Prime Minister’s Statement

Boris Johnson Excerpts

Saturday 19th October 2019 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister (Boris Johnson)]

Mr Speaker, I want to begin by echoing what you have just said and expressing my gratitude to all Members of the House for assembling on a Saturday for the first time in 37 years, and indeed to all members of our House of Commons staff who have worked to make this sitting possible. I know that it has meant people giving up their Saturday and breaking into their weekend at a time when families want to be together, and of course it means missing at least the end of England’s world cup quarter final. I apologise to the House for that; I wish I could watch it myself. I know that the hon. Member for Cardiff West (Kevin Brennan) has postponed his 60th birthday party—if not his 60th birthday—to be here. The House has gone to a great deal of trouble to assemble here on a Saturday for the first time in a generation, and I do hope that in assembling for the purposes of a meaningful vote, we will indeed be allowed to have a meaningful vote this evening.

With permission, Mr Speaker, I shall make a statement on the new agreement with our European friends. The House will need no reminding that this is the second deal and the fourth vote, three and half years after the nation voted for Brexit. During those years, friendships have been strained, families divided and the attention of this House consumed by a single issue that has at times felt incapable of resolution, but I hope that this is the moment when we can finally achieve that resolution and reconcile the instincts that compete within us.

Many times in the last 30 years, I have heard our European friends remark that this country is half-hearted in its EU membership, and it is true that we in the UK have often been a backmarker—opting out of the single currency, not taking part in Schengen, very often trying to block some collective ambition. In the last three and a half years, it has been striking that Members on all sides of this House have debated Brexit in almost entirely practical terms, in an argument that has focused on the balance of economic risk and advantage. I do not think I can recall a time when I have heard a single Member stand up and call for Britain to play her full part in the political construction of a federal Europe. I do not think I have heard a single Member call for ever closer union, ever deeper integration or a federal destiny—mon pays Europe. [Interruption.] Perhaps I missed it, but I do not think I have heard much of it. There is a whole side of the debate that one hears regularly in other European capitals that is simply absent from our national conversation, and I do not think that has changed much in the last 30 years.

If we have been sceptical, if we have been anxious about the remoteness of the bureaucracy, if we have been dubious about the rhetoric of union and integration, if we have been half-hearted Europeans, it follows logically that with part of our hearts—with half our hearts—we feel something else: a sense of love and respect for European culture and civilisation, of which we are a part; a desire to co-operate with our friends and partners in everything, creatively, artistically, intellectually; a sense of our shared destiny; and a deep understanding of the eternal need, especially after the horrors of the last century, for Britain to stand as one of the guarantors of peace and democracy in our continent—and it is our continent.

It is precisely because we are capable of feeling both things at once—sceptical about the modes of EU integration, as we are, but passionate and enthusiastic about Europe—that the whole experience of the last three and a half years has been so difficult for this country and so divisive. That is why it is now so urgent for us to move on and build a new relationship with our friends in the EU on the basis of a new deal—a deal that can heal the rift in British politics and unite the warring instincts in us all. Now is the time for this great House of Commons to come together and bring the country together today, as I believe people at home are hoping and expecting, with a new way forward and a new and better deal both for Britain and our friends in the EU. That is the advantage of the agreement that we have struck with our friends in the last two days. This deal allows the UK, whole and entire, to leave the EU on 31 October in accordance with the referendum while simultaneously looking forward to a new partnership based on the closest ties of friendship and co-operation.

I pay tribute to our European friends for escaping the prison of existing positions and showing the vision to be flexible by reopening the withdrawal agreement and thereby addressing the deeply felt concerns of many in this House. One of my most important jobs is to express those concerns to our European friends. I shall continue to listen to all hon. Members throughout the debate today, to meet with anyone on any side and to welcome the scrutiny the House will bring to bear if, as I hope, we proceed to consider the withdrawal Bill next week.

Today this House has a historic opportunity to show the same breadth of vision as our European neighbours and the same ability and resolve to reach beyond past disagreements by getting Brexit done and moving this country forwards, as we all yearn to do. This agreement provides for a real Brexit, taking back control of our borders, laws, money, farming, fisheries and trade, amounting to the greatest single restoration of national sovereignty in parliamentary history. It removes the backstop, which would have held us against our will in the customs union and much of the single market. For the first time in almost five decades, the UK will be able to strike free trade deals with our friends across the world to benefit the whole country, including Northern Ireland.

Article 4 of the protocol states:

“Northern Ireland is part of the customs territory of the United Kingdom”.

It adds

“nothing in this Protocol shall prevent”

Northern Ireland from realising the preferential market access in any free trade deals

“on the same terms as goods produced in other parts of the United Kingdom.”

Our negotiations have focused on the uniquely sensitive nature of the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic, and we have respected those sensitivities. Above all, we and our European friends have preserved the letter and the spirit of the Belfast/Good Friday agreement, and have upheld the long-standing areas of co-operation between the UK and Ireland, including the common travel area. As I told the House on 3 October, in order to prevent a regulatory border on the island of Ireland we propose a regulatory zone covering all goods, including agrifood, eliminating any need for associated checks at the border.

But in this agreement we have gone further by also finding a solution to the vexed question of customs, which many in the House have raised. Our agreement ensures

“unfettered market access for goods moving from Northern Ireland to the rest of the United Kingdom’s internal market.”

It ensures that there should be no tariffs on goods circulating within the UK customs territory—that is, between Great Britain and Northern Ireland—unless they are at risk of entering the EU. It ensures an open border on the island of Ireland, a common objective of everyone in the House. And it ensures for those living and working alongside the border that there will be no visible or practical changes to their lives: they can carry on as before.

I believe that this is a good arrangement, reconciling the special circumstances in Northern Ireland with the minimum possible bureaucratic consequences at a few points of arrival in Northern Ireland, and it is precisely to ensure that those arrangements are acceptable to the people of Northern Ireland that we have made consent a fundamental element of this new deal. So no arrangements can be imposed on Northern Ireland if they do not work for Northern Ireland. Under this agreement, the people of Northern Ireland will have the right to express or withhold their consent to these provisions by means of a majority vote in their Assembly four years after the end of the transition. If the Assembly chooses to withhold consent, these provisions “shall cease to apply” after two years, during which the Joint Committee of the UK and EU would propose a new way forward, in concert with Northern Ireland’s institutions.

As soon as this House allows the process of extracting ourselves from the EU to be completed, the exciting enterprise of building a new relationship with our friends can begin. That enterprise has been too long delayed, and the Labour party would delay it further. I do not wish this to be the project of any one Government or any one party, but rather to be the endeavour of the United Kingdom as a whole. Only this Parliament can make this new relationship the work of the nation, and so Parliament should be at the heart of decision making as we develop our approach. I acknowledge that in the past we have perhaps not always acted in that spirit.

So as we take forward our friendship with our closest neighbours and construct that new relationship, I will ensure that a broad and open process draws upon the wealth of expertise in every part of this House, including Select Committees and their Chairs. Every party and every Member who wishes to contribute will be invited to do so, and we shall start by debating the mandate for our negotiators in the next phase.

The ambition for our future friendship is contained in the revised political declaration, which also provides for the House to be free to decide our own laws and regulations. I have complete faith in this House to choose regulations that are in our best tradition—our best tradition—of the highest standards of environmental protections and workers’ rights. No one, anywhere in this Chamber, believes in lowering standards. Instead—[Interruption.]

[Mr Speaker]

Order. There is a lot of gesticulation. The statement by the Prime Minister must be heard, and it will be.

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[The Prime Minister]

Mr Speaker, I am grateful.

No one believes in lowering standards. Instead, we believe in improving them, as indeed we will be able to do, and seizing the opportunities of our new freedoms. For example, free from the common agricultural policy, we will have a far simpler system where we will reward farmers for improving our environment and animal welfare, many of whose provisions are impossible under the current arrangements, instead of just paying them for their acreage. Free from the common fisheries policy, we can ensure sustainable yields based on the latest science, not outdated methods of setting quotas.

