Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between David Davis and Julian Lewis

Thursday 27th April 2017 Commons Chamber

[Dr Julian Lewis (New Forest East) (Con)]

How can any negotiator achieve any concession from any other negotiator if it is known in advance that he will not walk away if no concessions are given?

[Mr Davis]

My right hon. Friend is absolutely right. He crystallises the point on “no deal is better than a bad deal”, and he clearly demonstrates why the Labour proposal, apart from being completely impractical, would never be deliverable.

Legislating for UK Withdrawal from the EU

Debate between David Davis and Julian Lewis

Thursday 30th March 2017 Commons Chamber

[Mr Davis]

That question is stratospherically above my pay grade, but let me pick up the underpinning point about the volume of legislation. We are bringing a large amount of the legislation straight into UK law without change. The reason for change and the use of statutory instruments is, as I said to the Labour spokesman earlier, that there will be technical amendments and issues that will come up. Separate to that there will be primary legislation—on immigration, customs and a variety of other areas. That is different, but the technical legislation will aim to make things practical, not to maintain great changes in policy, and this House should be well able to do that.

[Dr Julian Lewis (New Forest East) (Con)]

Leave campaigners will vote for the Bill as it is part of the process of withdrawal, but remain campaigners admire EU law and want its provisions to continue, so can the Secretary of State think of any good reason why the great repeal Bill should not be passed unanimously?

[Mr Davis]

No.

Exiting the EU: New Partnership

Debate between David Davis and Julian Lewis

Thursday 2nd February 2017 Commons Chamber

[Mr Davis]

I will certainly do the first half; I will certainly redouble my efforts, although they are pretty intense in any case, to ensure that this happens quickly. My hon. Friend is right that we are talking about just a few countries. I suspect their reasoning is the communautaire reasoning of not starting anything before the negotiations start, and I hope this will be rapidly resolved thereafter.

[Dr Julian Lewis (New Forest East) (Con)]

Does not the fact that so many Members from both sides of the House who wanted us to remain in the European Union nevertheless last night voted to trigger article 50 set a fine example that Members of the unelected upper House would do very well to follow?

[Mr Davis]

I was sitting there calculating whether my right hon. Friend’s question today was longer than his speech yesterday, and I think it was.

Yes, I hope Members in the upper House do pay attention. The Bill is a manifestation of the will of the people—nearly 17.5 million people—and I would expect the upper House, which quite properly has its place and its rights, to respect that will.

Article 50

Debate between David Davis and Julian Lewis

Tuesday 24th January 2017 Commons Chamber

[Mr Davis]

That is of a piece with those arguments that say that we want to have a second referendum so that we can revisit this. What it does is to give a prize to somebody who is trying to put up the worst possible negotiation for us. There are plenty of members of the European Union that want to force us into changing our mind and going back inside, and we do not want to do anything that allows or encourages that to happen. The hon. Lady is not right to say that the vote is meaningless; for a start, the Select Committee and the Opposition both asked for it. In addition, it will be—I repeat this again—the last of many, many, many votes and debates on major legislation.

[Dr Julian Lewis (New Forest East) (Con)]

Hard Brexit means saying that one is going to leave the European Union and actually doing it. Soft Brexit means saying that one is going to leave the European Union and remaining in all but name. Which course do the Government intend to follow?

[Mr Davis]

In his younger days, my right hon. Friend was an expert in Soviet propaganda. I am afraid that I view “hard Brexit” and “soft Brexit” as terms of propaganda.

Article 50

Debate between David Davis and Julian Lewis

Monday 7th November 2016 Commons Chamber

[Mr Davis]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for his supportive comments. Both cases in front of the courts are issues relating to the UK constitution, and the European Court has absolutely no locus in that area.

[Dr Julian Lewis (New Forest East) (Con)]

If the result had gone the other way, leavers like me would have unequivocally accepted it—[Interruption.] That is absolutely the case. Therefore the same should be expected of hon. Members who were defeated by the referendum result. Given that they all say that they would vote for article 50 in a vote in the House of Commons, why do we not hold such a vote straight away on a straightforward resolution, so that we can see whether that is sincere or whether they are as cynical as their reaction to the true statement that I made seems to suggest?

[Mr Davis]

My right hon. Friend tempts me, but the proper route for the Government to pursue is to await the outcome of the court case and then act properly under the law.

Exiting the European Union

Debate between David Davis and Julian Lewis

Monday 5th September 2016 Commons Chamber

[Mr Davis]

First, on this issue of detail, the right hon. Gentleman should know well that we are not simply looking at the interests of a limited number of companies and a limited number of banks, which is obviously the issue for the Japanese Government. We are looking at the interests of a whole economy, so it will take just a touch longer. Given his prior experience, he should know that, and he should know it well.

In terms of the position with respect to parliamentary approval, I suspect that a great deal of things will be brought before the House during the course of the negotiation, not just at the end. There will be plenty of opportunity both to speak about them and to vote on them.

[Dr Julian Lewis (New Forest East) (Con)]

The very welcome appointment of my right hon. Friend, and indeed of the Foreign Secretary and the International Trade Secretary, certainly shows that the Prime Minister means what she says and that Brexit will really happen. However, some people on the losing side hope to sabotage the result of the referendum by delaying the process indefinitely. Is my right hon. Friend absolutely confident that, come what may, the UK will be outside the European Union well before the date of the next general election?

[Mr Davis]

I have said very plainly that we will not trigger article 50 before the end of this year, but we will trigger it as expeditiously as possible. The article 50 process takes two years. Extending it takes unanimity among every other member of the European Union, and my right hon. Friend can make his own judgment about both the probability of that and the arithmetic that it delivers.