Budget Statement

Lord Taverne Excerpts

Friday 12th March 2021 Lords Chamber

[Lord Taverne (LD) [V]]

My Lords, one glaring omission from the Chancellor’s Budget speech was an assessment of the likely economic consequences of Brexit. The early signs are not encouraging, with dramatic falls in trade between Britain and the European Union. There has been a drop of some 20% to 70% in exports and imports to and from Germany, France and Italy. Of course some of that is due to the pandemic, but there are strong complaints from business about the effects of red tape and a variety of bureaucratic obstacles. Borders, including that between Northern Ireland and Britain, are anything but frictionless, as we were promised.

Good relations with the European Union are essential. However, the Financial Times wrote a scathing leader about the abrasive approach of the Cabinet Minister in charge of our EU relations. Even more important is trust. Why should the European Union trust a Prime Minister who is prepared to renege on the withdrawal treaty and to do the same for the agreed new checks on trade with Northern Ireland? The former French ambassador to the UK has publicly described him as an inveterate liar, and much the same has been said by one or two of Biden’s close allies.

For all these reasons, we are likely to face a serious deterioration in our trade with the European Union and a consequent drop in the value of the pound, a rise in interest rates when we are deeply in debt and, to say the least, very little chance of Boris Johnson’s dream of sunny uplands.

European Union (Future Relationship) Bill

Lord Taverne Excerpts

3rd reading & 2nd reading & Committee negatived & 2nd reading (Hansard) & 2nd reading (Hansard): House of Lords & 3rd reading (Hansard) & 3rd reading (Hansard): House of Lords & Committee negatived (Hansard) & Committee negatived (Hansard): House of Lords
Wednesday 30th December 2020 Lords Chamber

[Lord Taverne (LD) [V]]

My Lords, when Chamberlain came back from Berchtesgaden with a piece of paper proclaiming “peace in our time”, he was greeted with almost universal acclaim. When Johnson came back from Brussels with his free trade agreement, he was greeted with adulatory praise from most of the Conservative press and his party. It was, he announced, the realisation of the claims made for Brexit in the referendum and in the last Conservative manifesto. Well, will it really be the journey into the sunlit uplands? Not according to the vast majority of economists, for reasons powerfully argued in this debate by several speakers. I believe that Johnson’s Panglossian optimism will prove no more justified than Chamberlain’s belief in “peace in our time”.

We will probably continue to wallow in nostalgic complacency: “We are the best, especially when we are fighting alone”, “We won the war”, “We have a special relationship with the United States and the Commonwealth —who needs the Europeans?” As a result, we are likely to fall behind our European colleagues in economic growth; we already have the lowest productivity of any advanced European country. The great deal that Johnson has will be no help to our services industry, which makes up 80% of our wealth. There is great uncertainty among manufacturers about the new bureaucratic delays at borders. In addition, we may well find that Johnson has created an irresistible desire for independence in Scotland, which wishes to remain part of the EU, and may set Northern Ireland on the path to a referendum for a united Ireland. Part of Johnson’s legacy could well mean the end of the United Kingdom, leaving us as a relatively small, chauvinistic and isolated country with very little influence in an increasingly hostile world. Is that really what Brexiteers voted for?

European Union (Withdrawal) Bill

Lord Taverne Excerpts

Tuesday 30th January 2018 Lords Chamber

[Lord Taverne (LD)]

My Lords, not for the first time I shall express a minority viewpoint. I believe that there will be no deal. The excellent report by the EU Select Committee Brexit: Deal or no Deal pointed out the devastating consequences of no deal but did not address its likelihood—and if it is even a possibility this Bill requires major amendment.

Why is no deal likely? The Government envisage three stages of Brexit. Stage 1 is agreeing a framework for a new relationship with the 27 before the Article 50 leaving date. Stage 2 is, as part of a transition agreement lasting two years, a standstill period during which we negotiate the details of the new relationship and meanwhile preserve the status quo. Stage 3 is an implementation period to allow business to adapt to the new relationship.

At the moment, the Cabinet and the Tory party are hopelessly divided about the nature of the new relationship they seek—and if they fail to agree there will just be no deal. They are also divided about the meaning of the status quo. If it means staying in the customs union and the single market and accepting the obligations of both, it means paying our dues and accepting the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice and any regulations and directives made by the EU. As two unlikely allies have pointed out, Britain would become a vassal state. The noble Lord, Lord Kerr, was the first to coin the phrase, which has now been echoed by Jacob Rees-Mogg.

But the alternative touted for a soft Brexit of a new kind of customs union with a frictionless border is not regarded as credible by anyone outside Britain, while access to the single market without its obligations—a kind of bespoke new single market—will be unacceptable to the EU. Mrs Merkel and many others have often pointed this out, but the Government have not heard them.

Moreover, since the Government have ruled out even temporary membership of the customs union, the problem of a hard Irish border, fudged last December, remains insoluble. Since the 26 have promised full support for Ireland, this issue alone will mean no agreement—and no agreement with the EU on the framework means no deal. Furthermore, the transition agreement with the EU will be far more complicated than the Government envisage. A period of two years is unlikely to prove long enough—and, again, if it is not agreed before the leaving date there will be no deal.