These restored powers will be available not simply to this Government, but to every future British Government of any party to use as they see fit. That is what restoring sovereignty means. That is what is meant in practice by taking back control of our destiny. Our first decision, on which I believe there will be unanimity, is that in any future trade negotiations with any country, our national health service will not be on the table.

I am convinced that an overwhelming majority in this House, regardless of our personal views, wishes to see Brexit delivered in accordance with the referendum—a majority. In this crucial mission, there can no longer be any argument for further delay. As someone who passionately believed that we had to go back to our European friends to seek a better agreement, I must tell the House that with this new deal the scope for future negotiation—for fruitful negotiation—has run its course.

The Opposition said that we could not reopen the withdrawal agreement. They said that we could not change a comma of the withdrawal agreement. They said that we could not abolish the backstop. We have done both. But it is now my judgment that we have reached the best possible solution. So those who agree, like me, that Brexit must be delivered, and who, like me, prefer to avoid a no-deal outcome must abandon the delusion that this House can delay again, and I must tell the House in all candour that there is very little appetite among our friends in the EU for this business to be protracted by one extra day. They have had three and a half years of this debate. It has distracted them from their own projects and their own ambitions, and if there is one feeling that unites the British public with a growing number of officials in the EU, it is a burning desire to get Brexit done.

I must tell the House again, in all candour, that, whatever letters they may seek to force the Government to write, it cannot change my judgment that further delay is pointless, expensive and deeply corrosive of public trust, and people simply will not understand how politicians can say with one breath that they want delay to avoid no deal and with the next breath that they still want delay when a great deal is there to be done.

Now is the time to get this thing done, and I say to all Members, let us come together as democrats to end this debilitating feud. Let us come together as democrats to get behind this deal—the one proposition that fulfils the verdict of the majority, but which also allows us to bring together the two halves of our hearts, to bring together the two halves of our nation. Let us speak now, both for the 52 and for the 48.

Let us go for a deal that can heal this country and can allow us all to express our legitimate desires for the deepest possible friendship and partnership with our neighbours, a deal that allows us to create a new shared destiny with them, and a deal that also allows us to express our confidence in our own democratic institutions, to make our own laws, to determine our own future and to believe in ourselves once again as an open, generous, global, outward looking, free trading United Kingdom. That is the prospect that this deal offers our country. It is a great prospect and a great deal. I commend it to the House.

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[Jeremy Corbyn]

This deal fails to enshrine the principle that we keep pace with the European Union on environmental standards and protections, putting at risk our current rules on matters ranging from air pollution standards to chemical safety—we all know the public concern about such issues—at the same time that we are facing a climate emergency.

As for workers’ rights, we simply cannot give the Government a blank cheque. Mr Speaker, you do not have to take my word for that. Listen, for example, to the TUC general secretary, Frances O’Grady, who says—[Interruption.] She represents an organisation with 6 million affiliated members, and she says:

“This deal would be a disaster for working people. It would hammer the economy, cost jobs and sell workers’ rights down the river.”

Listen to Make UK, representing British manufacturers, which says—[Interruption.] Government Members may care to listen to its comments on the deal. Make UK says that

“commitments to the closest possible trading relationship in goods have gone. Differences in regulation between the UK and the EU will add cost and bureaucracy and our companies will face a lack of clarity inhibiting investment and planning.”

Listen also to the Green Alliance, which says that the deal amounted to a

“very sad Brexit read from a climate perspective.”

The message is clear that this deal is not good for jobs and is damaging for our industry and a threat to our environment and our natural world. It is not a good deal for our country, and future generations will feel the impact. It should be voted down by this House today.

I also totally understand the frustration and fatigue across the country and in this House, but we simply cannot vote for a deal that is even worse than the one that the House rejected three times. The Government’s own economic analysis shows that this deal would make the poorest regions even poorer and cost each person in this country over £2,000 a year. If we vote for a deal that makes our constituents poorer, we are not likely to be forgiven. The Government are claiming that if we support their deal, it will get Brexit done, and that backing them today is the only way to stop a no-deal exit. I simply say: nonsense. Supporting the Government this afternoon would merely fire the starting pistol in a race to the bottom in regulations and standards.

If anyone has any doubts about that, we only have to listen to what the Government’s own Members have been saying. Like the one yesterday who rather let the cat out of the bag by saying that Members should back this deal as it means we can leave with no deal by 2020. [Hon. Members: “Ah.”] The cat is truly out of the bag. Will the Prime Minister confirm whether that is the case? If a free trade agreement has not been done, would that mean Britain falling on to World Trade Organisation terms by December next year, with only Northern Ireland having preferential access to the EU market?

No wonder, then, that the Foreign Secretary said that this represents a “cracking deal” for Northern Ireland, which would retain frictionless access to the single market. That does prompt the question: why is it that the rest of the UK cannot get a cracking deal by maintaining access to the single market?

The Taoiseach said that the deal

“allows the all-Ireland economy to continue to develop and… protects the European single market”.

Some Members of this House would welcome an all-Ireland economy, but I did not think that they included the Government and the Conservative and Unionist party. The Prime Minister declared in the summer:

“Under no circumstances… will I allow the EU or anyone else to create any kind of division down the Irish Sea”.

We cannot trust a word he says.

Voting for a deal today will not end Brexit, and it will not deliver certainty. The people should have the final say. Labour is not prepared to sell out the communities that it represents. We are not prepared to sell out their future, and we will not back this sell-out deal. This is about our communities now and about our future generations.

[The Prime Minister]

I must confess that I am disappointed by the tone the right hon. Gentleman has taken today, because I had thought that he might rise to the occasion and see what the electorate—and, I believe, his own electorate—broadly want us to do, which is to get Brexit done. I thought he would wish to reflect the will of the people who voted for Brexit in such numbers in 2016 and have waited for a very long time.

The right hon. Gentleman is wrong about environmental and social protection. This Government and this country will maintain the very highest standards, and we will lead in environmental protection and social protection across Europe and the world. We lead, for instance, in our commitment to be carbon neutral by 2050, and as I have told him many times, Brexit gives us the freedom and the opportunity to do things that we have not been able to do and that are deeply desired by the British people, such as banning the live export of animals—that is to say nothing of shark fins—and many other things we can do differently and better.

The right hon. Gentleman is wrong about business. The overwhelming view of business is that there are great opportunities from Brexit. Also, both Stuart Rose, who is a former chairman of the remain campaign, and the Governor of the Bank of England have said today that this is a good deal for the British economy. As I look ahead, the only risks I see to the British economy are the catastrophic plans of the right hon. Gentleman and his semi-Marxist party. What British business wants is the certainty and stability of getting Brexit done on 31 October, and then the opportunity to build a new future with our European partners and to do free trade deals around the world.

The right hon. Gentleman is wrong about Northern Ireland, which, along with the rest of the UK, will exit the EU customs union, in defiance of what the European Commission and, indeed, the Irish Government had intended.

The right hon. Gentleman talks about trust. I do not wish to be unnecessarily adversarial today, but he patently does not trust his own party—he does not trust the shadow Chancellor—and, above all, he has not been willing to trust the people of this country by granting them the right to adjudicate on him and his policies in a general election. He will not trust the people, and he does not trust the people by delivering on the result of their referendum in 2016.

I suggest to the House, in all humility and candour, that it should ignore the right hon. Gentleman’s pleadings and vote for an excellent deal that will take this country and the whole of Europe forward.

[Mr Kenneth Clarke (Rushcliffe) (Ind)]

The Prime Minister began his statement, for which I am grateful, by saying how rare it has been for Members of this House ever to support federalism and a united states of Europe, and I entirely agree. Federalism and a belief in a European superstate are as rare in this country as they are, nowadays, in every one of the other 27 member states.

