UK Border Strategy: Single Trade Window

Debate between Baroness O'Loan and Lord Livermore

Tuesday 25th February 2025 Lords Chamber

[Lord Livermore (Lab)]

I am grateful to the noble Lord for his question and his expertise on this matter. It is not something I know about, I am afraid, but I will happily write to him on this issue.

[Baroness O’Loan (CB)]

My Lords, in the context of the endless reiteration of the fiscal hole that the Government keep referring to, I was reading last night that the OBR did not recognise the figures given. I do not think it helps the House when we go round in circles on that. At a time when the Minister seeks to develop trade and industry, when the Government are moving to improve the economy, and when a single trade window would undoubtedly deliver significant benefits for the British economy, the Government are imposing additional burdens on business, such as the measures on which we will vote this afternoon. Would it not enable significant development simply to move on this process?

[Lord Livermore (Lab)]

Yes, I agree with some of what the noble Baroness says about the benefits of a single trade window. Again, we have to be able to pay for these things. We have had to pause many of the previous Government’s spending commitments because the money was simply not there to pay for them, which goes to the heart of the issue that she started her question on. She may dispute the figures, but I do not think anyone disputes the fact that those spending commitments were there but there was not the money there to pay for them. As I say, it remains our long-term intention to deliver the single trade window, but we will have to do so when resources allow, and we will update noble Lords at the time of the next spending review.

UK–China Economic and Financial Strategy Dialogue

Debate between Baroness O'Loan and Lord Livermore

Tuesday 4th February 2025 Lords Chamber

[Lord Livermore (Lab)]

I absolutely understand the point that the noble Lord raises. There are different priorities that we need to balance as we make policy and move forward. As he says, there is the industrial strategy priority of making sure that we have a competitive and thriving car industry in the UK, and there is also the objective of making sure that we achieve our net-zero objectives. Transport is a major component of that, so electric vehicles will play a very important part as we move towards our net-zero targets. Absolutely, we have to balance those objectives, and I am very aware of the issues that the noble Lord raises.

[Baroness O’Loan (CB)]

My Lords, the Minister told us that the Chancellor spoke about the sanctioning of Members of your Lordships’ House and the human rights implications of that appalling situation. Can he tell us whether there were any other discussions in the human rights context in the light of China’s appalling record on human rights?

[Lord Livermore (Lab)]

I am grateful to the noble Baroness for her question. Yes, I reassure her that there absolutely were. The UK Government will stand firm on human rights in China and will continue to raise concerns at the highest level of the Chinese Government. In all our engagements with the Chinese Government, we continue to challenge them robustly on human rights violations and continue to raise our concerns at the highest level of the Government. The Prime Minister did so at his meeting at the G20 with President Xi and the Chancellor also raised concerns in a number of areas, including the case of British national Jimmy Lai, the restrictions on rights and freedoms in Hong Kong, human rights abuses and forced labour.