Brexit: Trade in Goods (EUC Report)

Baroness Smith of Newnham Excerpts

Tuesday 18th July 2017 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Smith of Newnham (LD)]

My Lords, I thank the noble Baroness, Lady Verma, for bringing this report before us and I thank the committee for producing yet another excellent report. Increasingly, there seems to be a cottage industry in reports from your Lordships’ House, particularly from the EU Select Committee. While the other place is still trying to create its Select Committees after the general election, there is plenty of opportunity for work to be done at this end.

I think that this is the third time within a week that one Member of your Lordships’ House or another has pointed out that Her Majesty’s Government have failed to give a response to the report being debated. That is clearly unfortunate, given that a general election was called so that we could tackle the Brexit question. Despite that, many questions remain unanswered.

In many ways, the words of the noble Baroness, Lady Verma, could have been said from the Liberal Democrat Benches. The issues that have been raised by the committee’s report and the noble Baroness are extremely important. For once, from these Benches, I do not propose to rehearse the same arguments that we have raised over the past year, 18 months or seemingly longer. Listening to the debate yesterday on the free movement of people, I thought that we were perhaps getting to the point of Groundhog Day. I began to explore groundhogs and whether there was a trade in them, but it appears not—with the exception of Members of your Lordships’ House and the UK media, who seem to have spent more time since the referendum last year discussing what we think we mean by Brexit, what Brexit means for the United Kingdom and whether it means leaving the single market, the customs union or both.

While, in many ways, we on these Benches agree with the points made by the noble Lord, Lord Hain, about the importance for the United Kingdom of remaining in the single market and the customs union, to avoid quite as much repetition as we are in danger of having this afternoon I will raise a number of questions for the Minister. She is fairly new in post in this role, but it is perhaps not so very different from the role that she had in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office when she was responding to questions ahead of the referendum. The questions have not changed, because the Government still do not appear to have many answers.

Brexit means leaving the European Union. That is clear—it has always been clear—but what has not been clear, as the noble Lord, Lord Hain, pointed out, is whether that means leaving the single market or the customs union. The nature of the departure and, more importantly, the nature of the UK’s subsequent relationship with the EU 27 remained an unknown throughout the referendum last year. It essentially remained an unknown until the Prime Minister’s Lancaster House speech almost exactly six months ago. At that point, the Prime Minister made clear what she intended by Brexit, which was to leave the single market and the customs union, although ideally with some kind of undefined and unprecedented customs agreement. If the Minister can explain what the customs agreement the Prime Minister is thinking about would mean in practice, that would be most welcome.

Clearly the reason why the Prime Minister thinks that the UK should leave the customs union is that the trade deals that countries are lining up to negotiate with us will be free flowing as soon as we leave. Whether they are available, and whether it would not be better for the UK to negotiate free trade agreements in parallel to those already negotiated by the EU, remains an open question. However, there is at least a logic behind the Prime Minister’s suggestion.

The reason for leaving the single market seems to be down to a narrow understanding of the reasons why the United Kingdom voted to leave the EU—namely, the view that the vast majority of those voting to leave did so for reasons associated with immigration and EU free movement. It is not at all clear that that is why many people voted to leave. There were myriad explanations of why the 52% voted to leave. However, if you take the view, as the Prime Minister seems to have done, that leaving the single market is essential, that means getting rid not only of free movement of people but of free movement of services, goods and capital. These are things that in the past the United Kingdom has seen as beneficial. After all, the idea of the 1992 programme completing the internal market—outlined in a paper by then commissioner Lord Cockfield at the behest of Margaret Thatcher—was to create a level playing field. It was not only about getting rid of tariffs but about getting rid of non-tariff barriers.

The noble Lord, Lord Lawson—unfortunately, he is not in his place today—frequently opines that the single market does not matter anymore and that we have moved beyond it. I can hear muttering along the lines of, “What is she talking about?”. The noble Lord, Lord Lawson, has frequently suggested that the internal market perhaps does not matter in the way that it used to and that the global market is what is important. However, in walking away from the European Union and its single market, the United Kingdom is proposing to walk away from a trading relationship that takes away non-tariff barriers. The tariff barriers are the least of our problems. We could crash out in the way that certain Brexiteers have talked about and say, “It’s not a problem. We can trade on WTO terms”, but, as we have heard, just trading on WTO terms is not as simple as it sounds. We would have to negotiate the schedules with other member states, because currently those schedules are for the EU 28. They are not identified country by country for the EU. There is already a difficulty in seeking to trade simply on WTO terms.

