

something that was just bad memory and not a fact of daily life. Adam

:41:25.:41:31.

Davies figure, it is a pleasure to follow the new member for Lincoln. I

:41:32.:41:37.

congratulate her on her passionate maiden speech. Many of us will also

:41:38.:41:44.

remember her predecessor fondly. This debate is at the heart of the

:41:45.:41:48.

challenge for us all in this Parliament. For while leaving the EU

:41:49.:41:53.

is by no means the only task before us, many of our constituents have a

:41:54.:41:56.

clearer focus perhaps on seeing the local school and hospital well

:41:57.:42:01.

funded. Their own standard of living gradually increasing. But if we lose

:42:02.:42:05.

our access and free trade with the EU and fail to grow our global

:42:06.:42:08.

business to compensate, then much else is at risk. Because business

:42:09.:42:14.

generates directly and indirectly 75% of our total tax revenue that

:42:15.:42:19.

funds vital services. And that also means that for all of us who voted

:42:20.:42:25.

against leaving the EU, there is a particular responsibility not to sit

:42:26.:42:29.

back in our chairs and say, I told you it would be a disaster, rather

:42:30.:42:34.

to do our best in making sure that this process works and succeeds.

:42:35.:42:40.

There are jobs, the economy and ultimately the lives of our

:42:41.:42:44.

constituents, are at stake. If I ask Remainers to be pragmatic in seeking

:42:45.:42:47.

the opportunities and not overplaying the risks, I would also

:42:48.:42:51.

ask Leavers to be pragmatic in their approach. The big one example. The

:42:52.:42:58.

Prime Minister did not commit us to a position on the Customs Union. She

:42:59.:43:02.

said, I want Britain to negotiate its own trade agreements but I also

:43:03.:43:05.

want tariff free trade with Europe. And she went on to say, whether that

:43:06.:43:12.

means we must reach a completely new customs union agreement, become an

:43:13.:43:16.

associate member become a signatory to some elements, I have an open

:43:17.:43:21.

mind, which is not the means that matter but the ends. And so the

:43:22.:43:25.

Secretary of State was right earlier today to focus on prosperity as his

:43:26.:43:30.

guiding light. What works best for business is what will be best for

:43:31.:43:35.

us. Because it is business that has delivered the 2.9 million new jobs

:43:36.:43:40.

since 2010, more than all the other 27 new nations together. Today we

:43:41.:43:45.

should all rejoice that exports are up sharply and inward investment, I

:43:46.:43:53.

think, is at record highs from 2016. It is a far cry from the prediction

:43:54.:43:59.

made by some of 800,000 unemployed, deep recession and real economic

:44:00.:44:04.

hardship by now. But nor should we be complacent. For the figures show

:44:05.:44:10.

a strong surplus of exporting services and continued deficit in

:44:11.:44:13.

traded goods. In a year of significant seat -- significant

:44:14.:44:18.

currency depreciation we have to do more. It implies success in

:44:19.:44:21.

retaining the more than 40% of trade with the EU, and success in

:44:22.:44:23.

exporting high-growth markets. Let me touch on China as chairman of

:44:24.:44:38.

the all-party group. I thank the honourable gentleman for giving way.

:44:39.:44:44.

Can I compliment him on his work and on creating greater knowledge on

:44:45.:44:49.

Hong Kong and could I touch on the trading relationships between the

:44:50.:44:57.

two. I thank him for what he said. I am not going to talk too much about

:44:58.:45:02.

Hong Kong and China but for the differences between the closeness,

:45:03.:45:08.

but what I did want to mention is that our exports to China doubled

:45:09.:45:15.

between 2010 and 2016, but they are dependent on a handful of companies

:45:16.:45:20.

and what holds us back and where we have to make much greater progress

:45:21.:45:26.

is on market access. With an excellent new director-general on

:45:27.:45:30.

trade and investment in Beijing, I hope ministers will drive real

:45:31.:45:34.

progress in the strategic partnership to deliver greater

:45:35.:45:36.

access for British services in particular. I thank the honourable

:45:37.:45:44.

member for accepting an intervention, and would he accept

:45:45.:45:48.

that innovation universities should be an area that we should be

:45:49.:45:51.

focusing on in the context of Brexit? I think she is absolutely

:45:52.:45:57.

right in general and I was going to touch on the importance of education

:45:58.:46:04.

and that has to be innovation lead. Lots of other technologies are all

:46:05.:46:10.

areas where we can do much more. Meanwhile, total exports in the last

:46:11.:46:15.

year of which we got complete figures were up 4% with exports to

:46:16.:46:19.

Indonesia and the Philippines up stronger while Malaysians exports

:46:20.:46:26.

dropped slightly and we know that goods exports in the last six months

:46:27.:46:32.

rose 83%, which demonstrates that this progress was not just a flash

:46:33.:46:37.

in the wok. We have real success particularly with business services

:46:38.:46:43.

and insurance, but also with medical technologies and educational

:46:44.:46:48.

technologies. It is worth noting in general that we sell more in

:46:49.:46:53.

education and in insurance now and our partnerships on education in

:46:54.:46:57.

Malaysia are strong examples of what can be done, it remains a strong

:46:58.:47:03.

goal for us as a nation but also a dream of mine to establish a British

:47:04.:47:07.

university in both the Philippines and Indonesia. This matters because

:47:08.:47:12.

one of the joys of doing business in Asia in general is that long

:47:13.:47:16.

relationships and trust drive business as much as the quality of

:47:17.:47:20.

the product and the transaction itself, and relationships start

:47:21.:47:27.

early. They start at schools an universities and it will be our

:47:28.:47:31.

education presents that enable us to catch up with our main European

:47:32.:47:36.

competitors of Germany and France while retaining our advantages in

:47:37.:47:41.

services. This is also where I believe we should not include

:47:42.:47:44.

students in our immigration figures, because to do so would loose an

:47:45.:47:50.

impression of not welcoming foreign shootings and secondly, our

:47:51.:47:52.

universities growth in foreign students has been well below those

:47:53.:48:00.

like the US, Canada and Australia and this is an opportunity we can

:48:01.:48:05.

seize. The prosperity fund will play a key role in growing our bilateral

:48:06.:48:08.

business opportunities and I encourage ministers to ask posts to

:48:09.:48:14.

involve trade envoys. The Minister knows that not long ago we had three

:48:15.:48:21.

trade envoys and I hope he will encouraged the Prime Minister will

:48:22.:48:28.

encourage additional agreements who can take the bilateral edition ships

:48:29.:48:37.

to include businesses. Madam Deputy Speaker, in recent years British

:48:38.:48:41.

businesses have made great strides in Asian markets, we partner with

:48:42.:48:47.

Indonesians to win airport we refuelling contracts, provide

:48:48.:48:54.

teacher training in Borneo, advise on air-traffic management,

:48:55.:48:58.

engineering consultancy and rail projects for hospitals. We equip

:48:59.:49:02.

their alliance with engines and most of the most exciting part of their

:49:03.:49:09.

bus aircraft. While setting out a factory and a new velodrome and much

:49:10.:49:14.

more besides to help make the Jakarta -based station games in 2018

:49:15.:49:19.

a success. There is much we are doing in the world's fifth-largest

:49:20.:49:23.

country, the country described as the biggest invisible thing on earth

:49:24.:49:27.

but not remotely unknown to us and it is one example of what we do in

:49:28.:49:31.

