Early Parliamentary General Election

Danny Kinahan Excerpts

Wednesday 19th April 2017 Commons Chamber

[Danny Kinahan (South Antrim) (UUP)]

I am pleased to be able to speak in this debate, Mr Speaker. As we all know, Northern Ireland is in a brittle state at the moment. We have no Executive and no Government, and I wonder whether the Prime Minister fully considered what may happen to us. Before the recess, I was given an excellent answer as to our position in the Union, and I was very grateful for it, but I want to get three points across now.

Although the first is not about this election, because we fully support today’s motion, I must say that the public in Northern Ireland are fed up to the back teeth with elections. They have had so many and they see no point in another Assembly election. Secondly, people who watched what was going on at Easter may have seen paramilitaries—I believe this was in west Belfast and somewhere else—marching and carrying the European Union flag as if it were their banner. Brexit for us is a very different and brittle world. Ulster Unionists fully support the need to find the right way forward, but this is going to be used by Sinn Féin to try to break up the Union and we need that support. So I ask that in their manifesto the Government look not only at how they deal with Northern Ireland’s special status, but at how they ensure we have a workable Government in the future. We need change, which is what the Ulster Unionists have been all about; we need to get back to the central parties running Northern Ireland.

My last point is about making sure that that manifesto looks after our armed forces and our ex-servicemen. Legacy is playing its way out and it is not protecting the people who should be protected for doing their duty. We will support today’s motion.

[Alan Brown (Kilmarnock and Loudoun) (SNP)]

rose—

Oral Answers to Questions

Danny Kinahan Excerpts

Wednesday 1st February 2017 Commons Chamber

[James Brokenshire]

As the hon. Gentleman will have seen, the Prime Minister’s speech underlined the clear desire of the Government in the negotiations ahead to get the best possible trading arrangements with the European Union and therefore we are reflecting on how we do that, whether that is some form of membership of a customs union or a bespoke customs agreement. He should be intent on our desire to get that deal and to see a frictionless border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

[Danny Kinahan (South Antrim) (UUP)]

I welcome the comments of the Secretary of State on having an election that produces parties that want to work together, because that is exactly what we want. When it comes to the common travel area, have we looked at the legal implications, not just within other Departments but in how it is respected by Europe itself? Does it really exist there? Do they see it as a law that stands in place?

[James Brokenshire]

The hon. Gentleman may be interested to know that the ability for the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom to make arrangements in relation to the common travel area has been recognised in previous EU agreements. It is therefore that approach that we take in securing the future of the common travel area and underlining its importance to our European partners. I am positive that we can do that.

Oral Answers to Questions

Danny Kinahan Excerpts

Wednesday 14th December 2016 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

John Cryer. Where is the feller? Dear, oh dear.

[Danny Kinahan (South Antrim) (UUP)]

T9. I appreciate that this is a devolved matter, but surely there has to be a process for the Cabinet Office to hold the Northern Ireland Executive to account when £400 million of all our money is being wasted on the renewable heat initiative?

[Ben Gummer]

The hon. Gentleman says it is a devolved matter. It is rightly a devolved matter, and it would not be right for me to comment on it here.

European Council

Danny Kinahan Excerpts

Monday 24th October 2016 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend speaks with the voice of experience on this matter. That is exactly the point. If we are to get the best possible deal for the United Kingdom, it is important that we are able to enter the negotiations not having set out a whole series of red lines and not having set out our negotiating position in detail. We need to be able to negotiate the best possible deal for the UK. Tying the Government’s hands would be the best way of getting the worst deal for the UK.

[Danny Kinahan (South Antrim) (UUP)]

I welcome the fact that the Prime Minister met the leaders of the devolved Governments this morning, but uncertainty is what is giving everyone doubt about Brexit, particularly in Northern Ireland where one member of the Executive is for in and one for out—we do not know where we are going. Who do we have on the ground in Europe ensuring that we are gathering intelligence and advice and that we are ready to fight our corner and ensure that we get something in the best interests of the whole UK?

[The Prime Minister]

It is important that we understand the possibilities of our future relationship with the European Union. That is why I thought that was important in the negotiations, which will be lengthy. I recognise that there will of course be an element of uncertainty until we have agreed the deal, but that is why I set up an entirely new Government Department to do the work of understanding not just what is important for us here in the UK, but what is of importance for the 27 member states of the European Union. The deal will be not just about the UK, but something that works for both sides.

Report of the Iraq Inquiry

Danny Kinahan Excerpts

Wednesday 6th July 2016 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

The Foreign Office has been restored in many ways. The former Foreign Secretary William Hague restored the language school and opened a number of embassies around the world, and the Foreign Office is once again seen as a great place to work, so I do not think that that is the problem. We just have to go on recognising that the combination of our 2% of GDP spend on the military, our 0.7% spend on aid and our proper funding of the Foreign Office actually enhance our soft and hard powers in the world.

[Danny Kinahan (South Antrim) (UUP)]

I am always proud when we hear that we are not shrinking from our place on the world’s stage, but the brunt of that always falls on servicemen. Many people have spoken today about how we should be looking after our servicemen, giving them the right kit, the right mental health and legal support, but no one has yet said that we must also ensure that we always look after their families. When we review what we are doing every five years, can we guarantee that we are putting enough resources in and keep considering how we look after servicemen’s families?