WTO tariffs deal only with tariffs. Having tariff-free trade is clearly desirable, but WTO terms will not in themselves give us tariff-free trade in all sectors. Beyond that, there are the non-tariff barriers about mutual recognition and questions around the rules of origin, which, as full a member of the European Union, we do not have to think about because they are part of our everyday decision-making. If the great repeal Bill—or, as it now is, the European Union (Withdrawal) Bill, the first section of which will repeal the European Communities Act 1972—sets in stone the regulations and directives that are in place on the day we leave, that will temporarily ensure that the United Kingdom meets the requirements of the European Union, but the EU’s acquis is a changing corpus of legislation. As every day passes after we have left the EU, unless we manage to negotiate an arrangement that is something akin to membership of the single market, the EU will be changing its rules and its standards and the UK will be running to catch up.

It may be that Members of your Lordships’ House and Her Majesty’s Government do not think that that matters. They may think that we will have our own rulebook in such a way that it will not affect trade, but it will. Unless the United Kingdom is able to negotiate an arrangement whereby we have a place at the table in a form that is akin to but different from the Norwegian model in the European Economic Area, there is no possibility of the UK not being seriously disadvantaged by crashing out of the European Union without a deal. WTO terms will not resolve that. However, even with a free trade agreement, it is difficult to see how we are going to be in a position where we are not materially damaged by leaving the single market and not having access to the negotiating table. That is because the Norwegian model is not the same. The Norwegians do not have a seat at the table; they have to respond.

The questions that I would like to ask the Minister concern the assessment that the Government have made of the impact of the United Kingdom crashing out of the EU without a deal. What assessment have they made of the ability to create the wide-ranging free trade agreement that the Prime Minister has said that she wants? What assessment have they made of the time that it will take to create such an agreement? Free trade agreements are notorious for taking years to complete. Unless a miracle happens, we have less than two years before we leave the European Union. There has been a lot of discussion about transitional arrangements, which may or may not be the same as implementation. With the exception of the Secretary of State for DExEU, most people do not think that a transitional arrangement and an implementation period are the same. Have Her Majesty’s Government given any thought to a transitional arrangement and, if not, why not? Finally, Monsieur Barnier, the EU negotiator, has pointed out that he can hear a clock ticking. We have less than two years to create the withdrawal agreement. Without a transitional arrangement, do the Government think that they will be able to build an effective, long-term relationship with the European Union, or are we going to be on the outside, desperately trying to find a way back to the negotiating table to get a sub-optimal deal?

Brexit

Baroness Smith of Newnham Excerpts

Tuesday 4th July 2017 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Anelay of St Johns]

My Lords, the noble Lord is right to point out that it is important to be able to set out issues such as that, but we must do so in a way that is in sync with our negotiations across Europe. Further papers were released by the European Commission just at the end of last week, which I have read, and we will be responding to those shortly. I hope we will then be able to share those more widely.

[Baroness Smith of Newnham (LD)]

My Lords, in response to the International Relations Committee’s Middle East report, where we raised the issue of the importance of bilateral relations with our EU partners, the Government said that,

“until the Government’s negotiations on exiting the EU have concluded, there will be no decisions on specific post-Brexit arrangements”.

Is there any evidence that the Government have a clue where they are going? Should we be worried? Is Steve Baker helping?

[Baroness Anelay of St Johns]

My Lords, we work closely with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office—my own department until recently—and clearly the Ministers there look very seriously at this issue, particularly at a time of the remembrance of the Balfour declaration. I assure the noble Baroness that the security issues across that region are crucial to us, which is why the Prime Minister made it clear that security co-operation must be a vital part not only of the first tranche of discussions, which they are, but of the agreement to be reached.

Brexit: Negotiations

Baroness Smith of Newnham Excerpts

Monday 24th April 2017 Lords Chamber

[Lord Bridges of Headley]

I thank the noble Lord for that question. He will not expect me to comment on individual elections in other European member states, but your Lordships can rest assured that my ministerial colleagues and I are doing all we can to have relationships that are as cordial as possible and to build the atmosphere of trust that we wish to see before the negotiations begin.

