Outcome of the EU Referendum

Baroness Morgan of Ely Excerpts

Monday 27th June 2016 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Stowell of Beeston]

My noble friend sets out the terms under which he will judge any contenders in the Conservative Party leadership contest.

[Baroness Morgan of Ely (Lab)]

My Lords, in July 2017 the UK is due to take up the presidency of the European Council. Can the noble Baroness tell us whether the UK will indeed take up that position and what on earth it will put on the agenda of that presidency?

[Baroness Stowell of Beeston]

That is one of the issues that will have to be decided in the next months.

Women: Representation

Baroness Morgan of Ely Excerpts

Tuesday 8th March 2016 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Evans of Bowes Park]

I am not sure that it would be very diplomatic of me to say one way or the other whether women or men are better at diplomacy so I will sit on the fence on that one. But I absolutely agree with the noble Baroness that we want to encourage more women, both into our Diplomatic Service and across public services. Since 1996, the percentage of women in the senior Civil Service has more than doubled, with women now representing more than 40% of those employed at that level—but I agree that we must do more.

[Baroness Morgan of Ely (Lab)]

My Lords, does the Minister agree with the comments made this morning by the Employment Minister Priti Patel that women who want to leave the EU are like suffragettes? Does she agree that suffragettes would not have wanted to leave the top table of the EU, where we are involved in making laws on such issues as rights for part-time workers and maternity leave, which have benefited women in the United Kingdom?

[Baroness Evans of Bowes Park]

I thank the noble Baroness for her question. I will not speak for the suffragettes—I would not presume to do so—but it is extremely important that women have a voice in all public debates, because often they are the voice of rationality.

UK Territorial Space: Spanish Incursions

Baroness Morgan of Ely Excerpts

Monday 9th November 2015 Lords Chamber

[The Earl of Courtown]

No.

[Baroness Morgan of Ely (Lab)]

My Lords, what consideration have the Government given to the impact on Gibraltar of possible withdrawal from the EU? What guarantees can the Government give to the people of Gibraltar that there will be no border closure and that they will continue having access to the EU single market if the people were to vote to leave the EU?

Gaza Strip: Rafah Crossing

Baroness Morgan of Ely Excerpts

Tuesday 30th June 2015 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Morgan of Ely (Lab)]

My Lords, as of April this year, of the $3.5 billion promised by donors for the reconstruction of Gaza, only 26% of the money has been released. Not one of the 19,000 destroyed homes has been rebuilt. Can the Minister explain what pressure the Government are bringing to bear on the donors to release the promised funds, and can he confirm whether the UK has honoured its commitments to Gaza on this subject?

[The Earl of Courtown]

My Lords, the noble Baroness refers to the Cairo pledges. The United Kingdom has honoured 80% of its pledges and has 20% outstanding. That will be spent over the next financial year and will concentrate on job creation, getting people into work, which we all know will help their economy. As for the other countries and their pledges, pressure is being put on them to spend more money in that area.

European Council

Baroness Morgan of Ely Excerpts

Monday 23rd March 2015 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Morgan of Ely (Lab)]

My Lords, I am grateful to the noble Baroness the Leader for repeating the Statement made by the Prime Minister. The noble Baroness, Lady Royall, apologises for unfortunately being unable to respond on behalf of the Labour Party, as she has been called away on an emergency, but she would like to underline how seriously the Labour Party, and she personally, is committed to Europe.

I begin by condemning the appalling terrorist attack in Tunisia last week. Our thoughts go out to the family and friends of Sally Adey and all the victims who were involved in the attacks. This despicable act, once again, reinforces our determination to stand united across Europe against terrorism.

As the noble Baroness went way beyond the Council communiqué, I shall stray only slightly by noting that, since the last European Council, we have also had the Israeli elections. Although they do not appear to have been discussed at the Council, there should be one overriding priority in relation to Israel: restarting negotiations towards a two-state solution—a secure Israel alongside a viable Palestinian state. In the light of Prime Minister Netanyahu’s comments in the run-up to the election, have the Government sought reassurances about his commitment to a two-state solution? Does the noble Baroness agree that we must put pressure on both sides to restart negotiations? Nothing short of a meaningful peace process will do for this region of the world.

On Iran, we support the talks. We cannot allow an Iran with nuclear weapons; it is vital that we secure a successful outcome. We will support the EU in seeking to bring that about. Let me also echo the noble Baroness’s comments on Libya. We supported the military action that was taken and we now support the call for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire. Why does she believe that things have gone so badly wrong in Libya? Are people not entitled to conclude that the international community did not make adequate planning for the aftermath of the conflict? What does she believe can be done now?

We welcome the discussions taking place between Greece and Germany today. Can the noble Baroness tell us what she thinks the prospects are for a long-term agreement with Greece—an agreement that is in the interests of Greece, the eurozone and the UK?

Turning to the situation in Ukraine, it is vital that the international community stands united in ensuring that the Minsk agreement is implemented in full. We welcome the commitment that EU sanctions on Russia should be eased only in the event of the full implementation of that agreement. Given the situation on the ground and the signs of continuing Russian aggression, I ask the noble Baroness whether discussions took place during the summit about increasing further the pressure on Russia—specifically on so-called tier 3 sanctions on specific sectors.

It is clear that the security dimension of the EU is becoming more and more important. This demands common action, resolve and a clear commitment to our continuing place in the European Union—a commitment on which, of course, it is difficult for the party opposite to deliver. Earlier this month, General Sir Peter Wall warned that reaching common policies would be more difficult still if we were outside the EU. How do the Government answer this warning? Why should we take risks with the effectiveness of our soft power by pursuing a policy that risks divorce from our key allies?