Does the Prime Minister accept that, for the past 50 years, the vast majority of the Conservative party and all four Conservative Prime Ministers in whose Governments I served believed that membership of the European Union gave us a stronger voice in the world politically, as one of the three leading members of the European Union, and gave us access to a free trade market that enabled us to build a strong and competitive economy? Will he reassure me—as I assure him that I will vote for his deal once we have given legislative effect to it—that, when he goes on to negotiate the eventual long-term arrangements, he will seek a solution in which we have the same completely open access across the channel and across the Irish border to trade and investment with the European Union as we have now, in both directions, even if we have to sacrifice the political benefits we have hitherto enjoyed from membership of the Union?

[The Prime Minister]

I wish to agree with at least part of my right hon. and learned Friend’s analysis, because he says that there is scepticism across the continent about federalism and the desire to build a European Union superstate, and I think that he is right, but unfortunately that scepticism has not percolated up to the elites who run the EU and set the agenda in Brussels. [Interruption.]

[Mr Speaker]

Order. Every Member who has the Floor must be heard.

[The Prime Minister]

I am making a valid point, which is that in Brussels my right hon. and learned Friend’s message has not really been perfectly understood, because they are continuing with a large number of federalist projects. At the European Council, only a couple of days ago, I heard the distinguished President of France calling for a union bancaire—a banking union, Mr Speaker; spelt b-a-n-c-a-i-r-e. There is a strong desire to intensify the process of integration—for example, by creating a defence pact—in a way that I think would meet the scepticism of not just my right hon. and learned Friend, but millions of people across the EU. I can give him an absolute reassurance that in the course of negotiations—in which we would want the entire House, or as many Members who want to be involved as possible, to take part—we will ensure that we get exactly what I think he desires: a zero-tariff, zero-quota free trade partnership so that there is maximum trade, and increasing trade, between our economies.

[Ian Blackford (Ross, Skye and Lochaber) (SNP)]

May I join you, Mr Speaker, in thanking all the staff who have made today’s sitting possible? I also thank the Prime Minister for advance sight of his statement.

Northern Ireland, 13: Scotland, zero—those are the number of references to Northern Ireland and to Scotland in the Prime Minister’s statement. There was not one reference to Scotland. The Prime Minister has returned from Brussels to present a deal that he knows—that we all know—is actually worse than Theresa May’s deal. It is a deal that would see Scotland shafted by this United Kingdom Government and left at an economic disadvantage, with Scotland’s views and interests totally disregarded by this Prime Minister and his Government.

The Scottish National party could not have been clearer: we would support any mandate to approach the European Union to remain in the single market and the customs union, or simply to remain in the European Union altogether. Yet the Prime Minister has made it clear that he is not interested in meaningful discussions with the SNP or our Scottish Government. He and his cronies in No. 10 do not care about Scotland. This Tory Government have sold Scotland out, and once against they have let Scotland down.

While, rightfully, Northern Ireland has been allowed special arrangements to remain in the single market and the customs union, the Prime Minister will not afford Scotland the same arrangements. He did not even consider giving Scotland a fair deal. Despite the fact that the Scottish people, like the people of Northern Ireland, voted overwhelmingly to remain in the European Union, this Prime Minister has never entertained the notion of giving Scotland the same arrangements that Northern Ireland gets in this deal.

The truth is that the Prime Minister does not care about Scotland. He and his Government have treated the Scottish Government, our Scottish Parliament and the Scottish people with nothing but contempt.

Not a single MP who cares about Scotland’s future should consider supporting the Prime Minister today. They should stand with the Scottish National party and vote this deal down. Any and all assessments of any Brexit outcome show that the United Kingdom and Scotland will be poorer, no matter how we leave the European Union. People up and down Scotland know that the Prime Minister, his Brexit fanboys and the Vote Leave campaign have ignored and shafted Scotland.

England is getting what it voted for, Wales is getting what it voted for, and Northern Ireland is getting a special deal, yet Scotland, which democratically voted to remain, is being ignored and treated as a second-class nation by this Government. How will the Prime Minister justify himself to the people of Scotland at the general election? When he cannot, and when he fails, and when the Brexit-backing fan club from all quarters fails, will he finally respect the mandate of the Scottish people and let them have their say on our future?

[The Prime Minister]

I am sure the right hon. Gentleman and his colleagues will want to join me in congratulating the England rugby team on their 40-16 victory over Australia—

[Ian Blackford]

indicated assent.

[The Prime Minister]

There was a lot enthusiasm in that response.

The right hon. Gentleman was a little bit churlish in his response to my statement, because after all I did not mention England and I did not mention Wales, either. Of course, the reason why Northern Ireland is a particular subject of discussion—it is a legitimate point—is that there are particular circumstances in Northern Ireland at the border that deserve particular respect and sensitivity, and that is what they have received in the deal.

This is a great deal for England, a great deal for Wales, a great deal for Scotland and a great deal for Northern Ireland. The people of Scotland now have the chance, championed by wonderful Scottish Conservative MPs, to take back control of their fisheries from the end of next year. That will allow the people of Scotland at last to enjoy the benefits of their spectacular marine wealth in a way that they would be denied under the Scottish nationalist party which, as I never tire of telling you, Mr Speaker, would hand back control of Scottish fishing to Brussels.

[Mr Iain Duncan Smith (Chingford and Woodford Green) (Con)]

May I take issue—gently—with my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister? For 27 years, some of us have been warning about the federal nature of the European Union. [Interruption.] I did say gently.

I am in real agreement, as I stand here today, with my right hon. and learned Friend the Father of the House, who has said that he will back this deal today. So will I. In that spirit, will my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister please come to the Dispatch Box and ask my right hon. Friend the Member for West Dorset (Sir Oliver Letwin), in recognising that we need to have a meaningful vote, to withdraw his amendment and give the British people what they are dying for, which is a decision on Brexit?

[The Prime Minister]

I am full of respect for the contributions that my right hon. Friend has made on this subject over many, many years. I did not mean in any way to exclude him or to say that he had not made important contributions on the subject of a federal Europe. What I said was that I had not often heard people speaking up in favour of the integration of this country into a federal EU.

On my right hon. Friend’s point about the amendment that I believe is being proposed, and that I think you, Mr Speaker, have accepted from my right hon. Friend the Member for West Dorset (Sir Oliver Letwin), I do think that this is a momentous occasion for our country and for our Parliament, and that it would be a great shame if the opportunity to have a meaningful vote, which is what I believe this House has been convoked to do, were to be taken away from us. I say that with the greatest respect to my right hon. Friend, who I think is actuated by the best possible intentions.

[Jo Swinson (East Dunbartonshire) (LD)]

The Prime Minister’s deal removes protections on workers’ rights. It puts a border—[Interruption.]

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[The Prime Minister]

I am afraid that the hon. Lady is not correct in what she says. The new deal does absolutely nothing to remove protections from workers or from the environment. On the contrary, it gives us the opportunity to strengthen such protections. She asked for the people to have a final say at the ballot box, yet she has been preventing a general election. Instead of campaigning for a general election, she has been in Brussels asking the EU not to give this country a new and better deal. The mere fact that we have a great deal before us today is a tribute to the signal lack of influence of the Liberal Democrats in Brussels.

[Several hon. Members rose—]

[Mr David Davis (Haltemprice and Howden) (Con)]

Despite the fact that those who oppose Brexit have tried to undermine his negotiating position at every turn, despite the fact that the Benn Act sought to remove his strongest negotiating lever, the Prime Minister has done what they said was impossible two weeks ago and got the European Union to reopen and change its negotiating position. Does he agree that, during the referendum, this Parliament effectively made a promise to the British people to deliver on their decision, and that today is the day to deliver on that promise?

[The Prime Minister]

I thank my right hon. Friend for what he has said, and he is indeed correct. I do believe that this excellent deal dispels the doubts of many people about what this country could achieve and, indeed, will achieve in the future. I thank him—my fellow campaigner on this issue—for the way that he has stood up for the vision that we both share for our country as an open, global, free-trading, generous, outward-looking, but European economy, and that is what this deal allows us to be. I believe that it is a great step forward, and I hope that the House endorses it.