The crucial question, if there is no deal, is when the meaningful vote by Parliament will take place and what the choice on offer will be. As for when, it must be before October—before we leave—as it must allow time for approval by the European Parliaments. The choice cannot be what the Government seem to envisage: either accepting or rejecting no deal. Accepting means leaving; rejecting cannot mean telling the Government to go back and renegotiate. That would be wholly unrealistic. The only real alternative would be either withdrawing Article 50 or holding a new referendum, when it would this time be clear what Brexit actually means. As the noble Lord, Lord Butler, observed earlier, we will need an amendment to the Bill to ensure that the choice of a new referendum is part of a meaningful vote by Parliament.

Lobbying: Government Grant Agreements

Lord Taverne Excerpts

Tuesday 19th April 2016 Lords Chamber

[Lord Bridges of Headley]

I am very sorry to say that, on this point, I disagree with my noble friend. As I said, it is not about curbing freedom of speech; it is about making sure that taxpayers’ money is spent effectively and goes where it was meant to go.

[Lord Taverne (LD)]

My Lords, do the Government recognise that this anti-lobbying clause is going to have a serious impact on research, since most people do research in order to influence policy and make it more evidence-based? Is it not odd that this in fact does not apply in any way to commercial lobbying and restricts only government-funded lobbying? Should not its real emphasis be on the control of the abuse of funds, as with Kids Company? Would it not be wise in the present circumstances to postpone the application of this new agreement until after 1 May so that further consultation can take place on this very important threat to the freedom of research and speech?

[Lord Bridges of Headley]

I heed what the noble Lord is saying. I have certainly received concerns, as have other Ministers, from the research and academic community. Clearly, the implementation of this clause as regards science and research is a matter for the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. Let me tell your Lordships that it is not the department’s nor the Government’s intention for research councils, the Higher Education Funding Council or the national academies to be covered by this clause. Ministers in BIS are continuing to engage with the academic research community and they will outline more detail by 1 May.

Constitutional Convention Bill [HL]

Lord Taverne Excerpts

Friday 17th July 2015 Lords Chamber

[Lord Taverne (LD)]

My Lords, the more I listen to and read of the discussions on this topic, the more I am convinced of the enormous importance of what we are discussing—it will determine the future of the United Kingdom—and of the great problems that are faced by a constitutional convention, or, indeed, a convocation. A wide range of subjects will have to be considered by any such body. A piecemeal approach is very likely to lead to the break-up of the United Kingdom.

As the noble Lord, Lord Soley, said, an essential part of a convention must be the consideration of the future of this House. The question arises: to whom or to what body will the different regions and countries of this country report? Where will it be represented? To my mind, the most promising model we should look at is the Bundesrat, which represents the different Länder in Germany. A proportion of the upper House depends on population; the representation of the delegations depends on the votes cast in the previous election. That seems a promising result.

Apart from anything else, I do not see how we cannot soon face the problem of the future of this House. The continuous expansion of its numbers makes its operation dysfunctional. Apparently it is going to grow. Unless it is considered as part of an overall settlement, this House will not be able to function properly. It seems to me from this House’s point of view that one has to have a cull of number according either to age, or to length of service. Neither is entirely satisfactory. It must be considered in the wider context, as indeed should be the whole question of the future of representation of different parts of a devolved constitution of this country.

Ethnic Minorities: Ministers’ Statements

Lord Taverne Excerpts

Monday 3rd February 2014 Lords Chamber

[Lord Wallace of Saltaire]

My Lords, we remember the Holocaust and that, I hope, although the Jews were the primary target of the Holocaust a great many others also died: nearly 2 million Poles, perhaps 200,000 Sinti Roma, gays, people with Asiatic features and others. The West German Government recognised the Roma dimension of the genocide in 1982; I understand that in 2012 a memorial to the Roma and Sinti who died in the genocide was unveiled in Berlin.

[Lord Taverne (LD)]

My Lords, what is the advice given about migrants? Can the Government publish the apparently mysterious reasons why the report commissioned on migrants by the Home Secretary has been shelved?

[Lord Wallace of Saltaire]

My Lords, I think the noble Lord is referring to the EU balance of competences review, particularly the free movement of persons report. In view of the considerable uncertainty about the impact of the free movement of persons this January, it was felt that we should postpone that paper until the third semester, this coming summer, to make sure that we had accurate figures.

Referendums

Lord Taverne Excerpts

Tuesday 5th March 2013 Lords Chamber

[Lord Wallace of Saltaire]

My Lords, I vaguely remember some discussions on the subject. The question of whether we are heading towards treaty change is not primarily a matter for Brussels; it is much more a matter for different national Governments. The opinions of the French, German and Polish Governments and others weigh very heavily in this.

[Lord Taverne]

My Lords, will the Minister recommend to his colleagues in the Government the address of Edmund Burke to the electors of Bristol, its comments on the role of Members of Parliament and its relevance to the current addiction to referendums?

[Lord Wallace of Saltaire]

My Lords, I am surprised that the noble Lord has not also called in aid Mrs Thatcher’s comment in the mid-1970s on the dangers of sliding from parliamentary democracy to plebiscitary democracy. Our political system depends on the principle of parliamentary sovereignty and that is something that we have to cling to.