EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement

Lord Wharton of Yarm Excerpts

Friday 8th January 2021 Lords Chamber

[Lord Wharton of Yarm (Con) (Maiden Speech)]

My Lords, it is an honour to address your Lordships’ House for the first time. I thank those who have made me so welcome and been so helpful in my time here so far: the doorkeepers, the staff, Black Rod and of course Garter. I thank those who introduced me, my noble friends Lord Callanan and the noble Baroness, Lady Pidding.

I started my career in politics in this building, although not in this place, when I was privileged to represent the constituency of Stockton South, my home town, for seven years. In that time, I served under both David Cameron as the Minister for the Northern Powerhouse and Theresa May as the International Development Minister for Africa.

In 2013, I brought private Member’s legislation, which was an attempt at that time to legislate for a referendum on our membership of the European Union, topical to the matters that have preoccupied the House for some time in the intervening years. It was successful as legislation in the House in which I was then present. My noble friend Lord Dobbs did a valiant job of attempting to persuade your Lordships to support that Private Member’s Bill at that time but was unsuccessful on that occasion, although of course an awful lot has happened in the intervening years.

An awful lot has happened and an awful lot has challenged many of our political systems. Having had the good fortune to work in some capacity with at least the last three Conservative Prime Ministers, including the present one, and to have watched the political debate now in this House and then as a representative of my home town, I fear that our politics has become more divided and fractious. I hope, therefore, that as we debate the deal that has been done, and it is indeed now done, we recognise that the UK has now left the European Union and is now free to forge its own future, whatever disagreements we might have about that future and the shape that it should take, that we can set a better and more positive tone, that future debates will better reflect on both Houses and our political system, and that we can unite the country with better, more positive and closer working arrangements that in truth will better reflect how most people feel we should behave.