[Nigel Dodds (Belfast North) (DUP)]

Weariness in this House over Brexit should not be an excuse for weakness on Brexit or weakness on the Union. This party has supported respecting the people of the United Kingdom’s referendum decision to leave the European Union. We have supported that and we continue to support that, but it must be Brexit for the whole of the United Kingdom—leaving the single market and the customs union if that is what the rest of UK does, along with the rest of the UK. This deal puts Northern Ireland, yes, in the UK customs union, but applies, de facto, all the European customs union code.

[The Prime Minister]

indicated dissent.

[Nigel Dodds]

Yes, it does. Read the detail. It also puts us in the VAT regime. It also puts us in the single market regime for a large part of goods and agrifood, without any consent up front, contrary to the agreement made in December 2017, which said that regulatory difference could happen only with the consent of the Executive and the Assembly. It drives a coach and horses through the Belfast agreement by altering the cross-community consent mechanism. It was once said that no British Prime Minister could ever agree to such terms. Indeed, those who sought the leadership of the Tory party said that at the Democratic Unionist party conference. Will the Prime Minister now abide by that and please reconsider the fact that we must leave as one nation together? There may be special circumstances for Northern Ireland, but that can only be with the consent of the people of Northern Ireland, Unionists and nationalists together. That is the basis on which the peace process—the political process—has advanced. He must respect that.

[The Prime Minister]

Let me first say that I am grateful to the right hon. Gentleman in this sense: together he and I, and the rest of his group, made a case powerfully to the EU that it was necessary for Northern Ireland to come out of the customs union—which was not, by the way, a point that was accepted by the EU—and we were successful in that. The right hon. Gentleman is critical of the arrangements, but the significant point about a customs union is that it is a union that sets its own tariffs and duties at the perimeter around that customs union, and that is what the whole of the UK will do, including Northern Ireland. And let us be frank, that is not what the European Commission or our European friends thought would be the result of these negotiations. I believe that it is a great success for Northern Ireland and the whole country.

The arrangements that have made that possible, of course, are temporary and determined by consent. I do think it a pity that it is thought necessary for one side or the other in the debate in Northern Ireland to have a veto on those arrangements because, after all—and I must be very frank about this—the people of this country have taken a great decision embracing the entire four nations of this country, by a simple majority vote that went 52:48 and which we are honouring now. I think that principle should be applied elsewhere, and I see no reason why it should not be applied in Northern Ireland as well. It is fully compatible with the Good Friday agreement.

[Mr Philip Hammond (Runnymede and Weybridge) (Ind)]

Before I decide whether to jump on the Prime Minister’s bus, I would like to be just a little clearer about the destination; I would like to be reassured that it remains the deep and special partnership with the European Union that we promised the British people in our 2017 election manifesto. In the absence of the UK-wide backstop, which has now gone from the package, the best way to give us that reassurance is to ensure a proper role for Parliament in the process of the future negotiations. So could the Prime Minister today make a commitment to accept the Nandy-Snell amendments, which the previous Government agreed would prevail?

[The Prime Minister]

I can certainly give that commitment.

[Hilary Benn (Leeds Central) (Lab)]

This agreement will maintain friction-free access to the European market for Northern Ireland. Can the Prime Minister therefore explain why he is so determined to deny that exact same benefit to the rest of the United Kingdom? If he presses on with this path, he will not heal the rift to which he referred a moment ago; he will only serve to widen it further.

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[The Prime Minister]

The right hon. Gentleman, for whom I have a high regard, is, I think, one of those who believes that we should delay further in the EU. I do not believe that. I think we should come out as one UK, and I think there is a very important difference between Northern Ireland and the other constituent parts of the UK. That is evident in the Good Friday agreement and it is evident in the need to treat that particular land border with a great deal of sensitivity and respect. That is something that is agreed in all parts of the House and is I think appreciated by the right hon. Gentleman himself.

[Sir William Cash (Stone) (Con)]

Will my right hon. Friend personally guarantee that in the withdrawal Bill there will be a guarantee to protect in practice our parliamentary sovereignty and furthermore that, in relation to the withdrawal agreement, there will be provision to protect the United Kingdom from any harmful matters relating to our vital national interests under a parliamentary system that will guarantee that this House will decide if there are any situations where we need to prevent EU laws from being harmful to those vital national interests during the course of the future arrangements that have been put in place?

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend has campaigned on this matter for many, many years. Indeed, there is a sense in which this occasion today is a colossal vindication of his parliamentary career, in that he has long campaigned for us to come out of the EU. He raises an important point about our ability to protect this country from injurious or vexatious legislation coming from the EU during the IP. I can certainly give him the assurance that we will have such protection.

[Ms Angela Eagle (Wallasey) (Lab)]

The Prime Minister’s predecessor said in this place that no British Prime Minister could ever accept a deal that put a border down the Irish sea. The Prime Minister himself went to the DUP conference not long ago and said the same thing. He has now agreed a deal that puts a border down the Irish sea, so can he tell the House why on earth anyone in the country, let alone anyone in this place, will ever believe a reassurance that he gives ever again?

[The Prime Minister]

I am afraid that the hon. Lady is simply wrong. There will be no border down the Irish sea. There are already checks for epidemiological purposes. There will be some customs checks, yes, but there will be no tariffs. There will be a single united customs union between all four nations of the UK, as she would expect. That is what we have delivered; and we have delivered it, by the way, in defiance of the scepticism and negativity of the Opposition, who continually said that it could not be done and that it was absolutely essential for Northern Ireland to remain in the customs union of the EU. We have solved the problem and we have taken Northern Ireland out.

[Damian Green (Ashford) (Con)]

There are many of us, who do not often feature at the noisy ends of the debate, who campaigned hard for remain, but who accept the result of the referendum, because we are above all democrats. Many of us have said things like, “We will do anything to avoid no deal.” Does the Prime Minister agree that today is the day actually to make those words mean something and vote for a deal?

--- Later in debate ---

[The Prime Minister]

I thank my right hon. Friend, who has done much to bring our party and, indeed, the House together on this matter. I could not agree with him more fervently. I really do think this is the day for everybody to put aside their differences and get this thing done. Our voters—the country—are looking at us. They expect us to deliver it. Let’s do it today.

[Rachael Maskell (York Central) (Lab/Co-op)]

The democratic consent process does not remove the border down the Irish sea; it simply moves the risk from determining the future of the border from Westminster to Stormont. So why does the Prime Minister believe that the deal will accord with the consensus built into the Good Friday agreement?

[The Prime Minister]

The deal is in perfect conformity with the Good Friday agreement, and it is open to the people of Northern Ireland to vary the arrangements that I have described if they so choose.

[Sir Patrick McLoughlin (Derbyshire Dales) (Con)]

Was not the right hon. Leader of the Opposition right on 22 February 2016, when he said:

“We welcome the fact that it is now in the hands of the people of this country to decide”—[Official Report, 22 February 2016; Vol. 606, c. 26.]

whether we remain in the European Union? Did the people not come to a conclusion on that? He was right then; should we not now carry out that instruction?

[The Prime Minister]

The better angels of the Leader of the Opposition’s nature may still agree with that position; my impression is that he has been in some way captured and held hostage by those who wish to convert the Labour party into the party of revoke, and of dither and delay, a second referendum, more turmoil, and more uncertainty for business for years to come.

[Liz Saville Roberts (Dwyfor Meirionnydd) (PC)]

The Prime Minister asks us with passionate words to vote with our hearts for his deal, but my head cannot get round the fact that we are being asked to accept his words in trusting ignorance of their full implications, and my heart tells me that the people of Wales will never be well served by his Government; we are only ever an afterthought to this Prime Minister. He has refused to share the impact assessments, and he revealed this 535-page legal text for us to comprehend only today. How could Plaid Cymru ever support his billionaires’ Brexit?

[The Prime Minister]

It seems to me that the right hon. Lady may conceivably have made up her mind about the 535 pages that she has in her hand before she scrutinised every word of the text. I am a fan of hers, but I gently remind her that, as she and I both know, Wales voted to leave. She should respect that.

