European Council

Debate between Baroness May of Maidenhead and James Cartlidge

Monday 25th March 2019 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

Actually, what I said was that “as things stand”, I was not bringing back the meaningful vote, but

“I continue to have discussions with colleagues across the House to build support, so that we can bring the vote forward this week and guarantee Brexit.”

The process that will take place in the absence of a meaningful vote and in the absence of agreeing the deal this week will be referred to by the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster in the debate that will take place after this statement, and, of course, there is the amendment tabled by my right hon. Friend the Member for West Dorset (Sir Oliver Letwin), which gives an indication and a timetable that would operate were that amendment to be passed. I will be whipping against the amendment, for the reasons that I set out earlier.

[James Cartlidge (South Suffolk) (Con)]

If we go to indicative votes and we look at other options, the issue of free movement is likely to feature. I strongly agree with the Prime Minister that the public want us to end free movement, but must we not recognise that immigration into this country from outside the EU is now running at a 15-year high of 261,000? That is more than the population of Ipswich and Colchester combined. Should we not therefore have some candour and say to the public that if we end free movement immigration is unlikely to fall but will simply come from much further afield?

[The Prime Minister]

Over time, the Government have taken a number of actions to ensure that we can deal with introducing more control into our immigration system. One of the advantages of ending free movement is that we can put an entirely new immigration system in place that enables it to be skills-based rather than based on the country somebody comes from. But I also believe that for many people what underpinned their vote and decision to leave the EU was a desire to see free movement end and that is why it is absolutely right that the proposals the Government have put forward would indeed do that.

European Union (Withdrawal) Act

Debate between Baroness May of Maidenhead and James Cartlidge

Tuesday 12th March 2019 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

The right hon. Gentleman makes a very important point. A lot of focus has been put on legal changes, and I will come on to the fact that there are legally binding changes as a result of the discussions since the House’s vote on 29 January, but he is absolutely correct—the danger for those of us who want to keep faith with the British public and deliver on their vote for Brexit is that if this deal is not passed tonight, Brexit could be lost.

[James Cartlidge (South Suffolk) (Con)]

My right hon. Friend may have slightly lost her voice, but is it not true that were we to have a second referendum, 17.5 million people would have lost their voice?

[The Prime Minister]

Yes. My hon. Friend will not be surprised, given what he has heard me say from this Dispatch Box, that I entirely agree with him. I believe it is absolutely imperative that this House meets the decision taken by the British people in June 2016, that we deliver on the referendum and that we deliver Brexit for the British people. As I say, there is a danger that with a failure to agree a deal we could end up in a situation where we have no Brexit at all.

Leaving the EU

Debate between Baroness May of Maidenhead and James Cartlidge

Monday 26th November 2018 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

No. The commitment from both sides on negotiating the future economic partnership and future security partnership is clear in these documents.

[James Cartlidge (South Suffolk) (Con)]

When we talk about issues like Gibraltar and the future of fisheries, and so on, should we not remember that it is a very direct consequence of deciding to leave the European Union that we are renegotiating all aspects of our relationship with the EU? Other member states will inevitably try to advance their national interests in those negotiations. In those circumstances, surely the best way forward is to hold our nerve, instead of taking as gospel the warnings of President Macron or the claims of the socialist Spanish Prime Minister, who has regional elections just around the corner.

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend brings a degree of realism. Of course, as we go into these negotiations, others will have interests that they wish to put forward and press. The whole point of negotiation is that it is the process by which we come to a result. We have resisted many of the pressures that have been put forward by member states and the European Commission in these negotiations so far, and we will continue to resist on the key issues to which my hon. Friend has referred in relation to fisheries and Gibraltar.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Baroness May of Maidenhead and James Cartlidge

Wednesday 21st November 2018 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

The hon. Gentleman says that these pension changes were “snuck out”, but that is not the case. This pension issue has been known of for, I believe, two years—it has been under consideration for two years—so it is not the case that this has been snuck out.

[James Cartlidge (South Suffolk) (Con)]

Q14. In all my time as a mortgage broker, I never once recommended to a remortgaging client that they should stick with the standard variable rate. They would have more freedom and they could leave the deal when they wanted without penalties, but it was bog standard and nobody ever wanted it. Given that my right hon. Friend is receiving representations to ditch her deal for World Trade Organisation terms, will she explain that, putting aside the worst-case scenario of no deal, in the very best-case scenario, WTO terms are bog standard, average terms, and far worse than the preferential tariff-free access we currently enjoy and which she has negotiated to maintain?

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend is right to say that we want to negotiate a trading deal with the European Union that is on better terms than WTO terms, and many people across this House want to see the United Kingdom, as we will do when we have left the EU, negotiating trade deals around the rest of world that are on better than WTO terms. That is because we believe that that is best for the UK economy, and if we are negotiating on better than WTO terms with the rest of the world, it makes sense to be negotiating on better than WTO terms with the European Union.

EU Exit Negotiations

Debate between Baroness May of Maidenhead and James Cartlidge

Thursday 15th November 2018 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

We have made it clear in the outline political declaration in relation to fishing opportunities that the United Kingdom will be an independent coastal state and that we will be ensuring that we take control of our waters. It will be the United Kingdom that will be negotiating access to United Kingdom waters.

[James Cartlidge (South Suffolk) (Con)]

Given that there is clearly unease about our inability to leave the backstop unilaterally, surely we have to discuss what credible circumstances could arise where we would wish to leave it and the EU would not wish us to. The only scenario I can see is where we had entered into trade talks with another country and were discussing, for example, lower standards. Does the Prime Minister agree that that is highly unlikely and would not be supported by the public? Although it is not impossible, the likelihood of our being in that circumstance is remote.

