Brexit: No Deal Debate
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Baroness Ludford
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Brexit: No Deal
Baroness Ludford Excerpts(5 years, 11 months ago)
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Lord Callanan
The proposed backstop on Northern Ireland is the subject of intense negotiations at the moment. We remain committed to there being no hard border in Northern Ireland and we remain committed to the Belfast agreement, and we are negotiating with those two matters in mind.
Baroness Ludford (LD)
My Lords, the leaked no-deal alternative to Chequers from the ERG amounts, in the words of the esteemed former Chancellor, George Osborne, to,
“a whole load of other batty ideas from the nether reaches of the Tory Right”,
coming out of the woodwork. He says that they include a “star wars” system and an,
“expeditionary force to retake the Falklands”—
although Argentina is supposedly one of our new trade friends. Can the Government still, with a straight face, give any credence to no deal?
Lord Callanan
I cannot comment on the document referred to by the noble Baroness because I have not read it. However, as I have said repeatedly in this House, we do not want no deal. We are negotiating to get a good deal, but a responsible Government will prepare for every eventuality, and we are preparing for no deal through the issuing of technical notices.