[Baroness Smith of Newnham (LD)]

My Lords, what assessment have the Government made of the amount of parliamentary time that will be lost thanks to a general election and whether that can be added back in, so that there is adequate parliamentary scrutiny of the negotiations, given that the limit for the negotiations is two years and we are going to lose about two months?

[Lord Bridges of Headley]

I can assure the noble Baroness and all noble Lords that there will be ample time for a debate about the matters before us, not just over the months to come after the general election but in the weeks before it—I am sure everyone is looking forward to it. As regards the time lost, I draw the noble Baroness’s attention to the fact that, as I understand it, the General Affairs Council will not adopt the Commission’s draft negotiating guidelines until 22 May at the earliest. Therefore, political negotiations will not begin before early June. As the Commission has said, those negotiations will begin after the general election on 8 June.

Brexit: European Union-derived Rights

Baroness Smith of Newnham Excerpts

Tuesday 4th April 2017 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Smith of Newnham (LD)]

My Lords, it is frequently suggested that any noble Lord who starts a speech with, “I shall be brief”, will drone on for many minutes. However, I do propose to be brief in speaking in favour of the Motion proposed by the noble Baroness, Lady Hayter. As the noble Lord, Lord Cormack, said earlier, so much has already been said and we should not keep refighting the same battles. I therefore have just one question for the Minister. On more than one occasion during the passage of the EU withdrawal Bill, the noble Baroness, Lady Symons, and I said that the nature of EU negotiations is that nothing is agreed until everything is agreed. That is what the European Union has now said. In light of last week’s statement from the EU—not just from people like me—how do Her Majesty’s Government envisage giving certainty to EU nationals who are currently resident in the United Kingdom? The Prime Minister’s frequently stated hope is that the issue can be dealt with early on in the procedure but it is absolutely clear that this is not going to happen if everything has to be agreed at the end. Another two years of uncertainty is clearly wrong.

[Lord Lea of Crondall (Lab)]

My Lords, the noble Baroness, Lady Smith of Newnham, has raised a key question for the Minister to respond to. The principle of nothing being agreed until everything is agreed is now questionable. There is a contradiction on the reciprocity and simultaneity of citizenship and rights in a document to which Mr Tusk and Mr Barnier are both party. Paragraph 2 states that,

“nothing is agreed until everything is agreed”,

but paragraph 8 states that:

“Agreeing reciprocal guarantees to settle the status and situations at the date of withdrawal of EU and UK citizens, and their families, affected by the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the Union will be a matter of priority for the negotiations”.


On the issue of process, one has to conclude that there is confusion about the timescale, not only in the British Government but also—dare I say it—in Brussels. If there is confusion in Brussels, do we write a public letter saying, “Your statement says x, y, z; we say a, b, c”? Is there a protocol that has not been agreed about how these negotiations must be conducted in secret? You cannot have things being agreed ad hoc without some clarity and transparency so that we can all have a look at them. I agree with both Motions, but it is not just a question of nothing happening until the end of two years. I agree with the noble Baroness, Lady Smith of Newnham, who made the same point.

European Union (Notification of Withdrawal) Bill

Baroness Smith of Newnham Excerpts

Committee: 2nd sitting (Hansard): House of Lords
Wednesday 1st March 2017 Lords Chamber

[Lord Taylor of Holbeach]

My Lords, I believe the Lib Dems still want to make a contribution. Let us hear from the noble Baroness, Lady Smith.

[Baroness Smith of Newnham (LD)]

My Lords, I shall be brief. It has been a long debate, but this issue has exercised your Lordships since the week after the referendum, when it appeared that there was virtual unanimity across this House on how we should deal with the rights of EU citizens resident in the United Kingdom at the time of the referendum.

I will briefly give two quotations. The first came from the debate in July. I will name the noble Lord in a moment. He said:

“In common with other noble Lords, I am appalled by the unwillingness of the Government to give a clear undertaking that EU nationals resident here before 23 June will be able to remain, come what may”.—[Official Report, 5/7/16; col.1862.]


Another noble Lord, asking a question of the then Leader of the House, said:

“Could she say, on behalf of the Government, for whom she speaks in this House, that any European citizen living in Britain has a right to remain here and that right will not be in any way affected by Brexit, and that the position is not negotiable? She must be aware that many people are concerned about their position and their future and surely it is the responsibility of the leadership of this Government to make it absolutely clear that there is no question mark over that”.—[Official Report, 29/6/16; col.1576]


It would appear that there has been a mass outbreak on the Conservative Benches of believing that somehow the letter from the Home Secretary, who was with us momentarily and has now disappeared, deals with this matter and that somehow the statements that have come from the Front Bench give the guarantees that EU nationals currently resident in the United Kingdom deserve and desire.