[The Prime Minister]

I agree with the hon. Gentleman. I did mention service families, because it is important that we look after them, and the military covenant is partly about them.

Oral Answers to Questions

Danny Kinahan Excerpts

Wednesday 27th April 2016 Commons Chamber

[Danny Kinahan (South Antrim) (UUP)]

When it comes to electoral reform, in Northern Ireland we are closing all our electoral offices. Surely, part of electoral reform is trying to get more people involved, and closing electoral offices is the wrong way to do it.

[John Penrose]

I will not trample on the purviews of the devolved Administrations and the Northern Ireland Office, but if the hon. Gentleman would like to write to me with more details, I would be happy to respond.

European Council

Danny Kinahan Excerpts

Monday 22nd February 2016 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I am grateful for what my hon. Friend says. I think it demonstrates that although that organisation is imperfect and sometimes can be inflexible, it did show flexibility. One country came along with a manifesto pledge to renegotiate its position and a set of changes that it wanted to achieve, and by and large we have achieved them. That is a sign that the organisation can be flexible, which is incredibly important. If we had not been able to achieve any of this, I would have had deep questions about whether we could stay in such an organisation, but it has demonstrated flexibility and that is all to the good.

[Danny Kinahan (South Antrim) (UUP)]

As many Members know, I am fiercely proud of Northern Ireland and its place in the world as a global trader, and I know we benefit a great deal from the EU. Will the Prime Minister make clear the benefits to us on our borders and for our farmers, our fishermen and all the people who rely on international trade?

[The Prime Minister]

I look forward to coming to Northern Ireland to make exactly those points. When we look at the special status that Northern Ireland has been given in terms of vital grants, the important co-operation as part of the common travel area with the Republic, and the way we have already reformed the common agricultural policy and the common fisheries policy, it is clear that there is more to be done, but money goes into Northern Ireland through those programmes. I am happy to talk about all those things in the Province.

EU Council

Danny Kinahan Excerpts

Tuesday 5th January 2016 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

Like my hon. Friend, I have had some letters as a constituency MP from people who are enthusiasts for re-enactments. We need to look carefully at this matter. There has been a problem with replica guns that get converted into guns that can actually kill people, so we have to be careful, while showing sympathy to those who have replicas or things such as that, to ensure that they are not a genuine danger.

[Danny Kinahan (South Antrim) (UUP)]

Just before Christmas, there were reports in the media that some tens of thousands of blank EU passports had been stolen. If that is true, it has great consequences for our security, immigration and everything else. Is it true? If it is, what are we doing about it?

[The Prime Minister]

I am not aware of that report. I will look into the matter and perhaps write to the hon. Gentleman.

Syria

Danny Kinahan Excerpts

Thursday 26th November 2015 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

Patience rewarded: I call Mr Danny Kinahan.

[Danny Kinahan (South Antrim) (UUP)]

I thank you, Mr Speaker. The exercise has done me a lot of good, too. I thank the Prime Minister for taking so much time to talk to us as parties and give us all a chance to ask questions. We want to see Daesh totally defeated, but I wish to frame my question in this way: will we see more aid—military, medical and humane—on the ground as soon as possible, and given to those whom we trust? We need to work with Baghdad to make sure that the aid gets to them accurately, particularly to the internally displaced persons who are not getting all that has been passed over to them.

[The Prime Minister]

Yes, I can certainly give the hon. Gentleman that assurance. There is a plan already in place for putting in the aid and the assistance, and particularly the military assistance to the Iraqi Government. Over time, there is more that we can do for the moderate Syrian opposition. All of that is part of a strategy that can keep us safer here while building a more secure and stable middle east. In the end, that is what this is about. I hope that the clear sight and clarity of argument that the Ulster men and women bring to this argument will find them in the right Division Lobby at the end of the process.

Oral Answers to Questions

Danny Kinahan Excerpts

Wednesday 1st July 2015 Commons Chamber

[John Penrose]

A number of interesting initiatives are under way to persuade and allow students to vote. Some interesting examples are going on in Sheffield. So there are a range of possibilities, many of which are very promising. We want to ensure that we have analysed them all properly, so that we can choose the best and most cost-effective.

[Danny Kinahan (South Antrim) (UUP)]

T1. If he will make a statement on his departmental responsibilities.

[The Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General (Matthew Hancock)]

The Cabinet Office is responsible for efficiency and reform, transparency, civil society, digital technology, cyber-security, constitutional matters and the delivery of the Government’s agenda.

[Danny Kinahan]

I and many others are concerned about the Union. A convention or congress has been ruled out quite emphatically. With Scotland wanting more and more and Wales and Northern Ireland excluded from the process and, indeed, England threatened by it, too, what mechanism is the Minister’s office putting in place to properly preserve and plan the future of the Union?

[Matthew Hancock]

I pay tribute to the hon. Gentleman’s passionate support for the Union, which we on this side of the House wholeheartedly share. Like him, we seek a lasting settlement that strengthens the United Kingdom, and I look forward to further eloquent contributions from him to that debate and to working with him to make it happen.