[Caroline Nokes (Romsey and Southampton North) (Ind)]

Twelve minutes into his statement, the Prime Minister spoke of the importance of this place in future negotiations. Could he please reassure me that today will see the end of the campaign to portray what is happening as “Parliament against the people”, and that we will today accept that it is Parliament working on behalf of people?

--- Later in debate ---

[The Prime Minister]

I thank my right hon. Friend for her point. She is absolutely right: this is the moment for Parliament and people to yoke arms, come together, and get this thing done. That is what our country wants.

[Kate Hoey (Vauxhall) (Lab)]

The Prime Minister has said clearly that he wants a free trade deal by the end of 2020 for the whole of the United Kingdom. Will the Prime Minister tell us clearly that when that day comes, the protocol on Northern Ireland will be automatically changed, and that Northern Ireland will then be fully part of a free trade deal, with everything there being the same as in the rest of the United Kingdom?

[The Prime Minister]

As the hon. Lady knows, the arrangements envisaged for Northern Ireland in this deal lapse automatically, and the default position is full alignment with the UK in every respect, unless the people of Northern Ireland decide, by a majority vote, not to remain in alignment; that is always open to them, and that must be fair. The arrangements are for a very small range of policy. From the beginning, as I explained to the House, Northern Ireland will not only be able to take part in free trade deals, but will benefit from many of the advantages and attractions of Brexit, in the sense that we could, for example, regulate financial services differently and better, and have a freeport in Belfast.

[Nigel Dodds]

indicated assent.

[Mr Gregory Campbell (East Londonderry) (DUP)]

indicated assent.

[The Prime Minister]

I see my distinguished friends in the Democratic Unionist party accepting this good news, as is their customary way. There are many advantages to be had. On the point made by the hon. Member for Vauxhall (Kate Hoey), yes, there is the prospect of a free trade agreement between us and the EU, under which these arrangements would eventually be superseded. We would enter into free trade, as the right hon. and learned Father of the House indicated—a zero-tariff, zero-quota arrangement—and then the current arrangements would be obviated.

[Greg Clark (Tunbridge Wells) (Ind)]

Will my right hon. Friend give a commitment, in law if necessary, that workers’ rights in this country will never be inferior to those of the European Union?

[The Prime Minister]

Yes, I certainly can.

[Mr Chris Leslie (Nottingham East) (IGC)]

Hon. Members are going to be promised—[Interruption.] Hon. Members are obviously going to be promised everything today by the Prime Minister; they should take it with a pinch of salt. I have to tell the Prime Minister that it speaks volumes that he and the Chancellor have refused to publish a fresh economic impact assessment of his proposal today. But I think the Chancellor has said, “Well, one was produced last year”—November 2018—by his predecessor, where, on the basis of an average free trade agreement, we would see the British economy lag by 5% of GDP. Can he at least give us the courtesy, at the Dispatch Box now, of saying that that model—that average free trade agreement: down 5%—is the expectation we could have of his plan?

[The Prime Minister]

No, it certainly is not.

[Chris Grayling (Epsom and Ewell) (Con)]

My right hon. Friend will remember from the referendum the strength of feeling that he and I experienced in some of our most deprived communities about Brexit. Could he gently explain to the Leader of the Opposition the sense of betrayal that will be felt in those communities if we do not now deliver Brexit?

[The Prime Minister]

My right hon. Friend is completely correct in what he says. I think it is a feeling that is well known to Members on the other side of the House and well known on our Benches as well. The people of this country, wherever they come from, are coming together now in a desire to get Brexit done, and I hope that this House will today reflect that will.

[Joanna Cherry (Edinburgh South West) (SNP)]

At present, the United Kingdom consists of England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland. In both Northern Ireland and Scotland there is no mandate for Brexit. The deal we are being asked to vote for today gives Northern Ireland a deal that keeps it close to the single market and the customs union, subject to its consent. Can the Prime Minister explain to me and my constituents in what way it strengthens the Union of the United Kingdom for Scotland alone to have foisted upon it a Brexit it did not vote for?

[The Prime Minister]

I am afraid there is a complete conceptual confusion here. Scotland, Northern Ireland—the whole of the UK is coming out of the customs union. Particular arrangements are being put in place to avoid a hard border in Northern Ireland, which I think is an objective that the whole House supports. As for the people of Scotland, they had a referendum, as the hon. and learned Lady knows full well, in 2014, and they voted very substantially to remain in the United Kingdom. That was the correct decision. They were told it was a once-in-a-generation decision, and I see no reason whatever to betray that promise that was made to them then.

[Justine Greening (Putney) (Ind)]

The Prime Minister, I think, has said that he now wants to speak for the 52% and the 48%, but does he recognise that the rhetoric, the actions and the way that this Government have approached Brexit achieve the exact opposite of that, actually? Does he also recognise that dismissing the concerns of communities such as my own is no way to bring even England back together, and dismissing the concerns of other nations within the United Kingdom is also no way to bring the UK and Britain back together either?

[The Prime Minister]

I certainly did not mean to dismiss anybody’s concerns, let alone her own. I recognise, as I think I said in my opening statement, that this is an issue that has aroused deep feeling across the country on both sides, but it is my strong belief that the way forward for this country now is to deliver Brexit, get it done and move our country forward. That is the way, I believe, that people can honestly and passionately express their pro-European views in a new deep and special partnership of the kind that my right hon. Friend—both of us—campaigned for.

[Mr Barry Sheerman (Huddersfield) (Lab/Co-op)]

Forty years ago I heard a Conservative leader speak, and although I disagreed with much of what she believed in, I believed in her loyalty, I trusted her, and she brought the nation together with a great speech. I did not hear that this morning. What I heard was a man who leads this country but who people do not trust. He keeps saying, “Trust”. Who will trust the British people? If we want the British people to trust us, does he agree that we should have a referendum so that people can judge this deal for what it is? We can then have a general election after that.

[The Prime Minister]

I think the best way to show our trust in the people is to repay their trust in us by honouring their mandate and delivering on the verdict of the people. That is what we should do today, and I hope very much that the hon. Gentleman will join us in the Lobby tonight.

[Mrs Sheryll Murray (South East Cornwall) (Con)]

Will my right hon. Friend reassure the fishermen in my constituency that he will put right the wrong heaped on them more than 40 years ago, and that they will get a better share of fish from UK waters?

[The Prime Minister]

They certainly shall, and I congratulate my hon. Friend and thank her for everything she does to stick up for UK fishing. Fishing has a glorious future in this country, in the west country, and in Scotland too, if only the House will do the right thing and allow us to come out on 31 October.

[Several hon. Members rose—]

[Caroline Lucas (Brighton, Pavilion) (Green)]

How can this House have any confidence in the Prime Minister’s claims that he does not want to lower standards, when his own deal precisely moves the so-called level playing field from the binding withdrawal agreement to the non-binding political declaration? Is not the truth that this deal takes a wrecking ball to our social and environmental standards, and the reason that he will not put it back to the British people is that he knows full well that they can see through his bluster and see that this is a profoundly bad deal?

[The Prime Minister]

I am afraid the hon. Lady has totally misread or misunderstood the provisions in the agreement. It is stated plainly in the political declaration that we will maintain the highest possible standards, and it is up to this House to do so. I think it is the will of this House, and this Government, to have even higher standards. This is the party and Government who have banned microbeads and are cracking down on plastics. We are leading the world in going for zero carbon by 2050. We are world leaders in environmental and animal welfare protection, and we will continue to be so outside the EU.

[Mr Speaker]

The time has come to uncork the Gauke.

[Mr David Gauke (South West Hertfordshire) (Ind)]

The Prime Minister said that he wanted to leave with a deal, and he has shown determination and flexibility to reach a deal, for which he deserves credit. He will be aware, however, that unless we reach a free trade agreement in the next stage of negotiations, there is a risk that Great Britain will leave the implementation period without a deal with the European Union. Can he commit today to showing the same determination and flexibility to ensure that we reach a deep and special partnership through a free trade agreement with the European Union, before we allow the implementation period to come to an end?

