European Council

Lord Taylor of Holbeach Excerpts

Monday 18th December 2017 Lords Chamber

[Lord Liddle (Lab)]

My Lords—

[Lord Taylor of Holbeach (Con)]

My Lords, I suggest that we hear from the Labour Party and it may then be the turn of the noble Lord, Lord Pearson, and the Lib Dems.

[Lord Liddle]

My Lords, to try to keep her party united the Prime Minister makes a lot in her Statement of preparing,

“for our future independent trade policy by negotiating and where possible signing trade deals with third countries”,

in the implementation period. Does the Leader of the House accept that, once you have gone for signing trade deals with third countries, you require a hard border, because in order to enforce rules of origin and ensure that as a result of trade deals which bring in agricultural produce from other parts of the world that do not meet EU standards, you have to have a border that enforces those standards? Does she therefore accept that that statement is incompatible with her assurance that there will be no hard border in Ireland?

--- Later in debate ---

[Lord Lamont of Lerwick (Con)]

My Lords—

[Lord Taylor of Holbeach]

My Lords, I am sorry, but I did give the noble Lord, Lord Pearson, the next go and the Lib Dems after that. We will then hear from the Conservative Benches.

[Lord Pearson of Rannoch]

My Lords, the Statement says that the Government will propose that our free trade with the EU should continue as now. Do the Government fear that the Eurocrats will be arrogant enough to refuse this offer which, as I have mentioned before, would be much more in EU exporters’ collective interest than it would be in ours because, if we are all forced back to the WTO, they will pay us some £13 billion in extra tariffs and our exporters will pay them about £5 billion? Can the Government assure your Lordships that they will hold firm on this offer, enlisting, if necessary, the support of EU exporters? Going further, why should our free trade together not continue indefinitely? Would that not also be quite helpful with the Irish border problem?

--- Later in debate ---

[Lord Lamont of Lerwick]

My Lords—

[Lord Taylor of Holbeach]

My Lords, I made it clear that the Conservative Benches were going to come first and then the Cross Benches.

[Lord Lamont of Lerwick]

Has my noble friend noticed the statement of the Italian Prime Minister, who believes that the outcome of the talks ought to be not a CETA-type agreement, not an off-shelf agreement, but one specifically designed for and tailored to Britain’s needs? Is that not extremely encouraging? Are not some of the comments we have heard from the Opposition completely inappropriate when we know that the shadow Chancellor wants to be outside the customs union, the shadow Home Secretary wants to be inside the internal market and the noble Lord, Lord Adonis, says that the whole point of their tactics is to reverse Brexit completely?