Indonesia of realising great opportunities in Asia in its 50th

:49:32.:49:36.

anniversary year. This is a region where the great campaign is well

:49:37.:49:40.

recognised, the union Jack is strong and the London showcase the best. As

:49:41.:49:47.

I have indicated we can do much more but we built on strong foundations

:49:48.:49:50.

and let us not be shy to tell our story and do more. To make his

:49:51.:50:01.

maiden speech, James Stone. Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker, and can I

:50:02.:50:05.

congratulate you on your appointment. It is a great honour to

:50:06.:50:11.

speak in this House. I am the first member of my stone family ever to be

:50:12.:50:16.

elected as an MP and I'd like to think standing here of my mother and

:50:17.:50:19.

father looking down on me with pride. I also owe thanks to my wife

:50:20.:50:26.

and my three children, without their support and great help I think the

:50:27.:50:30.

likelihood of my being elected would have then a rather smaller. It is

:50:31.:50:36.

customary in this House to make mention of my predecessor. Doctor

:50:37.:50:42.

Paul Monaghan is a passionate nationalist and while he took a very

:50:43.:50:46.

close interest in Middle East matters, the welfare of the

:50:47.:50:51.

ex-inhabitants of the Chagos Islands and in animal welfare, this is his

:50:52.:50:55.

record and I acknowledge it and thank him for it. In addition, I

:50:56.:51:01.

must make mention of my great friend who once represented part of my

:51:02.:51:04.

constituency, the late Charles Kennedy. Much missed and by the in

:51:05.:51:11.

particular, never forgotten. I was for a time his constituency

:51:12.:51:18.

chairman. It is the second largest and most remote constituency on UK

:51:19.:51:23.

mainland. It is for this reason that it presents special challenges to

:51:24.:51:26.

the Scottish Government and to the UK Government. Sparse population,

:51:27.:51:33.

distance, severe winter weather, or necessitate a different approach

:51:34.:51:37.

being taken to the delivery of vital services. What works in Surrey or

:51:38.:51:41.

Glasgow Warriors not necessarily, to work where I come from. It is for

:51:42.:51:47.

this reason that in my constituency, recent changes to the local

:51:48.:51:52.

maternity services involving increased numbers of pregnant

:51:53.:51:56.

mothers having to make a 200 mile round-trip to give birth of causing

:51:57.:52:02.

the very greatest concern. So within the rules of this House pertaining

:52:03.:52:08.

to devolved Scottish Government matters, I do give notice that this

:52:09.:52:12.

issue is of the greatest importance to me and that I shall use my role

:52:13.:52:17.

as an MP to do everything in my power to address it. Equally, the

:52:18.:52:22.

access of suitable fast broadband is proving to be a drag anchor to many

:52:23.:52:28.

local businesses in my constituency. It is unfortunate when trying to

:52:29.:52:33.

promote tourism in this most beautiful area, the importance of

:52:34.:52:38.

operating online efficiently cannot be over exaggerated. If local

:52:39.:52:42.

tourist businesses are to compete globally, they depend on this type

:52:43.:52:46.

of service. Again, I give notice of the importance of this object to me.

:52:47.:52:54.

Madam Deputy Speaker, my constituency have had interesting

:52:55.:53:00.

history. For instance, I am prepared to do that that members of this

:53:01.:53:07.

House do not know that he whose portrait hangs amongst others in the

:53:08.:53:14.

strangers dining room, Charles James Fox, was the member of my hometown

:53:15.:53:20.

is still this is because in the 1784 general election, he fought a

:53:21.:53:28.

campaign to win his seat here. He was helped by the great beauty of

:53:29.:53:35.

his age, the Duchess of Devonshire. Strongly suspected to be his lover

:53:36.:53:39.

but it was to be to no avail. Owing to legal challenges the result they

:53:40.:53:47.

unconfined for over a year. Fox suspected that his distant cousin

:53:48.:53:51.

George III lay behind this stratagem and it only served to deepen his

:53:52.:53:56.

dislike for George III. But Fox had cunning friends. They dreamt up a

:53:57.:54:02.

wheeze and this is what it was, they made him a purchase of a Cockrell, a

:54:03.:54:08.

free man and because of that, he was very quickly elected to the pocket

:54:09.:54:12.

borough of Tain and the northern virus. He represented my hometown

:54:13.:54:18.

until his Westminster result was cleared and then he resigned. I

:54:19.:54:24.

would say with that my own efforts to be elected to represent my

:54:25.:54:29.

hometown was as easy as Charles James Fox's. I could elaborate on

:54:30.:54:34.

the fact that Malcolm O'Donnell stood for my constituency and indeed

:54:35.:54:39.

the uncle of the right honourable member for East Sussex, Randolph

:54:40.:54:45.

Churchill, but that given the time available we will say for another

:54:46.:54:50.

day. I am sorry that the honourable member Angus Brendan is not here.

:54:51.:54:57.

Because I want to quote in Gaelic term use your good self and to test

:54:58.:55:07.

Hansard. We have a saying, it is this, the mighty Khan is built of

:55:08.:55:13.

little stones. I do hope that this particular stone, myself, may play a

:55:14.:55:17.

suitable part in the mighty can that is to in this special place. Thank

:55:18.:55:27.

you. It is a particular pleasure to follow the maiden speech of the

:55:28.:55:32.

honourable member. It was impressive, it was elegant and it

:55:33.:55:39.

was informative all at the same time, and I enjoyed it being the

:55:40.:55:45.

descendants of RMN, myself who perhaps found themselves further

:55:46.:55:57.

south. I know the honourable member and I will be pleased to have seen

:55:58.:56:00.

that reference and I know that the House and all of us will look

:56:01.:56:04.

forward to hearing a great deal from the honourable gentleman in the

:56:05.:56:10.

future. Can I turn to the comments made earlier by my honourable friend

:56:11.:56:15.

for Gloucester. I take the same approach as he did. I believed it

:56:16.:56:20.

was right this country remained in the European Union. The decision is

:56:21.:56:25.

taken. It is our job on all sides to be pragmatic about how we deliver it

:56:26.:56:29.

and that needful give and take on both sides is one that must be very

:56:30.:56:34.

family recognise. This must be a Brexit that works for the 48% just

:56:35.:56:41.

as much as for the 52% and it is important we bear that in mind. In

:56:42.:56:47.

practical terms, that does involve us being open minded as to the

:56:48.:56:50.

nature of the deals which we come to as really. No one party's and if

:56:51.:56:57.

this division attained a majority in this House. This House itself,

:56:58.:57:01.

therefore, has a right to use shape the nature of our leaving and the

:57:02.:57:09.

nature of our future relationship. I endorse and agree with my honourable

:57:10.:57:12.

friend in relation to the customs union. It seems to me logical that

:57:13.:57:19.

we should rule out a position that will put us in a worse position than

:57:20.:57:24.