[The Prime Minister]

My right hon. Friend makes an excellent point—indeed, that was really the substantive point that I have been discussing with our European Union friends in the past couple of days. That is where they want to go now. They are interested in our timetable and in whether 14 months is enough, and it is absolutely right to focus on that. I think that it is enough; I think we can do it in 14 months. [Interruption.] The right hon. Member for Islington South and Finsbury (Emily Thornberry) asks why from a sedentary position. She may not know that we are already in perfect regulatory alignment with the European Union, and it may have escaped her that we already have zero-tariff and zero-quota arrangements with the EU. We have a fantastic opportunity to do a free trade deal. Yes, 14 months is a blistering pace, but we can get it done. I remind doubters and sceptics—[Interruption]—there they all are. They said that it was impossible to reopen the withdrawal agreement, they said we would never get rid of the backstop, and they said we would never get a deal. There is a very good deal on the table here today, and I hope they vote for it.

[Mr Speaker]

Patience rewarded. I call Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi.

[Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Slough) (Lab)]

Thank you very much, Mr Speaker. While addressing the Democratic Unionist party conference in Northern Ireland, the Prime Minister promised that there would be no border down the Irish sea, whether customs, regulatory or any other sort. He promised the same thing to his Conservative colleagues during his pursuit of power to become the jungle king. Would the Prime Minister like to take this opportunity to formally apologise to the DUP, his Conservative colleagues and the good people of Northern Ireland for having sold them down the river and for having broken yet another promise?

[The Prime Minister]

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman, but I must say in all candour and humility that he misrepresents what I think is an excellent deal. It takes Northern Ireland out of the EU customs union and preserves it in the UK’s customs territory. It does not create a border in the Irish sea; it allows us together, as a single United Kingdom, to do free trade deals around the world. I think his constituents would want him to support this deal and get Brexit done tonight and on 31 October.

[Mr John Baron (Basildon and Billericay) (Con)]

I wholeheartedly commend my right hon. Friend for abolishing the anti-democratic backstop. On that basis, I will, having opposed the previous deal, be supporting this deal today. May I suggest this to him? Given that I and most of us in this place want a fair and good trade deal, and prefer that to no deal, does he accept that by abolishing the anti-democratic backstop we actually not only make a good and fair trade deal more likely, but we almost guarantee it given the common position we start from and our common interests with the EU?

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend is spot on. He is right that both sides have a strong incentive to do a very good, best-in-class free trade deal by the end of next year. That is our ambition and that is what we are going to achieve.

[Luciana Berger (Liverpool, Wavertree) (LD)]

The Prime Minister’s Brexit Secretary was on television this morning. He confirmed that no economic analysis of the deal has been done. I ask the House to let that sink in: no economic analysis of the deal, on which we are all expected to vote today, has been done. How does the Prime Minister anticipate that Members on all sides the House can, in good faith, be expected to vote on a deal today that will impact on our country for decades to come?

[The Prime Minister]

I respectfully point out to the hon. Lady that the deal has been welcomed by a broad range of opinion, including the Governor of the Bank of England and the CBI. The choice for her today is between this deal, which I believe is very good for this country both economically and politically, and no deal. That is what she has to decide between.

[Mr Peter Bone (Wellingborough) (Con)]

Article 126 of the withdrawal agreement states that the transition period ends on 31 December 2020, but a few articles later, in article 132, it states that that can be extended for a further two years. If it was extended, we would still effectively be in the European Union six and a half years after the referendum. Will the Prime Minister say that while he is Prime Minister he will not consider extending past 31 December 2020?

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend, with his customary sagacity and grip on detail, is absolutely right about article 126. That article provides for the UK and the EU to decide that matter by Joint Committee. The UK would therefore have discretion or a veto in that matter. I can tell him now that I certainly would not want to extend beyond the end of next year, nor do I see any reason for delay—as indeed nor do I see any reason or excuse for delay beyond 31 October.

[Mr Pat McFadden (Wolverhampton South East) (Lab)]

There is a philosophical problem at the core of the Prime Minister’s argument today: he is promising his colleagues—particularly his most ardent Brexit-supporting colleagues—that the proposals before us offer a pathway to the deregulated future of which they have always dreamed, and at the same time, he is saying to Labour colleagues that he now has a new-found love for all the European workers’ rights that he built a journalistic career slagging off in the strongest terms. Both of these things cannot be true, so which one is?

[The Prime Minister]

The right hon. Gentleman is right in what he says, but, of course, the first few things he said were wholly incorrect. There will be a high standard maintained—the very highest standards maintained —for workers’ rights and environmental protection. If he is not content with that, it is open to him as a Member of this House, as I have said, to take part in the setting of the mandate for the future partnership and to engage, as all parliamentarians are invited to, in drawing up the terms of our future partnership, and I hope he takes up that offer.

[Richard Drax (South Dorset) (Con)]

As I understand it, the £39 billion for an FTA is based on EU alignment. Will my right hon. Friend confirm and reassure me that that will not affect or restrict UK tax, foreign or defence policies?

[The Prime Minister]

I can certainly give my hon. Friend that assurance.

[Lady Hermon (North Down) (Ind)]

The Prime Minister will be well aware of the considerable anxiety, and indeed anger, caused to the Unionist community in Northern Ireland since the publication of his Brexit deal. I would like him to take this opportunity, since he has not bothered until now, to reach out and reassure the Unionist community. I would like him to take this opportunity publicly to reassure the people in Northern Ireland that there is nothing in his deal that undermines the constitutional status of Northern Ireland, as guaranteed by the Belfast/Good Friday agreement, and the consent principle. I pay tribute to the Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, who has given a very solemn explanation about his commitment to the constitutional status of Northern Ireland, but as a Unionist, I need to hear a British Prime Minister making that commitment to the Unionist community.

[The Prime Minister]

Of course, and I am grateful to the hon. Lady. I wish to reassure her that I make an absolute commitment to the constitutional status of Northern Ireland, which is inviolable and intact. It may be that she has not seen the statement from Lord Trimble, who said of the change in the agreement that we have secured:

“Whilst, previously, the people of Northern Ireland were to have an agreement imposed on them, now we have a mechanism for the consent of the people of Northern Ireland”—

and that is

“fully in accordance with…the Good Friday Agreement.”

[Alistair Burt (North East Bedfordshire) (Ind)]

My right hon. Friend is right to characterise the political participation of the UK in the EU as too often uncertain, and it is one of the great regrets of my time here that what he says is true. We will never know, in a way, what the EU might have looked like if the United Kingdom had been a full partner, but if a new relationship with us outside the EU, for which I will be voting today, is to be a success, not only for the trade negotiations but for the diplomatic links, does he agree—as they read our newspapers and know what we say—that the relentless, persistent and too often 1940s anti-EU rhetoric must come to an end, no ifs and no buts?

[The Prime Minister]

My right hon. Friend is absolutely right: it is time that this country moved on. I may say that the best way in which he could show his support tonight for this deal would be gently to suggest to my right hon. Friend the Member for West Dorset that he remove the amendment standing in his name, which I am afraid is an impediment to such a verdict tonight.

[Alison Thewliss (Glasgow Central) (SNP)]

In my constituency, 71% voted to remain. The world-class researchers who are doing world-class and life-saving research at universities in Glasgow are not half-hearted Europeans. The children at Pollokshields Primary in Erasmus Plus programmes are not half-hearted Europeans. Those citizens who are completing projects in Glasgow funded by the European social fund are not half-hearted Europeans either. Does the Prime Minister agree that the only way for the people in my constituency to be full members of the European Union and retain that citizenship is for Scotland to be an independent country?

[The Prime Minister]

The hon. Lady is making a very important point. People feel very strongly about this matter, and they also feel very differently about it. What we have today is an opportunity to take the country forward with a new relationship that allows people who feel wholeheartedly passionate about Europe to express those feelings. Yes, students, professors, academics, artists and creators of all kinds will be able to share their enthusiasms with their friends across the EU under this deal; that is vital, and it is part of our ambition for the UK and for Europe.

