European Union (Withdrawal) Act

Debate between David Davis and Richard Graham

Thursday 6th December 2018 Commons Chamber

[Mr Davis]

People have to read more than one line of a speech. Perhaps the hon. Gentleman’s iPad is too small to carry more than one sentence. I also said that the critical part of the negotiation would not be the first two years, but the last three months, when France and Germany would determine the outcome. If the hon. Gentleman wants to quote me again, he should get it right next time.

[Richard Graham]

May I make one small point? My right hon. Friend has focused on the backstop on the Northern Irish border, and he has quoted the Attorney General as saying that we could be in that indefinitely, but surely the “if” is if we decide to go into the backstop in the first place. The other option is to extend the transition. Does he not agree?

[Mr Davis]

That is what is laid out in the proposal, but the transition will then come to an end, and at the end of that, we will still have to make a decision on where we are going, backstop or no. I am afraid that we are always in, and the point is that it is at the behest of the European Union, not at our behest. I have nothing against the European Union, but it is the negotiating partner that may gain an advantage from delay.

EU Exit Negotiations

Debate between David Davis and Richard Graham

Tuesday 5th December 2017 Commons Chamber

[Mr Davis]

No.

[Richard Graham (Gloucester) (Con)]

This urgent question is spectacularly badly timed, in the middle of talks to move to the next phase—[Interruption.] The truth is—

[Richard Graham]

I would never dream of it, Mr Speaker. My point was that many negotiations, if not most, come good towards the end. Therefore, rather than sledging the Government, I urge the Secretary of State and the Prime Minister to maintain their resilience and patience and see this through, which will require compromises on all sides to reach a good solution.

[Mr Davis]

My hon. Friend makes a very good point.

EU Exit Negotiations

Debate between David Davis and Richard Graham

Monday 13th November 2017 Commons Chamber

[Mr Davis]

My hon. Friend goes right to the point. There are three reasons for the transition: one is for the British Government to be able to accommodate and another is so that foreign Governments can accommodate; but, as he says, the most important is to allow British businesses to accommodate in the knowledge of what they are accommodating to.

[Richard Graham (Gloucester) (Con)]

Every individual and organisation that the Select Committee saw in Brussels and Paris last week stressed that their absolute priority is people and citizens’ rights. Does my right hon. Friend therefore agree that when an agreement on citizens’ rights is reached, it should be announced and committed to in perpetuity by both sides to help 4.5 million citizens to get on with their lives? Does he agree that not to do so would raise the question of who is really putting people first?

[Mr Davis]

My hon. Friend makes a very good point. Sadly, the phrase used earlier by my hon. Friend the Member for Hazel Grove (Mr Wragg)—nothing is agreed until everything is agreed—is the primary maxim of the European Commission.

EU Exit Negotiations

Debate between David Davis and Richard Graham

Tuesday 5th September 2017 Commons Chamber

[Mr Davis]

That is a question the hon. Gentleman should put to the First Secretary, who is the decision maker on that. If the situation is not resolved very soon, we will have to find another mechanism. He is exactly right.

[Richard Graham (Gloucester) (Con)]

The vice-president of the German Mechanical Engineering Industry Association recently said that German manufacturers were concerned for the future of their businesses and that the economic price of failing to strike a trade deal with the UK

“will be bad for all of us”.

Given that the implication is that businesses on both sides of the channel would benefit from a quick agreement on both the long-term future arrangements and the transition, does my right hon. Friend agree that it would be helpful if the EU started discussing what future EU programmes we might want to participate in and what might be the nature of a free trade agreement, in order to speed up everything for the benefit of all businesses across the continent?

[Mr Davis]

Yes, my hon. Friend is exactly right. The reason that is not happening, as I have intimated before, is that the EU sees it as a tactical advantage at the moment. The simple truth is that it is not just German mechanical engineers, but the head of the Bavarian state, the head of Flanders, the head of Hauts-de-France, as I described earlier—it is many, many people—who see their own interest at risk. That is what will help us out in the end.