We have all been receiving emails from people saying, “We are concerned about our future”. If the noble Lord, Lord Lawson, in his comments in July, and the noble Lord, Lord Forsyth, in his question in June believed that there were concerns about EU nationals, the Government have said nothing so far to reassure those EU nationals. If the Government are not going to concede on Amendment 9B which deals with this matter—

[Lord Forsyth of Drumlean]

I normally have the greatest respect for the noble Baroness’s diligence, but she is wrong to say that nothing has changed. What has changed is that the Prime Minister has said that this is her first priority. She said that the fate of those people living in this country from Europe will be determined by primary legislation and that no change will be made other than with the agreement of the other place and this House. That is good enough for me to not wish to amend a Bill that allows us to get on with the process of making that happen.

[Baroness Smith of Newnham]

My Lords, we have heard much about the issue of EU nationals being a priority, but, as the noble Baroness, Lady Symons, pointed out, whatever the ambition of the Prime Minister and however great her negotiating skill is likely to be, the nature of EU negotiations is that nothing is agreed until everything is agreed. So having this as a priority will not, in itself, give EU nationals the security that they need. If the Government do not feel able to accept the amendment—and I suspect that they will not—could the Minister give further clarification not about some distant immigration Bill that will come after the great repeal Bill but about something in line with and in the spirit of Amendment 9B that will occur in the immediate aftermath of triggering Article 50?

[Lord Kerr of Kinlochard]

My Lords, I very much agree with what the noble Baroness said at the end of her speech. As the noble Baroness, Lady Symons of Vernham Dean, said, this will be a nothing-is-agreed-until-everything-is-agreed negotiation. If we do not do the decent thing now—if we do not listen to what the noble Viscount, Lord Hailsham, said at the start—when will we do it? This negotiation could last all of two years and could end without an agreement. It certainly will not end with dossiers agreed in this calendar year. So if we all believe that the decent thing will have to be done at some time, why not do it now? The Tory party really needs to remember that its guru is Burke, who said:

“Magnanimity in politics is not seldom the truest wisdom”.

Brexit: New Partnership

Baroness Smith of Newnham Excerpts

Thursday 2nd February 2017 Lords Chamber

[Lord Taylor of Holbeach (Con)]

Sorry, my Lords, it was the Lib Dems’ turn.

[Baroness Smith of Newnham (LD)]

My Lords, is it not somewhat hubristic of the United Kingdom to offer to assist the Estonian presidency of the European Union, when we ourselves said that we no longer wanted to hold the rotating presidency of the European Union?

The key question that I wanted to ask was about the great repeal Bill—the great retrenchment Bill. Can the Government assure us that they are thinking through the implications of implementing all the regulations that are in place, bearing in mind that many entail reciprocity and the jurisdiction of the ECJ? How will we deal with that? Will the Bill look at that?

[Lord Bridges of Headley]

I am not going to go into further detail on that specific point now. As I have set out in the Statement, we will publish a White Paper and the noble Baroness is absolutely entitled to raise that point. Let us do that when we have the White Paper in front of us.

UK Withdrawal from the EU and Potential Withdrawal from the Single Market

Baroness Smith of Newnham Excerpts

Thursday 26th January 2017 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Smith of Newnham (LD)]

My Lords, this has been an excellent debate, which has highlighted many issues that have been discussed over the past seven months since the decision of 23 June, when the United Kingdom, by a majority, voted to leave the European Union. The debate has highlighted some serious differences, even if we have heard some similarities of views on many sides on one particular issue. The one area where I think there is almost universal agreement is the importance of securing the rights of EU nationals already resident in the United Kingdom. That is something I shall come back to repeatedly.

Two different aspects are listed in the Motion in the name of the noble Baroness, Lady Hayter. It refers to the rights of EU citizens already here, but one issue that has been raised throughout the debate has been the rights of EU nationals and UK nationals in terms of free movement of people. That is about the future. In my remarks I will suggest that there are three things we need to think about: the rights of EU citizens who are already here; future free movement issues, which are quite separate; and the future needs of the UK economy. Those issues are all interrelated, yet in this debate we have heard very little about the future needs of the UK economy. Almost all the discussion has been about the rights of EU citizens—perhaps not surprisingly.