[James Brokenshire (Old Bexley and Sidcup) (Con)]

I support my right hon. Friend in securing this deal, but he will acknowledge the concerns that have been expressed in relation to Northern Ireland. In addition to the commitments that he has given, especially over the Belfast/Good Friday agreement, please will he reaffirm his commitment to a new deal for Northern Ireland, investing in its infrastructure, investing in its prosperity and investing in its future as a proud part of our precious United Kingdom?

[The Prime Minister]

I pay tribute to my right hon. Friend for everything that he has done for Northern Ireland. I think he would agree that the one thing that would really make a difference now to all those policy fields in Northern Ireland, and take Northern Ireland furthest forward the fastest, would be if we could get the Stormont Assembly up and running again and if the parties came together for government in Northern Ireland once more.

[Helen Hayes (Dulwich and West Norwood) (Lab)]

At any point in the past three years, the Government could have agreed to internationally binding legal commitments to maintain existing workers’ rights and environmental protections and ensure that rights keep pace in the future. At every stage, they have refused to do so. Can the Prime Minister explain why people across this country should believe his empty promises now? If he is so confident that the British public will not see through his hollow rhetoric, why is he so afraid of giving them a final say?

[The Prime Minister]

The hon. Lady will know that the provisions on workers’ rights and environmental protections in the political decision are very ambitious. We want to maintain the highest possible standards. She should understand that whenever the EU introduces a new provision on workers’ rights, even if it is in some way inferior to our own by then, Parliament will have an opportunity to consider that new provision from the EU and put it into UK law.

[Jeremy Wright (Kenilworth and Southam) (Con)]

The Prime Minister said at the outset of his statement that the debate about our membership of the European Union has not just paralysed our politics but profoundly divided our society. The longer we have that debate, the more difficult it will be to reunite our country. Is it not incumbent on all of us in this place today to act in a way that seeks to settle that debate, not perpetuate it—and not to reject a good deal in the fruitless and impractical pursuit of a perfect deal?

[The Prime Minister]

My right hon. and learned Friend is perfectly right. I think that this deal is about as perfect as you could get under the circumstances, if I say so myself, but yes, of course there are difficulties with it. I accept that people have objections to the current arrangements; all I can say is that those arrangements are there expressly by consent and are time-limited. We will go forward with a new deep and special partnership with our European friends that will supersede those arrangements. I think we should be very proud of the deal that we have today. Let us knock it through, if we possibly can, tonight.

[Tom Brake (Carshalton and Wallington) (LD)]

Would the Prime Minister agree to pass an Act making it unlawful for us to leave at the end of the transition phase without a deal?

[The Prime Minister]

If I may say so respectfully, I do not believe that such Acts have necessarily been conducive to a stable negotiating position. By the way, I have not done enough in this statement to thank my team and those in the Foreign Office, the Department for Exiting the European Union and all the Departments of State, as well as the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, David Frost and the many others who have worked to make this deal happen. I want to thank them very much for what they have done. I respectfully say to the right hon. Gentleman that I do not think their position has been made easier by measures passed in the name of the right hon. Member for Leeds Central (Hilary Benn). Not a good idea!

[Mr Speaker]

I call David Top Cat Davies.

[David T. C. Davies (Monmouth) (Con)]

The people of Wales voted to leave, but many had concerns about a no-deal Brexit. Can I thank the Prime Minister for coming forward with a deal that respects the result in Wales and delivers on the concerns of those who did not want a hard Brexit? As the Welsh would say: mae’n hi’n bryd. Diolch yn fawr.

[The Prime Minister]

Diolch yn fawr, Mr Speaker. I am grateful to my hon. Friend, who speaks for Wales, as ever. It is a great deal for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

[Pete Wishart (Perth and North Perthshire) (SNP)]

rose—

--- Later in debate ---

[Pete Wishart]

I am grateful, Mr Speaker. Scotland says today that we reject this rotten deal. We will be taken out of the European Union, which we value and cherish, against our national collective will, be deprived of the customs union and single market and be left at a competitive disadvantage to our friends in Northern Ireland. Is it not the case that Scotland can retain its EU membership only by becoming a normal independent nation?

[The Prime Minister]

I am afraid that the hon. Gentleman is sadly in error if he thinks that Northern Ireland is part of the EU customs union. It is simply not; it is part of the UK customs union, as indeed is Scotland, which is greatly to the benefit of the people of Scotland.

[Mr Nigel Evans (Ribble Valley) (Con)]

Ribble Valley voted 57% to leave. Every constituency in Lancashire, whether held by a Labour or Conservative MP, voted to leave the EU in 2016. What message would my right hon. Friend send to Members representing leave constituencies? How should they vote tonight?

[The Prime Minister]

I remember vividly campaigning with my hon. Friend at cattle markets and elsewhere where he attracted strong support for his views. He is right. I hope very much that people in the House tonight will respect the views of their constituents—not just their belief that Brexit needs to be done, but their passionate desire to move on to our dynamic domestic agenda of expanding our health service, improving our healthcare, investing in education, putting more police officers on the street and taking this country forward. The Labour party offers nothing but dither, division, doubt and delay. It is completely mistaken.

[Tulip Siddiq (Hampstead and Kilburn) (Lab)]

The Prime Minister used the phrase “European friends” over and over again in his statement, and we in this House know that he likes to treat his friends with great generosity. Bearing that in mind, will he distance himself from the comments last week of the Security Minister, who said that our European friends in this country could face deportation if they did not get settled status by next year?

[The Prime Minister]

The hon. Lady has raised a very important point. Perhaps I should have said more about it in my opening remarks, because I think that this is one of the things that the Government have done well over the last few years. Perhaps we should have been faster, but we are finally giving the 3.4 million the assurances that they need, and the EU settled status scheme is now working extremely well. It is vital that everybody—all the EU citizens living in our country—has the reassurances that they need.

I might add that it is also vital—this is a point that I made to our colleagues in Brussels—that there should be symmetry. At the moment there is not perfect symmetry, and it is important that as we come out and give our EU nationals the treatment they deserve, that is reciprocated on the other side of the channel. By and large it is, but there is some progress to be made.

[Stephen Crabb (Preseli Pembrokeshire) (Con)]

Will the Prime Minister confirm what business has been telling us for many months now—that there is enormous pent-up investment waiting to be released into the UK economy when the fog and lack of clarity of this stage of Brexit has been lifted? Will he also confirm that very last thing that business wants to see from today’s proceedings in this House of Commons is further delay, fogginess and confusion?

[The Prime Minister]

My right hon. Friend is completely right. I do think that the whole business world has been, as it were, holding its breath and waiting for us to get this thing done. There is massive confidence and excitement about this country and its future. Businesses want to invest: let us give them an opportunity to do so in the course of the next few weeks and months.

[Frank Field (Birkenhead) (Ind)]

I agree with the sentiments expressed by the right hon. Member for Ashford (Damian Green). Does the Prime Minister not agree that one of the confusions that we face, in the House but more so in the country, is that some—not all—of those who wish to remain often appear in Brexit clothing? Does he agree that today there is a motion on the Order Paper for those of us who want to deliver on the promise in the referendum, and that only one vote is necessary?

[The Prime Minister]

The right hon. Gentleman has spoken with his customary honesty and insight. I think it would be a good thing if the House were able to have what I think was promised to it and to the country, namely a meaningful vote tonight, but my fear is that the vote that we have will not prove to be meaningful, and I think that, given the solemnity of this occasion, that would be a great pity.

[Mr Speaker]

In the name of breadth and equality, having called Mr Stephen Crabb, I now call Mr Marcus Fysh. [Laughter.]

[Mr Marcus Fysh (Yeovil) (Con)]

The Union is of massive importance to many in this House. Will my right hon. Friend commit himself to mitigating, subsidising and defraying the costs of any new arrangements for customs within Northern Ireland?

