Legislating for UK Withdrawal from the EU

Debate between David Davis and David Nuttall

Thursday 30th March 2017 Commons Chamber

[Mr David Nuttall (Bury North) (Con)]

Does my right hon. Friend agree that the key point about the great repeal Bill is that the legal precedence of laws imposed on this country by the EU will end?

[Mr Davis]

Well, the legal precedence will not necessarily end, but the laws will be susceptible to our change. We will be able to change them both in our courts and in our Parliament.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between David Davis and David Nuttall

Thursday 9th March 2017 Commons Chamber

[Mr David Davis]

Of course we do not want any doubt on the part of any citizen in Europe, British or otherwise, in Britain or on the continent. The simple truth is that most of the people I have seen in the decision-making tier, as it were, of European Governments agree with us: the issue of British citizens and European citizens has to be dealt with together, and will be dealt with as a matter of priority.

[Mr David Nuttall (Bury North) (Con)]

Does my right hon. Friend agree that the huge investment by Dyson in research and development facilities in the UK is a sign of confidence in the UK economy outside the EU?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between David Davis and David Nuttall

Thursday 26th January 2017 Commons Chamber

[Mr Davis]

The short answer is absolutely. The hon. Gentleman is right that the original clinical trials directive was a very poorly drafted piece of EU regulation that has certainly increased the burden of undertaking such trials and, if I remember correctly from my own constituency, particularly small trials. [Interruption.] Yes, and those are exactly the sort of people he is talking about. Their views will be taken very seriously in the new regime after leaving.

[Mr David Nuttall (Bury North) (Con)]

Since the referendum both the US biotech company Alnylam and GlaxoSmithKline have announced that they are making very substantial investments in the UK. Does my right hon. Friend agree that this demonstrates that, even after we leave the European Union, we will still be a very competitive place for biotech companies to do business?

[Mr Davis]

My hon. Friend is exactly right. I recently went to see some of those biotech companies in Cambridge, and one of the problems with people who talk the country down and talk these industries down is that they underestimate the extent to which pharmaceuticals, life sciences, finance and software are fantastically powerful British industries in which we already have a huge critical mass of talent, which will continue into the future.

Article 50

Debate between David Davis and David Nuttall

Tuesday 24th January 2017 Commons Chamber

[Mr Davis]

Because I have said that no component part of the United Kingdom has a veto. If the hon. Gentleman had been listening, he would know that I have said that dozens of times in this House.

[Mr David Nuttall (Bury North) (Con)]

Can my right hon. Friend reassure my Bury North constituents, a majority of whom voted to leave, that he will allow nothing to get in the way of ensuring that the Bill that he has announced will be passed as quickly as possible?

[Mr Davis]

Yes.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between David Davis and David Nuttall

Thursday 1st December 2016 Commons Chamber

[Mr David Davis]

That will be part of the great repeal Bill. If there is any amendment, I would think it would be done through primary legislation in the House.

[Mr David Nuttall (Bury North) (Con)]

T5. Does my right hon. Friend reject the advice of those calling for a second referendum and agree with me that seeking to reverse the decision that the people of the country made on 23 June serves only to undermine public trust in the House and in our democracy?

Next Steps in Leaving the European Union

Debate between David Davis and David Nuttall

Monday 10th October 2016 Commons Chamber

[Mr Davis]

I really will not take any lectures about being careful with my words from that lot over there. These are the people who have talked the pound down time and again.

[Mr David Nuttall (Bury North) (Con)]

Can my right hon. Friend confirm that if the Bill to repeal the European Communities Act 1972 is blocked in the other place, the Government will not hesitate to use the provisions of the Parliament Acts to ensure that the Bill reaches the statute book?

[Mr Davis]

There is an old adage in politics about not answering hypothetical questions, and that is a hypothetical question. I do not expect the House of Lords to overturn the decision of the British people.

Exiting the European Union

Debate between David Davis and David Nuttall

Monday 5th September 2016 Commons Chamber

[Mr Davis]

I certainly repeat the statement I made in Northern Ireland last week. The soft border or open border—I am not quite sure what the right phrasing is—existed before either of us were members of the European Union. We were separate countries with different VAT and income tax rates. It seems to me entirely possible, given modern technology, that we can do the same, and that we can design an immigration system that is also able to cope. I certainly reiterate in the House what I said in Northern Ireland last week.

[Mr David Nuttall (Bury North) (Con)]

I warmly welcome my right hon. Friend to his new post and his statement, no doubt the first of many to this House. On 22 June, the day before the referendum, the FTSE closed at 6,261. Today, it is over 6,800—up 10%. Does my right hon. Friend agree that this tells us all we need to know about investor confidence in our future: that we will be better off outside the European Union?

[Mr Davis]

What it certainly tells us is that the business community is not as afraid of this great new opportunity as was claimed before the referendum. I do not want to re-run the arguments of the leave campaign, but let me say that while market movements in stock markets are volatile, small and often reverse themselves, what do not reverse themselves are large inward investments. In the year in which our party committed to give the referendum, we had the largest inward investment in our history.