European Union (Notification of Withdrawal) Bill

Christina Rees Excerpts

2nd reading: House of Commons
Wednesday 1st February 2017 Commons Chamber

[Yvette Cooper (Normanton, Pontefract and Castleford) (Lab)]

May I start by congratulating the hon. Member for Sleaford and North Hykeham (Dr Johnson) on an excellent maiden speech? She will do her constituents proud if her speech is anything to go by.

We have now a challenge for this whole House—what we do over the next two years and whether what we do strengthens or weakens our democracy. Over the past 40 years, Britain has worked with the EU to achieve some amazing things, but we have done so by sharing sovereignty. We were able to do so, because, when we went into the Common Market in the 1970s, we had popular consent expressed through a referendum. Last summer, we lost that consent, which should be a lesson to all of us who wanted to keep it. Surprisingly, I agreed with some of the things that the right hon. Member for Tatton (Mr Osborne) said, but disagreed with him over whether we should have done more. We could not make the referendum simply about the economy, and we took for granted too many of the things that we needed to argue, particularly about the necessity for politics to come together.

[Christina Rees (Neath) (Lab/Co-op)]

I am a remainer, but I accept the democratic will of the people. Surely now is about securing the best deal for our constituents—the people we are here to represent.

[Yvette Cooper]

My hon. Friend is right. I, too, will vote for article 50, although I argued against leaving the EU last year. I am worried about the backdrop to all of this, because, across western democracies, democratic values are being undermined. We have seen: attacks on judges as the “enemies of the people”, even though they should be defending the rule of law; attacks on the Human Rights Act and on the protection for minorities against the tyranny of the majority; the steady undermining of democratically elected representatives; the assault on the free press; and the attack on truth itself. The challenge that we face over the next few years in many European countries is how we defend those democratic values. It will be much harder for me to defend that faith in democracy in my constituency if we ignore the results of the ballot box last summer.

Pontefract is the home of the very first secret ballot. We still have the first ballot box, and we see it as a symbol of peaceful democracy—of asking people to be part of that democratic process. That democratic process does not end with the article 50 vote, and that is my concern with the Government’s approach. They are trying to concentrate power in the hands of the Executive, when, in fact, they should be involving all of Parliament and the public in the debate about what kind of country we want to be and about where our future lies. There will be issues on which we will disagree. For example, I feel strongly that we should stay inside the customs union, because that will help our manufacturing in the future. On the rights of EU citizens who already live here, I feel that we should not be leaving them in the lurch while we start the negotiations when we could put them on a sure-footing straight away.

There will be issues about how we balance so many different things, such as how we get our security right, and we will need to debate them here in this House. At the moment, the process that the Government have set out does not give us the secure opportunity to have votes and proper debates and to be sure that we will not be left at the end of this process with what the Prime Minister has described as her way to change the British economic model if we do not get what we like. To the Opposition, that sounds far more like a tax-haven Britain that would undermine people’s rights and the kind of British values that we want to stand up for.

I urge Members from all parts of the House not just to look at the array of amendments and not just to decide how we respect the referendum result last summer and the different and strongly held views of our constituents, but to look at how all of us, from all parts of the House, vote for the kinds of amendments that will ensure that parliamentary sovereignty is strengthened and that Parliament has a say. I urge Government Members to vote for some of those amendments to ensure that we have a real vote on the final outcome and that we can make real choices.

So much of this has been about how we defend democracy by voting for article 50. It should not be about that; it should be about how we strengthen democracy over the next two years. If this was about parliamentary sovereignty for all of us, let us have the strength and the confidence to use it.

Oral Answers to Questions

Christina Rees Excerpts

Thursday 26th January 2017 Commons Chamber

[Mr Jones]

My right hon. Friend makes an extremely important point. British agricultural standards are among the highest in the world, and I assure him that the Government will do nothing to jeopardise the reputation that British farming enjoys.

