Oral Answers to Questions

Douglas Carswell Excerpts

Wednesday 26th April 2017 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

First, I should like to pay tribute to my hon. Friend for the contribution that she has made, not just for her constituents but in the time she served in the Whips Office in this House, for example. I am happy to tell the voters of Hornchurch and Upminster that every vote for me and the local Conservative candidate will strengthen our hand in the Brexit negotiations to get the best deal for this country, every vote for me and the local Conservative candidate will be a vote for a stronger economy and every vote for me and the local Conservative candidate will be a vote for a strong and stable leadership in the national interest, compared with the coalition of chaos that we would see under the Labour party.

[Mr Douglas Carswell (Clacton) (UKIP)]

What assurances can the Prime Minister give to the 3.8 million people who voted UKIP at the last election that if she is Prime Minister after 8 June, the United Kingdom will become a sovereign country again, living under our own Parliament and making our own laws?

[The Prime Minister]

I will give an assurance to all those people who voted for the United Kingdom to leave the European Union—and to all people across the country, regardless of how they voted, who now want to see this Government getting on with the job of Brexit and making a success of it—that we want to see control of our borders, control of our laws and control of our money, and that that is what we will deliver.

Article 50

Douglas Carswell Excerpts

Wednesday 29th March 2017 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

This is absolutely right, and I am pleased to hear that President Tusk has taken that view. This is not just about the United Kingdom for the future, but about the European Union for the future and the relationship we will have with it. As I have said in the letter, we want a “deep and special partnership” to continue in the future. We are still part of Europe, although we will be leaving the EU institutions.

[Mr Douglas Carswell (Clacton) (UKIP)]

The Prime Minister has the good will of the country as she seeks a new relationship with our European allies. Will she confirm that in transposing EU directives and regulations into UK law, we do not transpose all the rulings of the ECJ? Will she ensure that, for example, the EU charter of fundamental rights is not imposed, given that we have long-standing assurances that it will not have legal force in this country?

[The Prime Minister]

I say to the hon. Gentleman that we will be publishing a White Paper on the great repeal Bill tomorrow, which will make it clearer how we are going to transpose not just the acquis, but relevant judgments of the European Court of Justice. I am very well aware of this and this Government have taken the very clear position that we do not think the European charter of fundamental human rights is applicable.

Oral Answers to Questions

Douglas Carswell Excerpts

Wednesday 14th December 2016 Commons Chamber

[Ben Gummer]

We are already the world leader. We have the finest Government digital services in the world. It is not just us saying that but comparable organisations around the world. But we can still do better, and there is a great deal that I want to do. I urge my hon. Friend to look out for the forthcoming strategy on this precise matter.

[Mr Douglas Carswell (Clacton) (UKIP)]

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

[The Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General (Ben Gummer)]

The purpose of the Cabinet Office is to deliver a democracy that works for everyone, to support the design and delivery of Government policy, and to deliver efficiencies and reforms to make Government work better.

[Mr Carswell]

Since 2008, many Select Committees have held pre-appointment hearings for aspiring quangocrats. Will the Minister consider making it routine for Select Committees to hold formal confirmation hearings, especially when the position requires substantial control over taxpayer money?

[Ben Gummer]

I am not quite sure why the hon. Gentleman needs to phrase every question he asks with an insult. I know that he should look closely at our work on ensuring that Select Committees have even more influence in scrutinising Government policy. I will take his careful and wise comments on board.

Outcome of the EU Referendum

Douglas Carswell Excerpts

Monday 27th June 2016 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I am keen to accommodate colleagues, but there is a premium on brevity—to be exemplified, as always, by Mr Douglas Carswell.

[Mr Douglas Carswell (Clacton) (UKIP)]

I applaud the Prime Minister and I welcome his statement. Now that withdrawal from the European Union is the policy of Her Majesty’s Government, will the Prime Minister confirm that some of the architects of the vote leave campaign, not just the Europhile mandarins, will be involved in the work of the new Cabinet Office unit?

Oral Answers to Questions

Douglas Carswell Excerpts

Wednesday 23rd March 2016 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right to raise that. Getting 3 million apprentices trained during this Parliament is a very stretching target. We will have to see those large companies that have really put their shoulder to the wheel on this agenda continue to do so, but there are two sectors where we need to do better. One is the public sector; we need more public sector organisations to get behind apprenticeships. We also need to make it simple and attractive for small businesses to start training apprentices again. That is absolutely what the Minister for Skills, my hon. Friend the Member for Grantham and Stamford (Nick Boles), is doing with the skills agenda. We all need to work very hard to deliver this by the end of the Parliament.

[Mr Douglas Carswell (Clacton) (UKIP)]

Q15. If the United Kingdom votes to leave the European Union in June, does the Prime Minister believe that the EU institutions will respond vindictively?

[The Prime Minister]

It is a very difficult question to answer. We should not be naive, were we to vote to leave, in believing that other countries would automatically cut us some sort of sweetheart deal. Just take one industry as an example: farming. Our farmers know now that they have duty-free, quota-free and tax-free access to a market of 500 million people. Were we to leave, could we really guarantee that French, Italian or Spanish farmers would not put pressure on their Governments to give us a less good deal? I do not think that we could. That is one of the many reasons why I think we are safer, more secure and better off in a reformed European Union.

National Security and Defence

Douglas Carswell Excerpts

Monday 23rd November 2015 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I can certainly reassure my hon. Friend that I believe the statement is good for RAF Marham, because it means more Lightning aircraft more quickly, and I think that that will be very good for the air base. As for what my hon. Friend said about Iraq and Syria, he knows that I agree. We must marshal all the arguments that we can on Thursday.