Turkey, for examples. In relation to the position of foreign students, as

:57:25.:57:29.

a London MP I see the great benefit of the talent that comes into our

:57:30.:57:35.

universities and the City of London, its financial services and our

:57:36.:57:38.

public services as well. I hope we can see some flexibility there and I

:57:39.:57:47.

would also add because my honourable friend for Wantage, we need to look

:57:48.:57:51.

afresh at your atom. It seems illogical to exclude ourselves from

:57:52.:57:57.

something which is fro much to our technological advantage and where it

:57:58.:58:02.

is perfectly possible to be a non-EU member, because Israel is a member

:58:03.:58:07.

and we should not look to put artificial obstacles of perhaps a

:58:08.:58:11.

rather theoretic and will theological kind in the way of a

:58:12.:58:15.

good practical deal where it can be done. That brings me to the meat of

:58:16.:58:22.

what I wanted to say which is about the financial services sector. I

:58:23.:58:26.

refer to my register, some 36% of the constituents work in or around

:58:27.:58:31.

the financial services sector and its supply chain and that is

:58:32.:58:37.

critical to them is critical to the economy as well. Some 45 billion to

:58:38.:58:42.

our economy is generated by the City of London alone never mind that

:58:43.:58:46.

broader financial services sector across the whole of the UK employing

:58:47.:58:52.

some 2.2 billion people. The total tax contribution of the financial

:58:53.:58:57.

services sector is some 71 billion coming to our public services, so I

:58:58.:59:02.

bear no truck with those of the opposition who criticise at the City

:59:03.:59:10.

of London work. There is strategic national interests and it is

:59:11.:59:13.

priority of our government as we seek the EU to safeguard it. That

:59:14.:59:19.

requires a proper deal to deliver mutual market access. If that

:59:20.:59:26.

requires some compromise around what form the adjudication or arbitration

:59:27.:59:32.

arrangements make, so be it. It is much more important to the welfare

:59:33.:59:36.

of this country that we have full and proper access for our financial

:59:37.:59:40.

services sector and we argue about angels on the head of a needle about

:59:41.:59:44.

Courts of Justice and elements of jurisdiction at the end of the day.

:59:45.:59:50.

Modern global countries recognise the need to cooperate and share

:59:51.:59:57.

jurisdiction. We should not rule that out as we go forward. Secondly,

:59:58.:00:03.

it must involve meaningful and early transitional arrangements. Not once

:00:04.:00:09.

which are said to any arbitrary timescale, like finishing within two

:00:10.:00:14.

years, three years, whatever. The transition arrangements must be as

:00:15.:00:18.

long as it takes to do the job for the financial services sector. The

:00:19.:00:25.

deal we made with the British people was to respect the outcome of the

:00:26.:00:29.

referendum, not on how long the top. It is well established that some

:00:30.:00:32.

elements of financial contracts, some elements of the financial

:00:33.:00:39.

sector, if we look at derivatives as opposed to insurance, at different

:00:40.:00:42.

rates of transitional arrangements may be necessary for each of those

:00:43.:00:46.

sectors. We should be flexible. Finally, we must continue to have

:00:47.:00:50.

access to global tariffs. The issue of students has been referred to.

:00:51.:00:58.

The issue of postal workers. The same applies to London's position as

:00:59.:01:02.

a great international law centre, the ability to move lawyers between

:01:03.:01:07.

multi-map -- -- multinational firms is critical. I say to the

:01:08.:01:14.

government, you have my support in doing that but we must do this in a

:01:15.:01:19.

way which put a businesslike outcome, the prosperity of this

:01:20.:01:27.

country above any questions of ideologies or academic

:01:28.:01:33.

consideration. To Aker maiden speech, Danielle Rowley. Thank you,

:01:34.:01:42.

calling me to make my maiden speech. I would like first to congratulate

:01:43.:01:47.

my honourable friend, the member for Lincoln, on a fantastic maiden

:01:48.:01:50.

speech and I share a passion for constituents. And my fellow Scot,

:01:51.:01:56.

the honourable member for a Caithness, Sutherland and Easter

:01:57.:01:59.

Ross on his speech. I would like to echo his sentiments on the legacy of

:02:00.:02:03.

Charles Kennedy. We have heard passionate contributions from

:02:04.:02:07.

members today. During this Brexit process we must get the best deal

:02:08.:02:11.

for the economy, protect jobs and defend the rights of EU nationals. I

:02:12.:02:16.

will be fighting for that on behalf of my constituents in Midlothian and

:02:17.:02:19.

I thank them for sending me here to do that. I must pay tribute to my

:02:20.:02:24.

predecessor, Owen Thompson, who worked hard to represent Midlothian.

:02:25.:02:28.

I'm sure his contribution will be remembered well. I thank him for his

:02:29.:02:33.

congratulations and the warm and friendly way in which we conduct our

:02:34.:02:37.

campaign. In his maiden speech, he wore his Midlothian tartan tie and

:02:38.:02:44.

spoke of the Green representing the landscape, blew the reservoirs and

:02:45.:02:48.

black which represents the coal Midlothian. He remarked that he was

:02:49.:02:53.

the first non-minor in a long time, since the Second World War, to be

:02:54.:02:57.

elected to represent Midlothian. I want to make two points on that. I

:02:58.:03:02.

have another first. I am the first woman to be elected to serve

:03:03.:03:07.

Midlothian. And that I am very proud indeed. And secondly, Madam Deputy

:03:08.:03:12.

Speaker, although you can see that I myself am not a minor, I'm proud to

:03:13.:03:19.

come from mining stock. Both of my grandfathers having worked down the

:03:20.:03:24.

mines. Keeping that strong Midlothian tradition alive. I was

:03:25.:03:27.

honoured to receive support from my local retired miners group. Speaking

:03:28.:03:32.

of former miners representing Midlothian. I would like to pay

:03:33.:03:37.

tribute to to former members I had the honour -- have the honour of

:03:38.:03:41.

knowing. Sir David Hamilton and Erik Kynard. Eric said in his maiden

:03:42.:03:47.

speech, I am proud to be a socialist in the trade unionists, and I am

:03:48.:03:49.

brave lads to be carrying on that mantle. I am very grateful to David

:03:50.:03:54.

for helping me with my campaign. And I must say that I have run out of

:03:55.:04:00.

paper with the list of people in this house from all sides who have

:04:01.:04:03.

asked me to pass on their warm wishes to Eric and David. I know it

:04:04.:04:11.

is tradition to talk about a history of one's constituency in your maiden

:04:12.:04:17.

speech, but I feel those who've come before have done an outstanding job,

:04:18.:04:26.

of Gladstone, Dolly the sheep... If I may, I would like to talk about

:04:27.:04:29.

the people of Midlothian and what I hope to do for our future. On the

:04:30.:04:34.

9th of June, the day after I was elected to serve, I spoke at a local

:04:35.:04:41.

food bank. That was in Penny Cook. I talked to Mark, who told me his

:04:42.:04:45.

personal story. When he found himself having to rely on a food

:04:46.:04:48.

bank. He told me they didn't just give him the food he needed but

:04:49.:04:53.

friendship and support and helped to develop a network. He now has helped

:04:54.:04:59.

set up and run the food bank himself. His story reminded me of an

:05:00.:05:03.

ethos I think is central to charity, central to the idea behind food

:05:04.:05:07.

banks and something that should be central to the work that we carry

:05:08.:05:10.

out here when we talk about helping people in need. That is a hand up,

:05:11.:05:16.

not a hand-out macro. It is essential that we give people the

:05:17.:05:19.

tools they need to live their lives to the full. And when I have worked

:05:20.:05:24.

with people in various jobs who are receiving benefits or receiving

:05:25.:05:28.

support from charity, that is what they want. They want support to do

:05:29.:05:31.

things for themselves, not a hand-out, as some members of this

:05:32.:05:36.

house and the media may have you believe. I'm sad to say that Mark

:05:37.:05:40.

had to report last week that demand for the food bank has increased

:05:41.:05:46.

again. With over 20 families a week using the service. He said that

:05:47.:05:49.

people who come to the food bank cannot afford to feed their

:05:50.:05:53.

families. Some have suffered from the benefit cap welfare reform,

:05:54.:05:58.

others simply cannot feared -- feed their family on their low income.

