EU Council

Andrew Bridgen Excerpts

Monday 2nd July 2012 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend makes an important point, but although there has been silence from the Labour party in this House, in the other place its Whip stood up and said, “Absolutely, this is squarely Labour’s fault.” It is a pity we do not hear a bit of that from the party here.

[Andrew Bridgen (North West Leicestershire) (Con)]

Given that the UK is running a large trade deficit with the rest—[Interruption.]

[Mr Speaker]

Order. We must hear Mr Bridgen.

[Andrew Bridgen]

Given that the UK is running a large trade deficit with the rest of the EU, does my right hon. Friend agree that our European partners would have much to lose from erecting trade barriers with this country, if the British people decided to leave the EU?

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend makes a good point. Britain is not only a huge market for other EU goods but a large net contributor to the EU budget. For that reason, as I often say, our membership entitles us to just as strong a view as those who have joined other parts of the EU, such as the single currency. We should never be frightened of making our voice heard.