Article 50

Debate between Baroness May of Maidenhead and Callum McCaig

Wednesday 29th March 2017 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

The hon. Gentleman talks about representation from Scotland. Of course, he and his colleagues represent Scottish constituencies in the United Kingdom Parliament; he is a constituent part of that Parliament and will be part of the discussions as we go forward.

[Callum McCaig (Aberdeen South) (SNP)]

In an act of self-determination, the Scottish Parliament voted yesterday to hold an independence referendum. The Prime Minister has repeatedly said that now is not the time, which is interesting as nobody is planning to hold a referendum now, only at the conclusion of the negotiations that commence today. To paraphrase Ruth Davidson, what part of “now” does the Prime Minister not understand?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Baroness May of Maidenhead and Callum McCaig

Wednesday 15th March 2017 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I can assure my hon. Friend that we will certainly do that. I remember, when I visited her prior to the general election in 2015, sampling some of the excellent Lincolnshire sausages that come from her constituency. We have an opportunity to build a new future for our food and farming industry when we leave the European Union. We will maintain the UK’s high standards of food safety and of animal welfare; that will be a priority for us. Any trade deals we enter into will need to be right for consumers, for businesses and for farmers, and will need to ensure our food safety and environmental protection, and of course the animal welfare standards I have just referred to. We recognise the need for certainty for businesses. We have already provided guarantees on support for farmers up to 2020, and I can assure her that we will continue to back British farmers.

[Callum McCaig (Aberdeen South) (SNP)]

Q9. The UK has one of the worst performing currencies in the world, and it has a trade deficit of £133 billion and a national debt approaching £1.7 trillion. May I ask the Prime Minister: does she really believe that the UK could afford to be an independent country?

[The Prime Minister]

If he wants—[Interruption.]

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Baroness May of Maidenhead and Callum McCaig

Wednesday 2nd November 2016 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend is right to welcome the accelerated access review and to pay tribute to my hon. Friend the Member for Mid Norfolk (George Freeman), who has done so much to place life sciences in the UK on the agenda and to ensure that the UK develops as the best possible place to develop new drugs, which is exactly what we want to see. The Department of Health will look at the review’s recommendations and respond to them shortly. This is an important development in our ability to accelerate access to drugs, which is to the benefit of patients.

[Callum McCaig (Aberdeen South) (SNP)]

Q6. In recent weeks, three Government Ministers have expressed three different views on what will happen, while industry cries out for clarity. I am talking not of Brexit, surprisingly, but of the oil and gas industry. Will the autumn statement provide additional support for the industry, or is the Prime Minister happy to sit back and see thousands more jobs lost?

[The Prime Minister]

We understand the challenges faced by the UK oil and gas industry and we take them very seriously. That is why we established the Oil and Gas Authority and why we have taken action, with the £2.3 billion package of measures in the last two Budgets, to make sure that the North sea continues to attract investment, and to safeguard the future of that vital national asset. We have taken a range of measures. We understand the concerns about the oil and gas industry, which is why the Government have already taken action.