:05:59.:06:04.

And inadequate help from the government. This is an absolute

:06:05.:06:07.

disgrace and something I will spend my tenure fighting for. I will be

:06:08.:06:12.

fighting for good jobs, good wages, support for an young and elderly,

:06:13.:06:17.

people with disabilities, and a hand up for those who fall on hard times

:06:18.:06:20.

because it could happen to any of us. Midlothian is a strong and proud

:06:21.:06:27.

community. Yes, we come together in solidarity and -- in times of

:06:28.:06:32.

hardship. We did that during the miners' strike, we did when there

:06:33.:06:37.

were job losses and we do it again. We have many fantastic people

:06:38.:06:40.

comment together to celebrate and enjoy our committee. A youth

:06:41.:06:47.

project, community radio, the cancelling community coffee morning

:06:48.:06:51.

where I shared a cup of tea at the weekend with members of the

:06:52.:06:55.

committee. Since being elected I have attended memory -- many

:06:56.:06:58.

children's galleries. On polling day I received some nice soup and a roll

:06:59.:07:05.

at a cafe for older people and their carers. I want to see projects like

:07:06.:07:11.

this bring the community together. I started my speech by paying tribute

:07:12.:07:16.

to Labour members Eric Clarke and David Hamilton. I would like to end

:07:17.:07:20.

their wise words. Eric ended his speech by talking about the double

:07:21.:07:24.

standards of having the few who were rich and the vast majority were

:07:25.:07:28.

poor. David ended his speech by talking about labour standing up for

:07:29.:07:33.

vulnerable people. He said those who would benefit along with all of us

:07:34.:07:37.

not just the few. So although the phrase may have been stolen today by

:07:38.:07:41.

members of the opposite bench, I'm going to reclaim it. I want to end

:07:42.:07:46.

an echo those sentiments, Madam Deputy Speaker, and say that I am

:07:47.:07:49.

proud to have been elected here to represent the people of Midlothian

:07:50.:07:54.

on a platform of hope, and with the message that I am joining my friends

:07:55.:07:57.

on these benches to fight for the many, not the few.

:07:58.:08:02.

Order. I have given as much time as I could to the many excellent maiden

:08:03.:08:08.

speeches this afternoon. But I now have to reduce the time limit to

:08:09.:08:13.

five minutes. James Cartlidge. Is a pleasure to follow the honourable

:08:14.:08:18.

lady from Midlothian. I congratulate her on her fine maiden speech. She

:08:19.:08:23.

speaks with great passion, which shines through, and I'm sure she

:08:24.:08:26.

will be a fine asset to the people of Midlothian. I am also very

:08:27.:08:31.

pleased to follow my honourable friend from Bromley and Chislehurst.

:08:32.:08:34.

Some of the points I make will be similar. I wanted to start by

:08:35.:08:40.

setting in the context of my constituency. I am optimistic about

:08:41.:08:46.

this country outside the EU wanted has secured a comprehensive trade

:08:47.:08:49.

agreement, which must include a services, where we mustn't forget,

:08:50.:08:53.

we have a ?20 billion surplus with the EU. When I go around my

:08:54.:09:01.

constituency companies are optimistic. There is a company I

:09:02.:09:04.

will be visiting next Friday, they are opening a new plant. Not a

:09:05.:09:07.

household name but they have a household name product. Speaking to

:09:08.:09:16.

their boss, they are optimistic if they have trade deals, about selling

:09:17.:09:20.

to countries outside the EU. I think there is a great future for this

:09:21.:09:24.

country when we get to that stage. But there are concerns in my

:09:25.:09:28.

constituency. Our biggest manufacturing employer in the town

:09:29.:09:34.

of Sudbury is a company which is a major exporter to the EU, currently

:09:35.:09:38.

consulting on its plant closure, which would mean the loss of 520

:09:39.:09:43.

full-time skilled jobs in Sudbury. I am grateful to my honourable friend,

:09:44.:09:48.

the member for wire first, for the help he has given me to try to work

:09:49.:09:51.

with the company to find a way forward. But I think my concern is,

:09:52.:09:58.

in the event, and I hope it doesn't happen, that that firm was to close,

:09:59.:10:03.

we have got to sort out how we attract new business in to replace

:10:04.:10:10.

them. New inward investment. We have fantastic and figures -- figures on

:10:11.:10:14.

inward investment. If we want to attract new inward investment, I

:10:15.:10:17.

agree with other honourable members that we must avoid that Cliff edge

:10:18.:10:21.

at all costs. I think it was the honourable member for West Bromwich

:10:22.:10:24.

West two are referred to the automotive industry, which includes

:10:25.:10:28.

my company that I have been talking about. And I called the CEO of the

:10:29.:10:34.

Society of motor Manufacturers and traders. He says, we accept we are

:10:35.:10:39.

leaving the European Union. But our biggest fear is that in two years we

:10:40.:10:44.

fall off a cliff edge, no deal, outside the single market and

:10:45.:10:47.

Customs union and trading on inferior in world trade rules. He is

:10:48.:10:52.

worry is that will hit our ability to attract investment that is

:10:53.:10:56.

critical to future growth. That is my concern. My concern is that

:10:57.:10:59.

basically we are not taking seriously and off the threat of

:11:00.:11:04.

leaving the EU without a deal. In my opinion, the whole issue of a

:11:05.:11:07.

transition should be something for cross-party support because we

:11:08.:11:11.

should realise that the national interest at this moment is served by

:11:12.:11:22.

trying to have a transitional deal in the event that we don't have our

:11:23.:11:25.

new trade deal are renting time. Where I grew with my honourable

:11:26.:11:27.

friend strongly is this point that you don't move from one cliff edge

:11:28.:11:30.

to set up another. To have a transitional deal with another

:11:31.:11:32.

arbitrary time limit would be potentially foolish. It has to be

:11:33.:11:34.

said, as I understand it, that is what the EU would want in any

:11:35.:11:39.

transition. But I think we start by talking about our interests. The

:11:40.:11:43.

best thing for this country would be to have a transitional deal that

:11:44.:11:46.

lasts from when we leave until the time when a new deal is signed. That

:11:47.:11:49.

seems to me common-sense and sensible. Two more points on the

:11:50.:11:54.

issue of transition. There has been a lot of talk about that in recent

:11:55.:11:59.

weeks. Any deal must be a trusted transitional deal. What I mean by

:12:00.:12:03.

that is we mustn't use transition as some kind of Trojan hearse for

:12:04.:12:09.

remaining. It mustn't be used as a way of fudging the issue of securing

:12:10.:12:14.

a good long-term deal. A transition must be just that. Coming from where

:12:15.:12:18.

we are now until we have a new comp rent of deal in place. It must be

:12:19.:12:22.

trusted by both sides of this argument. Those of us who voted

:12:23.:12:29.