Before I get into those questions, the noble Lord, Lord Forsyth, suggested that the Labour Party may be muddled because the Motion refers to the “potential” leaving of the single market. Clearly, the Motion was tabled before the Prime Minister outlined her objectives. She has made it clear that Brexit means Brexit—whatever that means—and, more clearly, as the noble Lord, Lord Forsyth, says, leave means leave. On all sides during the referendum, that is what we had been saying. I certainly did say in referendum debates that leave means leave, but that meant: we will not have the opportunity to rerun the question. It was not something where we could say, “If we get the wrong answer, let’s try again”. It was about saying, “This is not a game”.

Leaving meant leaving the European Union—that decision was clear. Far less clear at any point was what leaving actually meant. The Labour and Liberal Democrat Front Benches and the Cross Benches pressed the Government to outline the alternatives to membership of the European Union. They produced a rather pusillanimous document on the alternatives to membership, which suggested a Canadian-style relationship, the Turkish customs union or the EEA model. If we had decided to go down the EEA route, we would still have been in the single market, so it was not inevitable that by voting to leave the European Union we would leave the single market.

[Lord Forsyth of Drumlean]

Throughout the whole of the referendum campaign, the noble Baroness and her colleagues on the Liberal Democrat Benches, as well as the Opposition Benches, argued that a Norway or EEA model would be the worst of all worlds. They said that we would end up in the single market without any ability to change the rules. They described it as the worst of all worlds but are now presenting it as the best of all worlds.

[Baroness Smith of Newnham]

My Lords, I will not at this stage get into the details of the full Liberal Democrat policy on what we think should happen in the negotiations generally. However, it is important to recognise that there was no clarity from the leave campaign over whether it thought being in the EEA was the best or worst thing. At various times, supporters of the leave campaign suggested that we could remain in the single market. There was no clarity, the Government did not have a plan B, and the leave campaigners kept saying, “It’s not for us to say what leave will look like—it’s up to the Government to decide”. Now is the time for that to be discussed.

The Prime Minister has said that we will leave the single market and has ruled out staying in, precisely because she has now realised what the 27 other member states have been suggesting for quite some time: we cannot be in the single market and not have free movement of people. This is essentially a binary choice. Here I touch on one aspect of Liberal Democrat policy that is essential for this debate. The Prime Minister is talking about wanting “the greatest possible access” to the single market,

“through a new, comprehensive, bold and ambitious Free Trade Agreement”.

However, surely the greatest possible access is via continued membership of the single market. That is how we get the best of the single market, not via access that does not mean membership. That is why the Liberal Democrats have been pressing for ongoing membership of the single market and the benefits that it brings. It might be less good than membership of the European Union, but it would bring considerable benefits to the British economy and give certainty over the rights of EU citizens. However, that means the right of free movement of people, which clearly the Brexiteers do not want. The context of the debate today is clearly in line with the Prime Minister’s stated objective of leaving the single market.

That leaves us with the question of what rights EU citizens will have in the light of leaving the single market. We have been told by many of those on the Government Benches that there is an issue of reciprocity. There is also, however, an issue of what it is right to do. One of the things that Members from all sides of your Lordships’ House have been saying for the last seven months is that the rights of EU nationals already resident in the United Kingdom should be guaranteed. There is no need for reciprocity. That is something on which we can act unilaterally, now. It is not about the future but about citizens who are here, now. It is about EU nationals who have exercised their rights as EU citizens, who are here and who have not taken out British citizenship, because they never thought they would have to. Some of them may do—some may be able to. Others will not be able to afford it and, as we heard from the noble Baroness, Lady Hayter, and many others, the forms are complex and difficult and many people do not have the appropriate paperwork. As EU citizens, they never needed it. We need to guarantee the rights of those people right now, so that we do not tear apart our society and communities, as the right reverend Prelate said. This is something on which the United Kingdom can take the moral high ground, and we can make a decision now. The Liberal Democrats call on the Government to secure the rights of EU nationals resident in the United Kingdom.

The rights of UK nationals resident elsewhere in the European Union are clearly also important. We have all received emails from people who are concerned about their pensions and about whether they will be able to stay in the countries where they are. If we take the lead, however, we can try to negotiate the rights of UK citizens resident abroad. To use EU nationals currently here as pawns is completely wrong.