[Christina Rees (Neath) (Lab/Co-op)]

Almost 40% of EU funds are spent on the common agricultural policy, so it is clear that supporting farming is a central aim of the European Union. Will the Minister comment on the schemes that the Government are considering as replacements for the CAP to reflect the importance of farming to the UK?

[Mr Jones]

The hon. Lady will know that the Government have already guaranteed the current level of CAP funding until 2020. I assure her that the Government will make sure that the interests of agriculture are at the very forefront of our calculations. British agriculture is a huge asset to this country, and we intend to protect it.

Oral Answers to Questions

Christina Rees Excerpts

Thursday 1st December 2016 Commons Chamber

[Christina Rees (Neath) (Lab/Co-op)]

16. My constituency is one of the most deprived areas in Europe. The last round of regional EU funding for Neath and Port Talbot launched 485 small and medium-sized enterprises, supported 7,300 people into work, and created 1,355 jobs and 5,000 apprenticeships. What is the Government’s plan to continue this vital financial support for Neath, Wales and the UK regions once the UK exits the EU?

[Mr Jones]

As the hon. Lady will know, my right hon. Friend the Chancellor has absolutely guaranteed the continuance of support for such programmes to 2020. She has to bear it in mind that the European Commission itself will not be making its own consideration of any future schemes until that time. We will of course take very seriously the issues that she mentions, but at this stage I cannot confirm anything.

Parliamentary Scrutiny of Leaving the EU

Christina Rees Excerpts

Wednesday 12th October 2016 Commons Chamber

[Christina Rees (Neath) (Lab/Co-op)]

Much has been said about the extent of the economic impact of leaving the EU, as well as the social, political and cultural effects. There are questions to be answered on criminal justice, homeland security, border control, data sharing and environmental law. Hon. Members have addressed those subjects, so I will speak about regional funding. For my Neath constituency, that will be a defining issue of any Brexit deal.

I am proud of the EU investment that has been made in west Wales and the valleys, but less proud of the fact that that money is needed because we are one of the poorest regions in Europe. I am fearful of the time when that money no longer exists. When I visit communities across my constituency and the wider region, I find vibrancy and tenacity, despite hardship and economic decline. EU funding has brought community infrastructure, training, apprenticeships and regeneration, and there is no doubt that these structural funds have played a central role in the rebirth of the valleys. The decline of the mining industry ripped away the economic foundations of my constituency and thousands of people found themselves unemployed, but a visitor to Neath today will see businesses starting up, new shops and a £13 million town centre redevelopment in progress.

The economy of Neath and its villages is growing, and that growth is down to effective investment of European funds secured by our wonderful Labour MEP, Derek Vaughan. The last round of funding launched 485 businesses, supported 7,300 people into work and created 1,355 jobs, and 14,870 qualifications have been gained. Close to 5,000 people have completed an EU-funded apprenticeship.

Neath Port Talbot has been lead partner on Workways, a project delivered across the county borough and then extended throughout the west Wales region when its success was proved. The project has helped tackle barriers that prevented individuals finding or returning to employment, thanks to £16.7 million in EU funding. Swansea Bay campus, which has had a beneficial impact on Neath and the region, would not have happened without the £95 million of European funding.

No one knows the process that will follow article 50 and the fate of projects during this period, let alone beyond the two-year timeframe. The Welsh Government have already reprogrammed existing funding, and yesterday they announced that Communities First, their flagship programme for tackling poverty, will be cut in order to reinvest the money in projects that would previously have relied on EU funding.

If parliamentary sovereignty is paramount, surely Parliament should have a say in the negotiations, the process and the deal on exiting the EU. We need full scrutiny, because the Government need to be held to account. The national Parliaments of EU member states will demand a say in ratifying Britain’s exit, and it is only right that this House is involved in ameliorating the effects of unravelling a 40-year relationship and the work it will take to establish new trade deals. What will the Government do to protect the 100,000 jobs in Wales that depend on our trade with Europe, and the thousands of people in my constituency who have found work through the support of the European Union?