[The Prime Minister]

Yes. Not only that, but if my hon. Friend studies the agreement, he will see that it is open to the UK authorities to give support of any kind that is necessary to alleviate any impacts that may result from the arrangements that we will put in place, whatever the implications may be for state aids.

[Stephen Timms (East Ham) (Lab)]

Does the Prime Minister understand the worries of manufacturers about new rules of origin checks and other red tape that his deal would impose on them, and the fears of Make UK that reassurances in the deal negotiated by his predecessor have been dropped from his deal?

--- Later in debate ---

[The Prime Minister]

The reason I am not worried about that is that there are no new rules of origin checks. This is a deal that I hope the right hon. Gentleman will get behind and support, because it represents stability and certainty for business.

[Kirstene Hair (Angus) (Con)]

I think it important that other voices from Scotland are asking Scottish MPs to vote for this deal, such as the National Farmers Union of Scotland, the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation, the Federation of Small Businesses, the Scottish Chambers of Commerce and the Scotch Whisky Association. They all believe that it is best for industry, the economy and jobs. Scottish Conservatives will vote for this deal, and Scottish nationalists will once again vote for a no-deal Brexit.

[The Prime Minister]

There speaks the true voice of Scotland! My hon. Friend is perfectly correct in what she says, and I venture to say that the constituents of SNP Members overwhelmingly tonight want that party —even that party—to get Brexit done and move this country on. I bet they do, Mr Speaker!

[Sammy Wilson (East Antrim) (DUP)]

The Prime Minister has said there will be no border down the Irish sea, yet every good imported from GB to Northern Ireland will be subject to a customs declaration, a physical movement subject to checks, and tariffs have to be paid until it can be proved where the goods are going to. Will he accept that while he may have avoided a regulatory border between Northern Ireland and the Republic, he has put a legal, customs and economic border between the country to which we belong and the economy on which we depend? Rather than a great deal, this will do a great deal of damage to the Union.

[The Prime Minister]

On the contrary. What this does is protect Northern Ireland by extracting Northern Ireland whole and entire from the EU customs union and allowing Northern Ireland to join the whole UK in setting our own tariffs. In so far as there may be checks at a few places in Northern Ireland, physical checks would involve only 1% of the goods coming in. If that is too much of a burden, it is open to the people of Northern Ireland, by a majority, to decide that they no longer wish to participate in those arrangements. It is being done by consent. It is a very, very ingenious scheme that gets Northern Ireland out of the customs union and allows the whole UK to do free trade together, with minimum bureaucracy.

[Henry Smith (Crawley) (Con)]

The British people are watching this place very carefully and history is recording what we say. The clear majority message from my constituents is that they want the Brexit they voted for delivered, and this deal does that. Can I have an assurance from the Prime Minister that we will not only maintain, but enhance, our environmental and animal welfare standards?

[The Prime Minister]

I can indeed give that assurance, and I can tell my hon. Friend, who campaigned to leave the EU for those reasons among others, we will indeed have higher standards of protection for animal welfare, the environment and other matters.

[David Hanson (Delyn) (Lab)]

North Wales is a major artery to Northern Ireland by road and by boat, and to the Irish Republic by road and by boat, but also to the Irish Republic through Northern Ireland by road and by boat. Given what the Prime Minister has said today—there will be no tariffs on goods “unless they are at risk of entering the EU”; that is in his statement—where and when will the border checks be, and where and when will there be tariffs, because people will face them under his proposals?

[The Prime Minister]

There are not any tariffs on goods, as the right hon. Gentleman knows full well, going GB-NI or NI-GB.

[Vicky Ford (Chelmsford) (Con)]

We all know that the people of our country are desperate to end this uncertainty, but we often forget that the people of the other 27 countries are also desperate to end this uncertainty, and our Prime Minister has needed to get consent from all 27 countries. Does he agree that if this House fails to back this deal today, or seeks to kick the can down the road again, we will create more uncertainty, not less?

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend is exactly right, and the choice is very clear today for this House and for the country: it is really this deal or a no-deal Brexit. I do not think, by any stretch of the imagination, it can be right for the UK to delay beyond 31 October when that is expensive, pointless and a waste of spirit and an expense of shame that would achieve absolutely nothing whatever.

[Dr Sarah Wollaston (Totnes) (LD)]

Evidence matters, Prime Minister. How can he possibly assure our constituents that this is a good deal if he has not carried out an economic impact assessment of what it will cost them? If he has carried that out, why on earth are we not able to see it as we debate this today?

[The Prime Minister]

I am grateful to the hon. Lady, but I direct her to the answers I have already given on that point. Many business groups have already come out in support of the deal because it gives certainty and stability and allows the country to move on. I think it will, as my right hon. Friend the Member for Preseli Pembrokeshire (Stephen Crabb) just said, unleash a great deal of investment in the UK.

[Steve Brine (Winchester) (Ind)]

I thank the Prime Minister for his statement and the tone in which he has delivered it. He and I have had some robust conversations in the last six weeks, and he has done what he promised me he would do: sought a Brexit deal and brought it back to this House. I was pleased to hear him mention the 48%. There are a lot of people for whom we need the losers’ consent to deliver Brexit safely. Does he agree that the way to do that is with the deal he has proposed, which is well worthy of all our support?

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend’s support means a great deal to me. He and I did have long conversations about this, and I did my best to convince him that I was in earnest in seeking a deal. I truly was, and I am very pleased with the result that we have secured. I am delighted that he feels able to support it tonight. To get back to the key point, the deal gives people who love Europe, in the broadest possible way, a real chance to move forward and work with us to develop a new partnership with our European friends. That is the opportunity. Everything else is stasis and division. This is the way forward.

[Seema Malhotra (Feltham and Heston) (Lab/Co-op)]

Yesterday, the hon. Member for Basildon and Billericay (Mr Baron) said:

“I am doing my best to persuade colleagues…who, like me, voted three times against Theresa May’s deal, to look at this in a favourable light…provided we can get that clear assurance, and I have been given it so far by people like Michael Gove and Dominic Raab…that…if those trade talks fail up to December 2020, we will be leaving on no-deal terms.”

Have members of the Prime Minister’s Cabinet given those assurances? If, indeed, no deal is therefore not ruled out by supporting the Prime Minister today, why will he not tell the country the truth?

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend the Member for Basildon and Billericay (Mr Baron) made it clear in the House just now—perhaps the hon. Lady was listening—that he wants and will work for a great new free trade agreement. That is indeed what we will do. I respectfully say to the hon. Lady, as I say to all hon. Friends and Members, that if they wish to avoid a no-deal outcome, the single best thing we can all do is vote for the deal tonight.

[Robert Halfon (Harlow) (Con)]

I strongly support the deal. Is it not the case that, whatever the Government, we in this Parliament will be able to strengthen workers’ rights without recourse to an external authority? Is it also not the case that we will be able to spend the billions of pounds we save from leaving the European Union on public services and cutting the cost of living for ordinary folk across our country?

[The Prime Minister]

That voice of Harlow is completely right. By the way, we will be able to get on with investing in hospitals in my right hon. Friend’s area. Yes, of course, it is open to this House and this country to strengthen workers’ rights beyond the standards in the EU. As I said, every new regulation or directive that comes from Brussels on this matter will, of course, be capable of being scrutinised by this House, which will be able to decide whether it is right to implement it in UK law. It seems to me that we cannot say fairer than that. We can go further than the EU, but we can also track it if we choose.

[Sir Vince Cable (Twickenham) (LD)]

Following the earlier question from the right hon. Member for South West Hertfordshire (Mr Gauke), the Prime Minister will know that there is a great deal of anxiety in the business community that it faces a cliff edge at the end of next year. Will he reiterate what seemed to be his assurance that the transition will be extended until his free trade agreement has been concluded?

[The Prime Minister]

If the right hon. Gentleman is worried about a cliff edge—I, frankly, am not as worried as he is, because I think we will do a great free trade deal by then—the best thing he can do is vote for this deal tonight. I am looking at him carefully to see whether he might have that in his heart; I hope he does. He says that he is opposed to a no-deal Brexit and that is the way to avoid it.