European Council Debate

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Department: Cabinet Office

European Council

Craig Mackinlay Excerpts
Monday 24th October 2016

(7 years, 6 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Theresa May Portrait The Prime Minister
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Of course the negotiations have not yet formally started with the European Union, but the sort of deal we are talking about, and the sort of deal we want to get that will enhance prosperity and ensure jobs for the future, will be good for all generations here in the UK.

Craig Mackinlay Portrait Craig Mackinlay (South Thanet) (Con)
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Have our European partners realised that a new UK-EU free trade arrangement will be good as a positive-sum game for all concerned, given that 22 of 27 of them have a trade surplus with us? Is the Prime Minister detecting that common sense is finally starting to prevail?

Theresa May Portrait The Prime Minister
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I think that member states and the EU are increasingly looking at this in relation not just to what it means for the UK, but what it means for them as well. I have said consistently that this is not just about the UK, in some sense, being a supplicant to the remaining 27 of the EU; it is about us negotiating a relationship that works for both sides.