EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement

Baroness Altmann Excerpts

Friday 8th January 2021 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Altmann (Con) [V]]

My Lords, I too congratulate my noble friend Lord Wharton of Yarn and welcome him to this House. I welcome the fact that we have a trade and co-operation agreement with the EU, rather than leaving without a deal. I also note the words of the noble Lord, Lord King, that in the long run the economic damage of Brexit will not be huge, but my concerns about Brexit were never just economic. I have always expressed my concerns about the damage to peace and security, to culture, arts, music and the creative industries, to access to EU agencies, to educational and scientific co-operation, to the position of Northern Ireland and unity of the United Kingdom, and have consistently warned of the dangers of losing free trade, rather than enhancing it. That is exactly what this deal does, despite all these concerns being dismissed as Project Fear. I hope my noble friend the Minister will confirm that all those elements have indeed been damaged by this agreement.

I would also like to ask my noble friend to confirm two issues. There is now a border in the Irish Sea, which is imposing enormous new burdens on Northern Ireland business, with one leading haulage firm saying that booking trailers on a boat used to take five minutes but now takes two people a whole day. And tariff-free trade still entails customs duties, which have been imposed on goods shipped by UK firms to the EU, forcing firms to choose whether to absorb extra charges, pay extra charges or relocate to the EU. The grave crisis in social care, an urgent solution to which was promised more than a year ago, is worsened by the new Immigration Rules post Brexit, as low-paid care staff can no longer come to this country freely.

I urge the Government to be straight with the British people, to explain truly what this deal means and the expectations that the Government now have for the long-term success of our wonderful country.