Remain and those who voted Leave. I will make a final point. I noticed

:12:30.:12:34.

today that al-Badya said there would been a negotiation and transition

:12:35.:12:41.

until late 2018. -- Michel Barnier. To me it is extremely worrying. I

:12:42.:12:44.

think that as a parliament trying to come together around a position we

:12:45.:12:49.

can agree on, and I think the transitional deal is part of that, I

:12:50.:12:52.

think we should be trying to look at how we pressure for potentially even

:12:53.:12:57.

a parallel process, so that in the event that this country does not

:12:58.:13:02.

secure a deal by March 2019, it has an insurance policy in place to

:13:03.:13:08.

ensure business stability, business confidence, is maintained and we

:13:09.:13:11.

don't crash out and affect our economic future. Thank you, Madam

:13:12.:13:17.

Deputy Speaker. I would like to congratulate the honourable member

:13:18.:13:20.

for Midlothian on their excellent speech and the priorities she has

:13:21.:13:25.

set herself. I would also like to take this opportunity to

:13:26.:13:28.

congratulate the member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter

:13:29.:13:30.

Ross and a very confident and polished maiden speech, and clearly

:13:31.:13:34.

that particular stone will be playing a role, a significant role,

:13:35.:13:41.

in the Ken of democracy. Madam Deputy Speaker, I'm disappointed

:13:42.:13:43.

that the Secretary of State isn't here. I would have pointed out to

:13:44.:13:47.

him that the business of attacking national broadcasters is something

:13:48.:13:52.

that Putin and Trump do. It is not something our Secretary of State

:13:53.:14:00.

should be doing. Will he join me in welcoming Robbie Gibb from the BBC,

:14:01.:14:08.

who has gone to be director of communications at Number 10? I'm

:14:09.:14:11.

sure there is some excellent cross-fertilisation going on. Of

:14:12.:14:14.

course I do congratulate him on his new role. As the Minister will know,

:14:15.:14:21.

the Liberal Democrats favour staying in the single market and customs

:14:22.:14:24.

union, and we're disappointed the government made no -- no attempt to

:14:25.:14:27.

secure that while talking to the other European coaches about freedom

:14:28.:14:28.

of movement. What we need to hear from the

:14:29.:14:37.

Minister is what his assessment of the cost of leaving the single

:14:38.:14:41.

market and the customs union is going to be. What is the cost of no

:14:42.:14:49.

deal, a bad deal and a good deal? We have heard from the Secretary of

:14:50.:14:55.

State for Exiting the European Union that he cannot tell us what the cost

:14:56.:14:58.

is because we do not know what the deal is, yet we hear that leaving

:14:59.:15:05.

the EU will be brilliant, a bonanza for British business. They can tell

:15:06.:15:09.

us that but they cannot tell us what the cost of leaving with a bad or no

:15:10.:15:15.

Deal is going to be, and we need to hear that from the minister or is

:15:16.:15:20.

there just a cover-up going on? We also need to hear what the

:15:21.:15:25.

Minister's expectation is in terms of the deal is struck once we leave?

:15:26.:15:30.

How many deals does the Minister expect will be secured in the first

:15:31.:15:35.

year, the second year, the third, or the 50 year? We have heard from

:15:36.:15:40.

other members what the average time is it takes to secure a trade deal.

:15:41.:15:46.

What I would also like to here is some feedback on what the countries

:15:47.:15:51.

with which the EU have already struck a deal or are about to

:15:52.:15:57.

finalise a deal in relation to Canada, for instance, in relation to

:15:58.:16:02.

South Korea, Japan, which is very close to securing that dear, I would

:16:03.:16:07.

like to hear from them what their expectation is for how long it would

:16:08.:16:11.

take to secure a new deal with the UK at some point in the future.

:16:12.:16:18.

Also, given that informal discussions have started, we are

:16:19.:16:23.

entitled to know what countries like China and India and Brazil have been

:16:24.:16:28.

saying to the British government about their expectation of how many

:16:29.:16:33.

more Chinese, Indian and Brazilian citizens will be able to come to the

:16:34.:16:39.

UK on the back of those trade deals, because people will be interested to

:16:40.:16:47.

know those facts. The Minister has heard from many contributors this

:16:48.:16:53.

afternoon, the importance of freedom of movement, I am sure he will have

:16:54.:16:57.

been lobbied by companies, organisations across the board in

:16:58.:17:01.

terms of their concerns about the impact that restricting freedom of

:17:02.:17:05.

movement will have, whether it is companies that innovate, or

:17:06.:17:10.

companies like that in my constituency who are worried that

:17:11.:17:14.

because they cannot gain access to engineers in the UK because we do

:17:15.:17:19.

not have enough of them, they will find a number of engineers they rely

:17:20.:17:23.

on from the EU, that number is already reducing because those

:17:24.:17:27.

people are seeking opportunities elsewhere. They know it will cost

:17:28.:17:30.

them more to secure engineers from outside the EU because they will

:17:31.:17:35.

have to pay Visa costs for them, something that is already happening

:17:36.:17:41.

to the recruitment of nurses, so my local hospital rather than

:17:42.:17:44.

recruiting nurses from the EU who no longer want to come partly because

:17:45.:17:49.

of the fall in the value of the pound, instead that hospital is

:17:50.:17:53.

securing nurses from India and the Philippines and the differences they

:17:54.:18:01.

are now paying roughly 1000 pounds a Visa, something they did not have to

:18:02.:18:06.

pay when businesses were from the EU. We need to hear what the

:18:07.:18:11.

Government are joined to embed in these trade deals, because we have

:18:12.:18:15.

heard from the Secretary of State about the shared values that he has

:18:16.:18:20.

with the Philippines, I do not have that many shared values with a

:18:21.:18:27.

president who has gone round his country using extrajudicial killings

:18:28.:18:32.

to dispose of drug dealers. Maybe the Secretary of State does have

:18:33.:18:36.

shared values with him, but we need to hear from the Minister how he is

:18:37.:18:41.

going to embed in these trade deals, issues like human rights,

:18:42.:18:44.

environmental rules so that we know this is not going to be trade deal

:18:45.:18:49.

secured at any cost and in fact we're going secure decent trade

:18:50.:18:55.

deals, and I will finish on the subject of trade deals. Earlier I

:18:56.:19:01.

asked the leader of the House to confirm whether the Government were

:19:02.:19:04.

going to reveal whether the report into extremism, extremist funding in

:19:05.:19:12.

the United Kingdom, whether that is something the Government are going

:19:13.:19:16.

to release. I am worried it may not be released simply because of the

:19:17.:19:19.

trade deals we have secured with Saudi Arabia which might be

:19:20.:19:24.

jeopardised if that report is published. The last two speakers

:19:25.:19:32.

have been very patient. They have only four minutes each. Thank you. I

:19:33.:19:39.

wish to start by declaring an interest before entering this House.

:19:40.:19:50.

