European Union: UK Membership

Debate between Abena Oppong-Asare and Pete Wishart

Monday 24th March 2025 Westminster Hall

[The Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office (Ms Abena Oppong-Asare)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Sir John. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Colne Valley (Paul Davies) for moving the motion; I am sure everyone will agree that he spoke very passionately. I will try to leave some time so that he can respond. I am grateful for the opportunity to respond to the debate on behalf of the Government, and I thank the Petitions Committee for its work representing constituents across the country and those who sign petitions.

I have been asked about this at various times in the debate, and I thought it would be better for me to be very clear from the outset, including with members of the public who signed the petition: this Government will not seek to rejoin the EU, nor will there be a return to freedom of movement, the customs union or the single market, as we set out in our general election manifesto. That was a clear commitment ahead of the election, in which the Government secured a significant majority. The manifesto was clear on the benefits of seeking a closer relationship with the EU, and since July the Government have been doing just that, led by the Prime Minister and the Minister for the Constitution and European Union Relations. That closer, more co-operative relationship with the EU is in the UK’s national interest. The Government are working to increase security, safety and prosperity.

On security, we are responding to a once-in-a-generation moment for the collective security of our continent through our ambitious UK-EU security and defence relationship. On safety, we know that we must do what we can to strengthen our collective ability to tackle organised crime and criminality and work together on illegal migration, which is a challenge across the continent. On prosperity, to grow the economy and boost living standards we need to build export and investment opportunities for UK business and reduce barriers to trade with our biggest trading partners. All of that means that we need to be ruthlessly pragmatic in seeking a closer and more co-operative relationship with the EU.

I want to take this opportunity to reassure Members who raised concerns about the loss of data sharing, and about tackling matters such as cross-border crime. We have already increased the UK presence at Europol, and want to go further by including more co-ordination on real-time data sharing and arrest warrants. The Home Secretary was in Northern Ireland with her counterpart in recent weeks, showing the kind of joint working that we want to see more of.

I am grateful for the contributions to the debate by Welsh colleagues. Wales is a proud trading nation, which is why Welsh businesses will stand to benefit from the Government’s efforts to tackle barriers to trade, not least through the SPS agreement. My hon. Friend the Member for Walthamstow (Ms Creasy) has worked tirelessly on this issue; she is an esteemed campaigner, and she is right that this is not a quick process.

My hon. Friend the Member for Macclesfield (Tim Roca) reminded us that someone was sadly killed during the EU referendum campaign. I want to take this opportunity to pay tribute to Jo Cox, who was a passionate campaigner on this issue.

A number of colleagues raised concerns about the impact that leaving the EU has had on businesses. We know that the global economic headwinds of recent years have not always been easy for businesses—I have heard evidence of that in this debate. That is why we want to tackle the barriers to trade for businesses. We know that facilitating business mobility is in our shared interest with the EU, as it supports trade and growth on both sides of the channel.

The Chancellor has made it clear that our biggest trading partner is the EU, with which our trade totalled over £800 billion in 2023. I reassure colleagues who have raised concerns about trade that the Government’s No.1 priority will be the growth of the UK economy, and free and open trade with our most economically important partners.

[Pete Wishart]

What the Minister has just said will come as a crushing blow to all the Europhiles in the Labour party that we have heard from—no ambition for the single market or the customs union—but will she at least suggest that she will possibly look at a youth mobility scheme?

[Ms Oppong-Asare]

I have made the position very clear. In the past the SNP has not voted for the customs union. We are following very clearly what people have asked us to do—our manifesto commitments.

On the Erasmus scheme, which was raised by the right hon. Member for Dwyfor Meirionnydd (Liz Saville Roberts) in particular, we are working with the higher education sector to ensure that our world-leading universities continue to attract the brightest and the best and to support our economy, but I have to say to the right hon. Member that we have no plans to rejoin the Erasmus scheme.

Members raised concerns about opportunities for young people, and put forward proposals for a youth mobility scheme. The Government recognise the value of people-to-people connections, and of schemes that give young people the opportunity to experience different cultures and to work or study elsewhere. For example, the Turing scheme is the UK Government programme for students to study and work anywhere in the world.