Three years ago the Prime Minister walked out of a European Council announcing that he had vetoed a treaty—but it went ahead anyway. Last year he demonstrated his appalling failure at relationship building, winning support and delivering for Britain by losing a vote 26 to two, becoming the first ever British Prime Minister to lose a vote in the EU Council. Last autumn, after saying that there was no way he would pay back the £1.7 billion extra EU budget bill, the Prime Minister achieved a deal for the UK where we still have to pay, saving taxpayers not a single penny. And now the Prime Minister wants to return to Brussels following the election with a mandate to reform. So perhaps the noble Baroness can tell us: what are the non-negotiable reforms her party is seeking in Europe? Will she comment on the statement made last week by the President of the European Council, supposedly an ally of Britain, who described the Prime Minister’s position as “mission impossible”?

The truth is that the Government’s approach to Europe has created unnecessary economic uncertainty at the precise time when our economy needs stability based on growth and investment. I am afraid that the party opposite cannot be trusted on Europe. It cannot tell us what it is negotiating for and has no strategy to achieve change. Britain badly needs leadership on Europe that puts the national interest first. Britain needs a Labour Government.

[Baroness Stowell of Beeston]

My Lords, I am grateful to the noble Baroness, Lady Morgan of Ely, for standing in for the noble Baroness, Lady Royall, and for her various comments. They were quite wide-ranging and I will go through them in turn.

The noble Baroness asked me about Israel and whether we would put pressure on Prime Minister Netanyahu to continue towards a two-state solution. I certainly congratulate Mr Netanyahu on his election victory, and I agree with the noble Baroness that we must put pressure on both sides to ensure that talks get going on a two-state solution. Indeed, the Prime Minister will be talking to Mr Netanyahu this evening, and he will be very clear in that conversation about our support for such a solution; it is in the long-term interests not just of the Palestinian people but of the Israelis and the wider situation in the Middle East, and Britain’s position on that will not change.

The noble Baroness asked what was happening in Libya now. We should be clear that the Libyan people and Government did not want an occupying force—they did not want to be controlled remotely by others. They were given the opportunity to opt for a more unified future but sadly they have not yet taken it. We have done everything that we could to keep putting that option on the table, and we will continue to do so towards a national unity Government. We will very much be part of the UN-led effort to that end.

The situation in Greece remains worrying. On the one hand, there are the various creditor nations that want to see Greece fulfil its programme; on the other, there is a Greek Government who do not yet seem to have come up with reforms that give their creditors confidence. However, I am pleased that the negotiations on that continue. It should be noted that Chancellor Merkel is meeting Prime Minister Tsipras today.

The noble Baroness asked about sanctions relating to Ukraine. I make the point that it was very much the UK that led the way on ensuring that sanctions were put in place, remained in place and were extended until the Minsk agreement is implemented in full. If things were to deteriorate in Ukraine then yes, we should be prepared to consider more sanctions, should that be necessary.

Regarding the questions that the noble Baroness put to me regarding Europe and the future, I shall say a few simple things to her and to the House. The people of the UK, and indeed throughout Europe, do not want the status quo in Europe. They want Europe to be focused on jobs and prosperity, recognising that it is an organisation, or a partnership, that is made up of 28 individual member states. The Prime Minister will renegotiate our membership of the European Union; he is committed to doing that and has proved that it is possible to renegotiate some of the terms of Britain’s membership in Europe. We are absolutely committed to reform; we think that that is the right way forward, and it is in stark contrast to what the Opposition are offering, which is not even to acknowledge that Brussels has too much power. When the Prime Minister has successfully renegotiated the terms of Britain’s membership of Europe, he has committed to giving the people of this country a say in the membership of Europe with an in/out referendum, and we are the only party that is committed to doing so.

European Council

Baroness Morgan of Ely Excerpts

Monday 12th December 2011 Lords Chamber

[Lord Strathclyde]

My Lords, the noble Lord says that the eurozone is in a mess and that it will not succeed. That is not the view of the British Government. We believe that the countries of the eurozone have got themselves together. It is true that they face a crisis, but the issue that needs to be resolved is how to solve that crisis, and to do so as quickly as possible, since, as every week goes by, it becomes more expensive to be able to do so. We think that sensible steps were taken forward over the last few days, but only the markets will decide whether the euro is to succeed. We believe that it is in British interests that the euro should succeed, that there should be a greater fiscal union and that many of the things that were proposed late on Thursday night are the right things for the EU to do.

Secondly, as to question of whether this was a negotiating tactic by the Prime Minister, it most certainly was not. Of course we understand that at this level these summits end up in negotiations. Indeed, we put forward a very fair proposal that we wholly expected the other European countries to agree to. They did not do so, and that is why the Prime Minister could not agree.

[Baroness Morgan of Ely]

My Lords, does the Minister agree that, if the Prime Minister had not attempted to pacify his party when he was first elected by leaving the European People’s Party—a group to which both Chancellor Merkel and President Sarkozy belong—and hooked up with some pretty unsavoury parties from Eastern Europe, he would have been invited to the pre-summit meeting in Marseilles where he could have made his case? He locked his party out of the room and now he has locked the country out of the room.

[Lord Strathclyde]

My Lords, it is a nicely put question, but I cannot agree with the noble Baroness. We left the EPP for very good reasons to do with a different philosophical view of where the EPP was heading. I also cannot believe that, if we had been present at the Marseilles meeting, Thursday night would have ended up any differently.