I worked as a corporate lawyer in the city and also as a senior

:19:51.:19:57.

executive at HSBC. I wish to talk specifically about financial

:19:58.:20:03.

services in this debate post Brexit. I echo the words of my honourable

:20:04.:20:08.

friend the member for Bromley and Chislehurst talking about the impact

:20:09.:20:12.

and how how much of an asset financial services is to our

:20:13.:20:16.

country, and I do not wish to repeat these statistics that he has

:20:17.:20:21.

outlined, but they are all true. One thing that is worth considering is

:20:22.:20:27.

why our financial services sector is such a world leader and one reason

:20:28.:20:33.

is not just because it has been for a long time, but because of the

:20:34.:20:38.

quite in-depth, unique infrastructure surrounding financial

:20:39.:20:41.

services that makes Britain such a good place for this industry,

:20:42.:20:44.

whether it be the lawyers, accountants, consultants and the

:20:45.:20:48.

like. Those advantages are not going to change. But it is true, it is

:20:49.:20:58.

true that business never likes uncertainty and there is undoubtedly

:20:59.:21:04.

uncertainty in certain areas of our regulatory and legal framework

:21:05.:21:06.

surrounding financial services, and I would like to just talk about two

:21:07.:21:14.

of those areas. One area, possible team. As members will appreciate a

:21:15.:21:19.

key area that has been outlined is the desire of this country to

:21:20.:21:23.

continue to benefit from the single passport for financial services

:21:24.:21:26.

which operates within member states of the EU, whereby a firm that

:21:27.:21:32.

obtains authorisation to carry out an activity in Wanstead can carry

:21:33.:21:36.

out such activity in other member states without further authorisation

:21:37.:21:43.

and it would be good to hear from the Minister whether we intend to

:21:44.:21:46.

try and maintain that position going forward. Another area worth

:21:47.:21:54.

considering is an area of real uncertainty at the moment is on the

:21:55.:22:00.

whole principle of equivalence. At the immediate point of exit, EU law

:22:01.:22:05.

will form part of UK law and therefore as a matter of fact will

:22:06.:22:09.

be equivalent. However it should not be controversial for the UK to keep

:22:10.:22:14.

the bulk of EU financial regulation then in force as much of it was

:22:15.:22:18.

either largely driven or even written by the UK or derived from

:22:19.:22:24.

international accords of one kind or another. That is another area where

:22:25.:22:31.

certainty for business would be appreciated and in particular, the

:22:32.:22:35.

position around EU clearing of euros in the City of London is something

:22:36.:22:42.

that is attracting a lot of concern. But having said that, the

:22:43.:22:45.

uncertainty is there, but we need to make sure our reasonable concerns

:22:46.:22:50.

does not lead us post Brexit and their long-term to try and keep

:22:51.:22:56.

everything that we have now within the European Union is the same, and

:22:57.:23:04.

why should that be as macro it would mean accepting wholesale a European

:23:05.:23:07.

regulatory framework which we would no longer have a role in shaping and

:23:08.:23:13.

which would consequently allowed the EU if perish the thought they wish

:23:14.:23:19.

to cause us difficult see are our financial services sector and try to

:23:20.:23:23.

stifle our activity. I do not have time to go into what I think their

:23:24.:23:27.

vision for financial services should be post Brexit, which is a shame for

:23:28.:23:34.

everybody, but all I would say is we need a transition, we need to get

:23:35.:23:38.

there but we have a bright future for the financial services sector

:23:39.:23:42.

after Brexit and I would like to hear from the Minister on those

:23:43.:23:47.

points. It has been a pleasure to be in the chamber to hear some

:23:48.:23:51.

excellent maiden speeches and if the House would indulge me I would like

:23:52.:23:56.

to single out my honourable friend from Lincoln and Midlothian. It was

:23:57.:24:01.

a pleasure to hear the Secretary of State extolled the virtues of free

:24:02.:24:04.

trade, much of which I agree with. He is right that fair free trade

:24:05.:24:11.

engenders prosperity and it also develops peas, it also develops

:24:12.:24:16.

peace. If we are trading with somebody, we are not fighting with

:24:17.:24:19.

them. That was precisely the reason why the EU was founded in the first

:24:20.:24:28.

place. But he now wishes to move away from. I do think that Brexit is

:24:29.:24:39.

going to be a disaster. I voted for Article 50 because my side lost the

:24:40.:24:44.

referendum and I recognise that. I also stood on the manifesto to get

:24:45.:24:48.

their best form of Brexit possible within those circumstances, but that

:24:49.:24:54.

means a People's Brexit that promotes prosperity and jobs,

:24:55.:24:57.

promotes environmental and is, workplace protections and of course

:24:58.:25:05.

consumer protections. But I do say to the House whereas we will try and

:25:06.:25:11.

get the best deal for the UK within Brexit, we cannot find a future

:25:12.:25:19.

generations who may wish to get a different relationship including at

:25:20.:25:22.

some point we joining the EU. The ideological push that is to an

:25:23.:25:26.

extent being led by the more hard white Brexiteer is in the

:25:27.:25:31.

Conservative Party to get the hardest deal come what may and I

:25:32.:25:35.

don't think it is acceptable really the EU with no Deal, and if we do

:25:36.:25:41.

come it will be down to the ministers who are negotiating that.

:25:42.:25:44.

There is concern in the private sector about the uncertainty that is

:25:45.:25:52.

generated by the current circumstances and there seems to me

:25:53.:25:55.

and it necessity in the position we have. The automotive sector, once a

:25:56.:26:05.

separate deal. The aerospace sector once a special deal, pharmaceuticals

:26:06.:26:09.

once a special deal, chemicals, currently tussling with their reach

:26:10.:26:14.

regulations want a separate deal, the nuclear industry wants a

:26:15.:26:22.

separate deal. The honourable gentleman from Bromley told us about

:26:23.:26:26.

City of London and the legal sector needing a special deal and he was

:26:27.:26:30.

right in his speech. Higher education depends on funding and

:26:31.:26:36.

academic collaboration. Agriculture once the sector deal. Hospitality

:26:37.:26:44.

once a sector deal. Social care once a sector deal. I cannot help but

:26:45.:26:49.

wonder when it might be that that light bulb will come on and instead

:26:50.:26:56.

of having so many deals, one deal might be more appropriate. There is

:26:57.:26:59.

a problem with the single market. We know free movement does cause, has

:27:00.:27:05.

caused difficulties, but that can be addressed and I would finally make a

:27:06.:27:10.

plea that the Government is in a weak position because of its

:27:11.:27:13.

desperation to sign a free trade deal, any free trade deal with

:27:14.:27:19.

anybody that we are not able to stand up for the values I thought we

:27:20.:27:24.

all shared. So we not condemning President Trump over his walking

:27:25.:27:32.

away from the Paris deal, we are getting into bed such as Rodrigo

:27:33.:27:36.

Duterte of the Philippines. It is the failure to achieve decent terms

:27:37.:27:43.

of our trade deal or understand what those terms will be is affecting our

:27:44.:27:50.

foreign policy and is waking hour standing as a result. Labour is

:27:51.:27:56.

pro-trade and pro-investment. The UK's prosperity depends on the

:27:57.:28:10.

nontariff barriers. The negotiations for the exit of the United Kingdom

:28:11.:28:14.

from the EU have already begun in our future prosperity as a nation is

:28:15.:28:18.

dependent on our international trading Roshan ships. Of those,

:28:19.:28:26.

clearly UK EU trade deal must be the Government's priority. A no deal

:28:27.:28:30.

with the EU is the worst possible deal and must be ruled out. Anyone

:28:31.:28:36.

who has run a business knows you look after your existing business

:28:37.:28:41.

relationships first. If you do anything else, you do so at your

:28:42.:28:46.

peril. I would like to turn to some of the comments of the speeches we

:28:47.:28:48.

have heard today. A speech from the honourable member

:28:49.:28:57.

for Livingston. She spoke of the transitional arrangements and the

:28:58.:29:01.

question of how to deliver frictionless trade. The Right

:29:02.:29:09.

Honourable member for Wantage, the first of the pro-Chancellor 's

:29:10.:29:16.

speeches of the day. Of many pro-Chancellor 's speeches, given

:29:17.:29:24.

the interesting relationship going on between the Chancellor and the

:29:25.:29:27.

