European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Bill

Gareth Johnson Excerpts

Committee stage & Committee: 1st sitting: House of Commons & Committee: 1st sitting
Tuesday 7th January 2020 Commons Chamber

[Sammy Wilson]

That is one of the reasons why it should not be too difficult to secure a trade deal. After all, in whose interests is that? It is in the interests of workers in Germany, France, Italy, Spain and other countries all over Europe to have access to the UK market. Our market is lucrative for them. We hear all this talk about why it will be difficult to do a deal, but why would EU negotiators, now that they know there is a different will in the House, want to turn their backs on the UK market? Why would they not want to have the ability to sell goods to us, and to sell them on good terms? They will not want to erect the barriers that people said they were likely to erect.

This is the right thing to do, tactically and politically. The Minister has said that it is necessary to deliver on the commitment that his party made to the electorate during the general election, but let us go back further than that: it is necessary to deliver on the referendum result of 2016, when we promised people that we would leave. I think that the delay has been long enough, and people are frustrated enough, so this is the right thing to do politically, but I also think that it is the right thing to do from the point of view of industry, and economically. We have heard time and again that investment decisions are being delayed because of uncertainty—that people need to know what the future is likely to be, so that we can then see a bounce in the economy. Let us not push this further down the road. Let us make sure that people have certainty as quickly as possible.

[Gareth Johnson (Dartford) (Con)]

Does the right hon. Gentleman agree that, throughout the general election, the mantra of the British people was “Just get on with it.”? Indeed, the outcome of the election was a mandate to the House to get on with the exiting of the European Union, and the new clause flies in the face of the outcome of the general election that we have just had.

[Sammy Wilson]

Yes. I—

New Partnership with the EU

Gareth Johnson Excerpts

Tuesday 17th January 2017 Commons Chamber

[Mr Davis]

The first thing to say is that there is, of course, an open border now. I do not wish to give the hon. Lady soundbites, but there are other open borders in Europe—though perhaps not in places with quite the same security issues—such as those between Norway and Sweden, where customs and excise work across the border, but it is frictionless. That is what we would aim for. On the security front, the hon. Lady’s question is more one for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.

[Gareth Johnson (Dartford) (Con)]

Some 44% of our exports go to the European Union. Does the Secretary of State agree that in many respects, that figure is part of the problem, given that just 7% of the world’s population live in the EU? Does he agree that today’s decision to come out of the single market gives us a wonderful opportunity to be more global and international with our trading partners? [Interruption.]

[Mr Davis]

Yes, it is a really difficult one. My hon. Friend will know better than me that over the last 16 or 17 years, the balance of our exports to Europe and the rest of the world has almost turned around. It was about 60:40 in favour of Europe 20 years ago; it is now almost 60:40 the other way. That reflects the much higher growth rates in global markets than in the European Union. This is one of the opportunities arising from our exit from the European Union.