The future rights of UK and EU nationals and free movement is the subject of the future negotiations. I could ask whether the Government will tell us what will be in the negotiations, but I am sure I will get the answer that we are not going to get a running commentary, as that will damage the negotiations. I therefore would rather suggest a set of things that perhaps the Government can consider in future negotiations, about what sort of United Kingdom we want to be and what sort of relationship we need with the rest of Europe to secure our economic future. The NHS, financial services, the agricultural sector, higher education—people in all those areas have already expressed concerns that if we lose the benefits of EU nationals who are here, we will face problems. It is vital for the British economy that we keep some sort of rights of free movement of labour—free movement of people may not be there if we are outside the European Union—which will be beneficial to the UK economy. Surely the Government can think about that when they lay out their negotiating hand. In addition, please can we not have the imposition of visas on EU nationals? To keep the economy open, it is vital that we do not create barriers that we have not seen in the past and will not benefit us in the future.

Brexit

Baroness Smith of Newnham Excerpts

Thursday 3rd November 2016 Lords Chamber

[Lord Bridges of Headley]

My Lords, absolutely, and I thank the noble Lord for giving me the opportunity to say this. As my ministerial colleagues have said, while we are leaving the EU, we are certainly not going to turn our backs on Europe. I share the noble Lord’s concern about the use of language. The Prime Minister has made it very clear that we are not adopting an off-the-shelf approach; we are looking for a bespoke approach. We want a relationship that will reflect mature, co-operative arrangements in the future, with close friends and allies with whom we have been partners for a number of years and with whom we continue to face common challenges. Once we have left the EU, those common challenges will remain, and it will be utterly in our national interest to look to see how we can continue to co-operate with our European partners once we have left.

[Baroness Smith of Newnham (LD)]

My Lords, clearly it is in the interests of the United Kingdom that the European Union is a stable partner, so ever-closer union for the 27 might be desirable. But in light of today’s developments, will the Minister bring forward a Statement letting us know how Parliament might be involved in triggering Article 50?

[Lord Bridges of Headley]

I had expected that question. The Government are clearly disappointed by the court’s judgment. The country voted to leave the European Union in a referendum approved by an Act of Parliament, and the Government remain determined to respect the vote of the referendum. We will appeal this judgment. I have nothing further to say at this precise juncture. I am sure that more will be said in due course.

Exiting the European Union

Baroness Smith of Newnham Excerpts

Monday 5th September 2016 Lords Chamber

[Lord Bridges of Headley]

We intend to stick by the conventions as they are set out in law. Clearly, this is a very complex set of negotiations; it makes the Schleswig-Holstein question look like a GCSE question. However, we should not use that as an excuse to dither or delay. We are therefore pressing ahead will all the points I set out this afternoon to collect and analyse the information as best we can and then to come to a clear decision on the best way forward.

[Baroness Smith of Newnham (LD)]

My Lords, will the Minister clarify two points in the Statement he has just repeated? Why are the Government building a detailed understanding of how withdrawal from the EU will affect our domestic policies now, rather than before the referendum was held? Secondly, will he explain how it ensures certainty for EU nationals to be told that their rights will be protected, unless other countries are not protecting the rights of UK nationals? That seems to me the very definition of uncertainty, not certainty.

[Lord Bridges of Headley]

On the second point, I cannot go beyond what I have already said. I note what the noble Baroness has to say. Contingency plans are a matter for the past. We can obviously have a debate about why that may not be the case but I am now focusing on my new role and the future, and making sure that we get the best deal for Britain.

Council of the European Union: United Kingdom Presidency

Baroness Smith of Newnham Excerpts

Wednesday 20th July 2016 Lords Chamber

[Lord Bridges of Headley]

Noble Lords on all sides of the House know full well the mantra that discussions between Ministers are kept between ourselves. All I would say is that this decision was taken yesterday afternoon in light of the conversation with the President of the Council.

[Baroness Smith of Newnham (LD)]

My Lords, we have been told repeatedly by Ministers at the Dispatch Box that nothing will change until the day we leave the European Union. But so far our Commissioner has resigned, admittedly to be reappointed, and the Government have now decided that we will not take on the presidency of the European Union. What else are we likely to withdraw from between now and actually leaving the Union?

[Lord Bridges of Headley]

As I say, we will keep the House informed. I am sorry that the noble Baroness feels that way but I have nothing further to add.