European Union: Court of Justice

Debate between Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent and Lord Cryer

Wednesday 26th February 2025 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent (Lab)]

I thank my noble friend for his question. I think we did have an apology from the current leader of the Opposition who, on 16 January, said:

“We announced that we would leave the European Union before we had a plan for growth outside the EU”.


I think that is probably the closest we will get to an apology.

[Lord Cryer (Lab)]

My Lords, does my noble friend agree that, if we signed up to the ECJ again, as was the case under the previous Government, we would be, to some extent, moving towards reversing the referendum of 2016? Will she also confirm who was in government when we signed up to the Single European Act, to Maastricht and to the growth and stability pact? Which Government forced us into the exchange rate mechanism, which led the then Chancellor, who is sat in his place today, to lose 20 billion quid without even going near a betting shop?

[Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent (Lab)]

I thank my noble friend for his question. He will appreciate that I was slightly too young for some of those agreements. But I am very aware of my history and appreciate that it was colleagues now on the Opposition Benches. We are very clear about where we stand in our relationships with the European Union. We will work to ensure that businesses and consumers are protected and that the best possible deal for Britain is delivered, while we work closely with people we consider to be friends and allies.