Brexit Secretary. My honourable member from West Bromwich West spoke

:29:28.:29:34.

of the car industry and the need to ensure that we continue to support

:29:35.:29:39.

car exports. He spoke of the damage no deal would do to that industry.

:29:40.:29:44.

The honourable lady from Hornchurch and Upminster made her maiden

:29:45.:29:50.

speech. I congratulate her on the enthusiastic way in which she spoke

:29:51.:29:55.

about her constituency. My other friend from Bishop Auckland spoke

:29:56.:29:59.

about the commitment that she has two her constituents, the need from

:30:00.:30:10.

her constituents... She spoke of the importance to this country of the

:30:11.:30:13.

European medicines agency as well as the need to support the hill farmers

:30:14.:30:19.

in her constituency. The honourable member from Rochford and Southend

:30:20.:30:21.

East, I think he was supporting the Brexit Secretary in this debate. My

:30:22.:30:27.

honourable friend from Lincoln made an excellent and passionate speech.

:30:28.:30:33.

And spoke about the importance of the the Department for Transport hub

:30:34.:30:35.

delivered by the Labour council of which she has been part. And of

:30:36.:30:39.

course that support for transport infrastructure is crucial to backing

:30:40.:30:45.

the businesses and the jobs of her constituents, including those

:30:46.:30:49.

involved in international trade. The honourable member from Gloucester

:30:50.:30:55.

was clearly backing the Chancellor. The honourable gentleman from

:30:56.:30:59.

Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross reminded us of his late friend,

:31:00.:31:04.

Charlie Kennedy, who was much respected by members across the

:31:05.:31:09.

House. I congratulate him and is confident maiden speech. I enjoyed

:31:10.:31:12.

his story about his predecessor, Charles James Fox. The honourable

:31:13.:31:17.

member from Bromley and Chislehurst was with the Chancellor again. My

:31:18.:31:22.

honourable friend from Midlothian made an excellent maiden speech. She

:31:23.:31:29.

reminded us she is the first woman to represent her constituency, comes

:31:30.:31:34.

from a family of minors and is keeping that tradition going. And I

:31:35.:31:37.

was very pleased to hear she was elected like I was, on a platform of

:31:38.:31:42.

hope for the many, not the few. The honourable member from South Suffolk

:31:43.:31:49.

was clearly with the Chancellor. He gave a constituency example of the

:31:50.:31:59.

dangers of a cliff edge exit and spoke of the importance of

:32:00.:32:03.

transitional arrangements. We had a speech from the honourable member of

:32:04.:32:08.

Carshalton and Wallington. And another from the honourable member

:32:09.:32:15.

from Hitchin and Harpenden, who I think was backing the Chancellor as

:32:16.:32:19.

well. We finish with a great speech from my honourable friend from the

:32:20.:32:23.

City of Chester, who reminded us of the importance of fair and free

:32:24.:32:31.

trade, how it engenders prosperity and peace. He, like me, will be

:32:32.:32:35.

supporting a Brexit that promotes jobs as well as environmental and

:32:36.:32:47.

consumer protection. The government have promised to deliver the exact

:32:48.:32:51.

same benefits as we have inside the single market and customs union, and

:32:52.:32:54.

Labour will hold them to account on this commitment. We recognise that

:32:55.:33:00.

when we leave the European Union a transitional period is vital to

:33:01.:33:02.

avoid a cliff edge for the UK economy. With respect to when the UK

:33:03.:33:10.

has formally left the UK union, -- European Union, the government has

:33:11.:33:14.

failed to set out a coherent trade strategy, and we have called upon

:33:15.:33:17.

them to set out and International Trade White Paper. The UK needs

:33:18.:33:23.

clarity on this as never before. It is not acceptable to take our

:33:24.:33:26.

country forward into an uncertain future that includes exiting the EU

:33:27.:33:31.

without a Combezou plan on International Trade. Such a plan

:33:32.:33:37.

must be presented to and properly scrutinised by the British people

:33:38.:33:41.

and their elected representatives in Parliament. If White Paper must set

:33:42.:33:49.

out what the plans are for future international Trade, outlining

:33:50.:33:52.

negotiating principles and trade policy objectives commented in which

:33:53.:33:55.

industry sectors will be prioritised and which not. Verification of what

:33:56.:34:00.

was meant in the Lancaster House speech by hybrid customs

:34:01.:34:06.

arrangements need to be set out. The government says it intends to pursue

:34:07.:34:10.

closer trade links with Commonwealth partners. This would make Frannie

:34:11.:34:17.

lost trade with the EU, which accounts for 44% of exports.

:34:18.:34:20.

However, none of our export partners is a Commonwealth country. The

:34:21.:34:26.

Spring Budget statement reveals this government is out of ideas when it

:34:27.:34:31.

comes to boosting our exports and tackling the productivity slump

:34:32.:34:35.

forecast by the Office for Budget Responsibility. This is a government

:34:36.:34:38.

that talks big on trade and Brexit but has failed to provide the

:34:39.:34:41.

support for British businesses wishing to export and grow into new

:34:42.:34:46.

markets. The latest ONS figures show that the UK's trading goods deficit

:34:47.:34:53.

has increased by 2.6 billion. Our imports are on the rise while our

:34:54.:34:57.

exporter failing to catch up. Despite the government's bombastic

:34:58.:35:02.

talk of Britain leading the world as a trading nation, our trade

:35:03.:35:04.

performance under their watch has been weak. British small and

:35:05.:35:10.

medium-sized enterprises and trade bodies have repeatedly called on the

:35:11.:35:15.

doubled to do more to deliver real support to potential exporters. The

:35:16.:35:18.

government has ignored them. They focused instead on the big

:35:19.:35:22.

corporations, and on arms sales. They have systematically delayed

:35:23.:35:26.

funding for overseas trade shows and have over the years the creased the

:35:27.:35:34.

budget funding for such funding. -- decreased. They should be

:35:35.:35:37.

maintaining the trade show access programme and, crucially, delivering

:35:38.:35:43.

it on time, not delaying it by four months as has just happened. The

:35:44.:35:47.

government needs to maximise support for those wishing to export. It

:35:48.:35:50.

needs to make clear what its mission is, what its vision of what trade

:35:51.:35:55.

looks like it is, it needs to bring the White Paper forward and it will

:35:56.:35:59.

need to say what its view is about transitional arrangements. How it

:36:00.:36:02.

will deliver frictionless trade outside the EU, with the EU, and it

:36:03.:36:12.

needs, above all, to put forward the promise of jobs and British

:36:13.:36:15.

businesses first. Minister, Mr Greg Hands. Thank you,

:36:16.:36:23.

Madam Deputy Speaker. Can I thank the first of all honourable and

:36:24.:36:26.

right Honourable members for what has been a very useful debate. I

:36:27.:36:31.

think 17 members have spoken in what has been the first general trade

:36:32.:36:34.

debate since the formation of the department last summer. Madame

:36:35.:36:39.

