UK-EU Summit

Debate between Ashley Fox and Nick Thomas-Symonds

Tuesday 13th May 2025 Commons Chamber

[Nick Thomas-Symonds]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. There will be a particular benefit to small and medium-sized businesses, which simply have not had the capacity to deal with the additional red tape we have seen in recent years.

[Sir Ashley Fox (Bridgwater) (Con)]

rose—

--- Later in debate ---

[Nick Thomas-Symonds]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. The situation now is a quantum leap of improvement after what we saw from the Conservative Government.

[Sir Ashley Fox]

Will the SPS and energy deals that the Minister has in mind be on the basis of a mutual recognition of standards, or does he envisage the United Kingdom accepting EU standards now, being dynamically aligned and placing ourselves under the jurisdiction of the European Court?

[Nick Thomas-Symonds]

Just to be clear, whether on energy, an SPS agreement or employment rights, this Government are interested in a race to the top, not a race to the bottom. [Interruption.] Opposition Members feign interest in the details of the deal next Monday. The Leader of the Opposition did not even want to look at it before she went out at the weekend and made her mind up about it. That is not the behaviour of a serious Opposition party, let alone a party of government. But that is where the Conservatives are now: very happy to carp on about what they are against, not caring about reducing bills, not caring about people’s pay checks, not caring about people’s jobs, and forever trying not to spell out an alternative. They have not listened, and they certainly have not learned.