[The Prime Minister]

I absolutely agree with my hon. Friend that it is highly unlikely that we would be in that circumstance. He is right, first of all, that we will not be wanting to lower our standards in any decisions we take in relation to trade deals, but also that the backstop is an uncomfortable place for the European Union. It believes that the backstop has advantages for businesses in the United Kingdom, particularly those in Northern Ireland. These are advantages that it will not want to see continuing. The European Union has an interest in this being temporary, should we be in that position, just as we do.

EU Exit Negotiations

Debate between Baroness May of Maidenhead and James Cartlidge

Monday 15th October 2018 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

We are putting the interests of people across the United Kingdom—workers, consumers and businesses—at the forefront of what we are doing. That is precisely why we have proposed a free trade area that includes frictionless trade.

[James Cartlidge (South Suffolk) (Con)]

I entirely recognise the strong potential economic upside of being able to negotiate our own free trade deals, but surely we need to remember that the very same firms we would expect to invest into and benefit from those trade deals would be hit hard if friction on our border disrupted supply chains. Surely we have to get it right on both counts.

[The Prime Minister]

Yes. We want to ensure that we have a good trade relationship with the European Union. Our proposal has frictionless trade at its heart, but we will also get the benefit of those great trade deals around the rest of the world.

Leaving the EU

Debate between Baroness May of Maidenhead and James Cartlidge

Monday 9th July 2018 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

No, we are not going to extend article 50. We have a timetable; we are working to it; and we will leave on 29 March 2019.

[James Cartlidge (South Suffolk) (Con)]

rose—

--- Later in debate ---

[James Cartlidge]

The largest employer in my constituency is Philips AVENT, the baby care company, which employs 1,500 people. At the weekend, its chief executive made it clear that in the event of a hard Brexit that plant could close, which would be a massive shock to my local economy. May I say to my right hon. Friend that, although there is a lot of excitement about certain jobs being lost in this place, I will be supporting her negotiating position because it prioritises the jobs that matter—those of our constituents?

[The Prime Minister]

The route that we are taking is a route that delivers on Brexit and delivers on the vote of the British people, but does so in a way that protects jobs and livelihoods and maintains the other commitments that we have made. My hon. Friend is absolutely right: people talk about things in this House, but it is the jobs of our constituents that we should be concerned about.

Syria

Debate between Baroness May of Maidenhead and James Cartlidge

Monday 16th April 2018 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

Of course we looked at the timetable for the action we were going to take. The Cabinet considered a number of matters when it met, and it was fully informed of all aspects of this decision.

[James Cartlidge (South Suffolk) (Con)]

When this country was subjected to a chemical attack just a month ago, we called on the support of our allies, and they supported us with strength and speed. They have now asked us for that same support. How credible would we look to the international community, and to those same allies, if we turned an ideological cold shoulder on them when an attack was made on a much greater scale against the innocent civilian population of Syria?

[The Prime Minister]

I agree with my hon. Friend; it is right to remember, when we talk about the use of chemical weapons, that they have been used at scale in Syria, but of course we have seen one—a nerve agent—used on the streets of the UK. It is imperative that we give a message that these weapons cannot and must not be used.

European Council

Debate between Baroness May of Maidenhead and James Cartlidge

Monday 26th March 2018 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I did indeed have discussions with the President of France, but we were discussing other issues, such as how we should deal with the threat from Russia.

[James Cartlidge (South Suffolk) (Con)]

In my right hon. Friend’s statement on 14 March on the Salisbury incident, she said that

“the United Kingdom does not stand alone in confronting Russian aggression.”—[Official Report, 14 March 2018; Vol. 637, c. 857.]

We should remember that there were those who questioned that at the time, and also questioned whether some of our allies really believed the evidence that they were shown. Surely what is so significant about today is that we are far from being alone, and that those countries can clearly see the culpability of the Kremlin in this terrible attack.

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. That was reflected in the conclusions of the European Council that took place on Thursday and Friday last week. It has also been reflected in the actions taken by number of EU countries. Those actions are not just about supporting the United Kingdom; they are in the interests of the national security of those countries themselves.

Salisbury Incident

Debate between Baroness May of Maidenhead and James Cartlidge

Wednesday 14th March 2018 Commons Chamber

[James Cartlidge (South Suffolk) (Con)]

I strongly welcome my right hon. Friend’s steadfastness and statesmanship in standing up to this Russian aggression. Does she agree that this attempted murder on our soil by the Russian state will not enrich the lives of a single Russian citizen at home in Russia, and that this is the autocrat’s classic con trick down the years, externalising internal discontent with aggression abroad because the leader in question knows that he cannot and will never deliver the prosperity, freedom and democracy that the Russian people are so long overdue?

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. Not one person living in Russia will benefit or see their prosperity or life chances increase as a result of this action. This is about the Russian state; it is not about its care for the Russian people.

European Council

Debate between Baroness May of Maidenhead and James Cartlidge

Monday 18th December 2017 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

No, and no.

[James Cartlidge (South Suffolk) (Con)]

I warmly congratulate my right hon. Friend on securing progress, which was strongly welcomed by businesses in South Suffolk. On the point raised by the right hon. Member for Wolverhampton South East (Mr McFadden) and my hon. Friend the Member for Stafford (Jeremy Lefroy) about services, does she agree that not only do we need to have services in the future agreement, but—given that our surplus with the EU is £15.5 billion and rising rapidly—we need to have the very best possible access for that dynamic part of our economy?

[The Prime Minister]

I absolutely agree, and I fully recognise not only the importance of the role that services play in our economy, but the fact that the balance of relationship with the European Union in services is different from that in goods. Services are a great part of our economy. I want to ensure that we continue to have good trading relationships in services and that we look at how we can enhance our trading relationships in services around the rest of the world.