[Mr Douglas Carswell (Clacton) (UKIP)]

I welcome the strategic review, much of which is common sense, but will Ministers do more to reform defence procurement and ensure that our limited defence budget is spent in the interests of our armed forces, giving them the equipment that they need rather than enriching a cartel of defence contractors?

[The Prime Minister]

I will certainly do all that I can on that basis. This issue is always difficult, because on the one hand we want to procure as speedily and swiftly as possible, while on the other hand we want to have a care for Britain’s vital defence industry and the opportunity to help our allies with their capabilities; but yes, I think that, overall, ensuring that procurement was more swift and more speedy would be a good thing.

G20 and Paris Attacks

Douglas Carswell Excerpts

Tuesday 17th November 2015 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for raising this question. I have always said very clearly at this Dispatch Box that, in the case of premeditated action—for instance, against ISIL in Syria—it is right that we have a debate and a vote, and I am happy to repeat that. However, when action in the national interest needs to be taken very quickly and rapidly, and when confidentiality is needed before taking it, I reserve the right to do so and am prepared to act. That is what I did in the case of Hussain and Khan with the UK drone strike and, obviously, in the case of Emwazi, where we worked hand in glove with the Americans. I think it was right to take that action and to explain afterwards, but I will try to stick to that clear demarcation. I think that is the right approach for our country.

[Mr Douglas Carswell (Clacton) (UKIP)]

I welcome the Prime Minister’s statement and I am sure that sensible people on both sides of the House will support sensible measures in the days and weeks ahead. Have the Government given any consideration to the way in which the Government of Saudi Arabia perhaps export, fund and encourage radicalism, and is that something we should address, with a view to making sure that they do not radicalise young people in the UK?

[The Prime Minister]

The hon. Gentleman makes an important point. I met the King of Saudi Arabia at the G20 and we discussed the situation in Syria. It is fair to say that Saudi Arabia has quite a strong de-radicalisation programme for its own citizens who have become extremists, and that has been successful. As I have said, we need to ask more broadly how we stop people setting off down the path to extremism in the first place. That is important in terms of what is taught, and how it is taught, in schools and how we make sure that, in all our educational practices right across the world—whether we are Christians, Jews, Muslims or Hindus—we are teaching tolerance and understanding right from the very start.

G7

Douglas Carswell Excerpts

Wednesday 10th June 2015 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

The discussion was around a couple of things. One is that when a pandemic breaks out, we need faster action. That is why we need a crack team of epidemiologists—medics; I will say it the simple way—to get out there and measure the situation, which is what Britain stands ready to do. The second thing is to put money into development of medicines and vaccines so that we have better ways of coping with these things when they happen.

[Mr Douglas Carswell (Clacton) (UKIP)]

What assurance can the Prime Minister give us, following the G7 discussions, that any transatlantic trade deal will be based on genuine free trade, meaning mutual standards of recognition, and not on regulatory standardisation drafted in favour of big vested corporate interests?

[The Prime Minister]

I suspect that it will be a combination of both those things. We should not shy away from that, because the opportunity for the two largest economies in the world—the EU and America—in writing some of these rules together will make sure that we have good and decent standards rather than a race to the bottom. It is important to see that as a potential advantage of the TTIP deal.

Oral Answers to Questions

Douglas Carswell Excerpts

Wednesday 10th June 2015 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right to raise the importance of direct connectivity between his constituency and London. We are investing at least £6.4 billion in Yorkshire and northern Lincolnshire in this Parliament for that very reason, and I can reassure him that we are listening. Only late last year, the Transport Secretary announced that we would be retaining the direct connection between Cleethorpes and Manchester airport, which is something that my hon. Friend has been campaigning for, and I will look very closely at what he has said today.

[Mr Douglas Carswell (Clacton) (UKIP)]

Q11. At the time of the Bloomberg speech, the Prime Minister promised that he would seek the repatriation of power from Brussels, saying that “power must be able to flow back to Member States”. He specifically promised that social and employment law would be returned to Britain. Why is he not even asking for this any more?

[The Prime Minister]

First, I welcome the hon. Gentleman back to this place. He has made some history because, as a party of one, he has managed to have a Back-Bench rebellion, which is something to be admired. What I have set out in terms of the renegotiation is a whole series of things that need to change: making sure we deal with the problem of ever-closer union; making sure we deal with the issue of competitiveness, which, yes, does impinge on some of the issues, under what was called the social chapter, that have never been acceptable to the United Kingdom; and making sure that we have a better balance and proper fairness between those countries that are in the euro and those that are outside it—the Chancellor will be setting out more detail on that this evening. All these areas in our negotiation, and more, are very important.

Oral Answers to Questions

Douglas Carswell Excerpts

Wednesday 11th March 2015 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

Let me first pay tribute to my right hon. Friend for leading on this issue. I suspect that, like me, every Member of Parliament has heard moving stories at their surgeries from constituents who have hepatitis C or HIV because of contaminated blood. It is right to wait for the Penrose inquiry. Let me make it clear that that is not an excuse, because I want us to take action. I am not sure whether that action will ever fully satisfy those who want this wrong to be righted, but as a wealthy and successful country we should be helping these people more. We will help them more, but we need Penrose first, and if I am standing here after the next election it will be done.

[Douglas Carswell (Clacton) (UKIP)]

Q2. Before the last election, the Prime Minister repeatedly promised to cut immigration. Instead it has gone up. Net immigration is now three times higher than he promised. Why has he failed?

[The Prime Minister]

We have cut net migration from outside the European Union. We have created more jobs than the rest of the European Union put together, so we now need to reform welfare to ensure that people who come from other European countries cannot claim unemployment benefit, leave after six months without a job and have to work for four years before they get tax credits. That is what people will get if a there is a Conservative Government after the next election.