European Union (Notification of Withdrawal) Bill

Catherine McKinnell Excerpts

Committee: 1st sitting: House of Commons
Monday 6th February 2017 Commons Chamber

[Seema Malhotra]

My right hon. Friend makes a very important point. Indeed, the lack of engagement with the regions has been highlighted in the work of the Exiting the European Union Committee.

[Catherine McKinnell (Newcastle upon Tyne North) (Lab)]

The Secretary of State actually said that he would get

“the mayors of the north to come and have a meeting in York”.—[Official Report, 17 January 2017; Vol. 619, c. 802.]

That was a very vague statement. My concern is that it does not seem to provide any clarity about how the Government are going to engage with regions that will not have elected Mayors by May, such as the north-east. Indeed, such Mayors will be elected only in May, which will be far too late for these negotiations.

[Seema Malhotra]

My hon. Friend makes a very important point. It comes down to how much the Government are really committed to and interested in hearing from differing voices across the country as we move forward. That is why I want the convention to include elected Mayors, representatives of civil society and local government, and MEPs—they have great expertise and experience—as well as representatives of the Scottish Parliament, the National Assembly for Wales and the Northern Ireland Assembly.