Brexit: Declaration of Friendship

Debate between Baroness Goldie and Lord Pearson of Rannoch

Tuesday 14th March 2017 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Goldie]

I say to the noble Lord that if I were to articulate the words that instinctively come to my lips about the First Minister of Scotland, they would not constitute parliamentary language.

[Lord Pearson of Rannoch (UKIP)]

What about adding a short PS to this letter of solidarity along the lines of, “Why not come with us?”.

[Baroness Goldie]

I did not quite get the start of the noble Lords question, but if his sentiment is that we are on a joint enterprise as we embark upon these negotiations, with the UK seeking to do what is best for it but at the same time engaging constructively with our EU friends and allies, then yes, there is a joint dividend and prize to be gained.

The Process for Triggering Article 50

Debate between Baroness Goldie and Lord Pearson of Rannoch

Tuesday 24th January 2017 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Goldie (Con)]

My Lords, I think fairness indicates that we expect to hear from UKIP and then from the Lib Dem Benches.

[Lord Pearson of Rannoch]

My Lords, can I press the noble Lord on his answer to the noble Lord, Lord Kilclooney? What happens if we get to the end of this process and the European Parliament does not agree the result? At that point would the Government be prepared to consider the sanctity, or otherwise, of Article 50? In that respect, are the Government aware of the article in MoneyWeek on 21 November from Dr Ingrid de Frankopan, who advises merely following the first clause of Article 50, which says that a country can leave the European Union,

“in accordance with its own constitutional requirements”?

Our constitutional requirements could be an Act of Parliament and the will of the British people, so at that point will we still feel bound by Article 50? It is, after all, only a clause in an international treaty, and we are covered for our withdrawal from that treaty by the Vienna convention on treaties. Will the Government get ready to flex their muscles if the European Parliament behaves as unreasonably as it usually does?

Brexit: Invocation of Article 50

Debate between Baroness Goldie and Lord Pearson of Rannoch

Monday 19th December 2016 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Goldie]

It is important to remember the genesis of why we are where we are: the expression of a democratic view, in a referendum, that the Government are instructed to leave the European Union. That is not straightforward—it is challenging, as this House is well aware—but the Government are committed, in discharging that obligation, to doing whatever is necessary to protect the best interests of the whole of the United Kingdom.

[Lord Pearson of Rannoch (UKIP)]

My Lords, do the Government accept that Article 50 is only a clause in an international treaty and so, if the Eurocrats try to use it to our disadvantage, it should not be allowed to compromise the will of the British people as expressed in a referendum and an Act of Parliament?

[Baroness Goldie]

The noble Lord will be aware that I have on numerous occasions in this House reiterated my respect for the electoral will of the voters of this country in their referendum declaration, and I think that it has to be honoured by the Government. Article 50 is part of our European relationship. That is why the matter is currently litigious: the High Court took a view with which the Government disagreed and the matter now rests with the Supreme Court.

Brexit: Article 50

Debate between Baroness Goldie and Lord Pearson of Rannoch

Wednesday 2nd November 2016 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Goldie]

Let me try to cut to the chase for the benefit of the noble Lord. What happened as a result of the EU referendum was that the people of the United Kingdom delivered an instruction, and that instruction was to leave the EU. Quite simply, the first part of the process, the necessary key that needs to be put into the ignition to start that journey, is triggering Article 50. That is what the Government propose to do.

[Lord Pearson of Rannoch (UKIP)]

My Lords—

--- Later in debate ---

[Lord Pearson of Rannoch]

My Lords, I am most grateful. Is not the founding idea behind the European Union precisely that it should have to deal not with unreliable national democracies and parliaments, but with only their Governments? Why should this change now for Brexit, upon which our sovereign people have spoken?

[Baroness Goldie]

My Lords, I can only reiterate what I have already said. The most important and overriding feature about all this is the voice of the electorate. The electorate has spoken and the Government have an obligation to attend to the will of the electorate.