Deputy Speaker let us consider for the moment the significance of this

:36:40.:36:43.

new department of state. It was ten years ago, almost to this month,

:36:44.:36:49.

that Labour abolished the word trade from the name of any government

:36:50.:36:54.

department whatsoever. One of Gordon Brown's very first decisions was to

:36:55.:36:58.

eliminate the word trade entirely. So the creation of a new department

:36:59.:37:04.

shows the determination of our Prime Minister to put trade at the heart

:37:05.:37:08.

of government. And can I praise the free trade division of my right

:37:09.:37:14.

honourable friend, the Secretary of State, and what he outlined earlier

:37:15.:37:19.

today. First a few words on the foreign investment data, showing a

:37:20.:37:21.

record-breaking number of FDI projects coming into the UK in the

:37:22.:37:26.

financial year just finished. Inward investment into the UK are estimated

:37:27.:37:33.

to have created or safeguarded nearly 108,000 jobs last year.

:37:34.:37:38.

Madden Deputy Speaker, our trade officials have helped secure more

:37:39.:37:43.

deals than ever before, up 7%. A big thank you to all of our staff around

:37:44.:37:48.

the world. Can I just remind Labour that actually the trade deficit,

:37:49.:37:52.

which I think they talked about at several points today, is actually

:37:53.:37:56.

down considerably since the position we inherited in 2010. Down a

:37:57.:38:01.

considerable 5.6 billion. At the same time, exports to the EU have

:38:02.:38:07.

increased by 11.3%. Exports outside of the European Union have actually

:38:08.:38:15.

increased by 34.6%. That is a very significant figure. We had calls for

:38:16.:38:19.

the Labour opposition for clarity from the Gutmann. This from a party

:38:20.:38:23.

whose leader calls free-trade a dogma, but the member for Brent

:38:24.:38:28.

North says Labour are principled, free traders. We remember his

:38:29.:38:36.

clarity on Sita. On the committee he supported. But then he called for a

:38:37.:38:41.

Commons vote on it on a deferred division. On the Wednesday, you're

:38:42.:38:45.

still is party to vote it down. But his own party rebelled against him

:38:46.:38:51.

by a margin of 85 to 67. He says he is in favour of free trade, but he

:38:52.:38:56.

seems to be against all freight -- free-trade deals. The final point he

:38:57.:39:01.

may wish to note, he talked about his honourable friend, the member

:39:02.:39:03.

for Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland. He may not have been

:39:04.:39:10.

watching on the 8th of June, but the member is now on the Conservative

:39:11.:39:14.

benches. He is now my Anor boyfriend and not his. -- Honourable friend.

:39:15.:39:20.

We had some excellent maiden speeches. First class maiden speech

:39:21.:39:27.

from the member for Hornchurch and Upminster. She spoke with limited

:39:28.:39:31.

nodes and she paid tribute to Dame Angela Watkinson, a friend of mine

:39:32.:39:35.

and many others. She talked elegantly about Upminster, a place I

:39:36.:39:38.

know well am a Madden Deputy Speaker. It is on the front of every

:39:39.:39:42.

single train I take each morning on the district line. And I rarely get

:39:43.:39:47.

there but I am looking forward to one-day actually visiting. She

:39:48.:39:50.

mentioned the sale of council homes in London and how important it is

:39:51.:39:55.

today. She presented a positive and uplifting vision for the future of

:39:56.:39:57.

this great country. We thank and welcome. The Honourable Lady from

:39:58.:40:08.

Lincoln spoke of her predecessors. She didn't mention Dick Taverna, who

:40:09.:40:14.

left Labour to join the SDP. But from the content of speech, it

:40:15.:40:17.

sounded like there was little chance of that happening with her. But I

:40:18.:40:22.

congratulate her on her speech and welcome to this place. We heard from

:40:23.:40:26.

the new member from Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, one of

:40:27.:40:30.

the longest names and the second-largest consistency. A

:40:31.:40:32.

constituency clearly knows well. I am sure that his predecessor but

:40:33.:40:36.

one, the lead Charles Kennedy, would have been very proud of his speech

:40:37.:40:40.

in this house today. We had from the lady, the new Honourable Lady, the

:40:41.:40:46.

member for Midlothian. An accomplished maiden speech. It is

:40:47.:40:50.

refreshing to hear Scottish actions coming back on the Labour benches.

:40:51.:40:53.

She made some good points on welfare. I think we would all agree

:40:54.:41:00.

that people need a hand up. We heard from Honourable members from stone,

:41:01.:41:08.

East Gloucester... The Honourable member from stone mentioned the

:41:09.:41:11.

Labour split on the single market. I have seen 11 Queens speeches. I have

:41:12.:41:16.

occasionally seen a government rebellion on an opposition

:41:17.:41:20.

amendment. But I have never seen an opposition amendment on an

:41:21.:41:22.

opposition... I want to take an intervention. There is no time. We

:41:23.:41:27.

heard from the member from Wantage, and entertaining speech, praising me

:41:28.:41:32.

for my language split -- skills. She asked which countries we have ten

:41:33.:41:36.

working groups covering 15 countries. He talked about the

:41:37.:41:39.

timetable. We talked about the analysis of the increase in GDP.

:41:40.:41:44.

Those will be things that it is impossible to tell at the minute

:41:45.:41:46.

because it is impossible to tell what will be in those agreements.

:41:47.:41:51.

The Honourable member from Southend East pointed out the increase in

:41:52.:41:54.

value of our exports to outside of the EU, since he were -- he and I

:41:55.:42:00.

were first elected in 2005. He is also right on the trade deficit. My

:42:01.:42:03.

honourable friend from Gloucester said he was -- said, he was right,

:42:04.:42:09.

that those of us who campaigned for a Leave or Remain, the importance is

:42:10.:42:14.

to seek the best outcome for the UK to succeed in the negotiations. I

:42:15.:42:18.

praise him for the work he does in Southeast Asia and the importance of

:42:19.:42:26.

China. My honourable friend from Bromley, and my honourable friend

:42:27.:42:30.

from Hitchin and Harpenden, mention the importance of financial

:42:31.:42:33.

services. We are in a strong position. The city needs access to

:42:34.:42:38.

European customs. But European borrowers and investors also need

:42:39.:42:42.

access to the largest capital market in the European time zone, which is

:42:43.:42:46.

the city of London. That is very important to remember as well. We

:42:47.:42:50.

have heard from opposition members for Carshalton and Warrington, West

:42:51.:42:56.

Brompton West and the City of Chester, all good speeches. Trade is

:42:57.:42:59.

now back at the heart of comment policy making. And I hope that all

:43:00.:43:03.

members will agree am back where it belongs. For the first time the

:43:04.:43:07.

three pillars of trade, finance, promotion and policy, fall under one

:43:08.:43:11.

roof, allowing us to approach trade in the most coordinated way

:43:12.:43:16.

possible. Our three objectives are worth reiterating. And their

:43:17.:43:19.

simplicity should not detract from their significance. We will promote

:43:20.:43:24.

British exports the world over. We will encourage inward and outward

:43:25.:43:27.

investment. And we will build the strongest possible trading framework

:43:28.:43:32.

for the UK post Brexit. Finally, Madden Deputy Speaker, this country

:43:33.:43:33.

has a great free-trade future.

:43:34.:43:46.

I am optimistic about a good ad, the Brexit negotiations. And I am

:43:47.:43:48.

looking forward, the whole department is looking forward to

:43:49.:43:50.

growing trade and investment in the years to come. The question is that

:43:51.:43:53.

this House has considered exiting the European Union and global trade.

:43:54.:44:01.

As many of that opinion say eye... The ayes have it. The ayes have it.

:44:02.:44:10.

I beg you move this housed in our journal. The question is that this

:44:11.:44:12.

house now adjourned. Sir David Amis.

:44:13.:44:16.

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