Irish Border: Customs Arrangements

Gavin Newlands Excerpts

Tuesday 1st October 2019 Commons Chamber

[Gavin Newlands (Paisley and Renfrewshire North) (SNP)]

So far, we have had nonsense and non-answers on these non-papers, so can we have a clear answer on this question? Can the Minister rule out direct rule being imposed to implement any of these alternative arrangements on the border?

[James Duddridge]

Is the hon. Gentleman asking whether the Minister will rule out imposing direct rule?

[Gavin Newlands]

Temporarily, for the border arrangements.

[James Duddridge]

That is not the Government’s plan. The Government’s plan is to get Stormont going.

Compliance with the European Union (Withdrawal) (No. 2) Act 2019

Gavin Newlands Excerpts

Thursday 26th September 2019 Commons Chamber

[James Duddridge]

The law very clearly lays out the obligations in section 3 and other sections. I have nothing further to add.

[Gavin Newlands (Paisley and Renfrewshire North) (SNP)]

If, as many of us suspect, the Prime Minister and Mr Cummings will attempt to navigate a path around the effect of the Benn Act—a feeling that the Minister’s answers this morning have not assuaged—what will the Government’s response be when the Court of Session in Edinburgh uses its nobile officium powers to sign a letter seeking an extension for him?

[James Duddridge]

I do not think I am sharing a secret: it is the Government’s intention to navigate their way around the Benn Act by getting a withdrawal agreement and a deal through the House of Commons. That is our plan A.

Oral Answers to Questions

Gavin Newlands Excerpts

Thursday 5th September 2019 Commons Chamber

[James Duddridge]

The settled status scheme is working very well: more than 1 million of the 3 million people have applied, nobody has been rejected, and people may apply all the way up to 31 December 2020.

[Gavin Newlands (Paisley and Renfrewshire North) (SNP)]

11. What progress his Department has made on contingency planning for the UK leaving the EU without a deal.

[The Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union (Stephen Barclay)]

The Government are delivering more than 300 specific no-deal projects across a range of sectors and delivery is well advanced. There is still more work to do and we are turbo-charging our preparation under the leadership of the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster.

[Gavin Newlands]

We have heard so much nonsense this morning—in fact over the last three years—that it was not really a surprise to hear the Secretary of State talk about a “depreciation of experts” in the Government. Last night, this House voted for legislation to block a no-deal Brexit; does he accept the vote of this House and will his Government strictly adhere to the rule of law when this Bill has Royal Assent?

[Stephen Barclay]

It is a little dismissive for the hon. Gentleman to say that all this is nonsense. That was the first SNP question, so saying that we have already heard the nonsense seems a tad premature. The reality is that the Government are preparing extensively for no deal. We have a big information campaign that has launched, over 300 projects are under way, and we are working actively and constructively with the devolved Administrations, including the Scottish Government.

European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 (Exit Day) (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2019

Gavin Newlands Excerpts

Monday 20th May 2019 General Committees

[Gavin Newlands (Paisley and Renfrewshire North) (SNP)]

It is a pleasure to see you in the Chair, Sir Lindsay, at this plenary session of the European Research Group. I will endeavour to make my contribution even shorter than that of the shadow Minister. I am pleased to follow the hon. Member for North Dorset, who, although I disagreed with almost all his conclusions, made a measured contribution none the less. The fact that we are debating on 20 May the amendment of the Brexit exit date, which, in domestic legislation, is currently 12 April, sums up not only the workings of this place but the shambolic Brexit process itself.

As Members on the Committee will no doubt have heard me and others in my party say once or twice, Scotland voted remain by a not insignificant margin. We in the SNP are doing all we can to honour that result by trying to stop Brexit. Scotland is being dragged out of the EU against its will, and it is having not only its vote but its Government and Parliament ignored. Our compromise positions, proposed as far back as 2016, have been utterly ignored.

Two and a half years later, the Prime Minister has failed to deliver Brexit as promised, which gives us the chance to stop this madness by revoking article 50 or holding a second EU referendum with remain on the ballot paper. Either way—I am not entirely fussed which—it has to happen. The extension is far too short and kicks the can down the road to another cliff edge in October with no deal in sight. I will be hugely surprised if it is fourth time lucky for the Prime Minister in a couple of weeks’ time. Will the Minister riddle me this? If MPs are being asked to vote on this deal for a fourth time, hoping that Members will change their mind and pass it, why are the general public not allowed a second vote on the issue? I find that entirely contradictory.

The Tory vote is plummeting in Scotland under the flip-flopping Ruth Davidson, and it is cratering across the UK—even Lord Heseltine is voting Lib Dem—so I think the Prime Minister’s electoral pain will continue. Unlike the hon. Members for Ribble Valley and for Stone, I am rather looking forward to the elections on Thursday. As an aside, I have been knocking on doors a lot in the past few week weeks and have spoken to a huge number of voters. Surprisingly, even in Scotland, I met only one solitary Conservative voter, although sadly they had decided not to vote for the Conservative party on Thursday. Therefore, not one of the 250 voters I canvassed was going to vote Conservative.

I am sorry I lost track, Sir Lindsay, but I appreciate the latitude. The extension is far too short—the SNP would prefer a permanent extension—but it is the choice before us today. If the ERG Members on the Conservative Benches force a division, we will vote for the extension.

Article 50 Extension Procedure

Gavin Newlands Excerpts

Monday 18th March 2019 Commons Chamber

[Kwasi Kwarteng]

I reject the assertion that we are going to run down the clock. We have made it explicit that we will seek an extension. I do not see what could be less running down the clock than seeking an extension to article 50.

[Gavin Newlands (Paisley and Renfrewshire North) (SNP)]

This has been a mildly amusing but not particularly illuminating session. Clearly, the Minister has been dealt a rum hand today. He goes on about a debate on an SI to potentially extend the article 50 process, but for the love of God can he please give us the Government’s reason for extending article 50 for a long period of time?

[Kwasi Kwarteng]

The Prime Minister has set out a reason as to what we were going to do in the event of her deal being voted down, and that is exactly what I have spent an hour in this House trying to explain.

European Union (Withdrawal) Act

Gavin Newlands Excerpts

Wednesday 9th January 2019 Commons Chamber

[Gavin Newlands (Paisley and Renfrewshire North) (SNP)]

The proceedings following Prime Minister’s questions today highlight yet again the vacuum at the heart of the Brexiteer argument in this place. Having argued until they were blue in the face that Brexit was an exercise—both in the country and in this Parliament—in taking back control, when they were faced with this Parliament taking back control, they were incandescent with rage. That highlights just how hollow their rhetoric is.

A previous Prime Minister naively foisted this vote on a public that had become deeply distrusting of politicians after decades of perceived betrayal and years of brutal austerity measures. Upon defeat, he then ran away with his tail between his legs, abdicating any responsibility whatsoever for the mess that he had created. In any event, the public’s patience with this project ran out some time ago, and millions now see it for what it is: utterly pointless and damaging to the fabric of society.

We are now well into January and drawing perilously close to 29 March, but we now have more questions before us than we had in 2016. The Government have tried everything they can to force us into a deal or no-deal scenario, hence the extraordinary scenes in the Chamber today. The right hon. Member for North Somerset (Dr Fox), claimed that supporting the Prime Minister’s deal is a matter of honour, but it is a tad rich for the Secretary of State for International Trade to lecture us on honour, so let me tell the House what a matter of honour is. While the Tories and the Labour party are in complete disarray, the SNP is the only main party in this place that can point to a consistent, collective and coherent position, proudly representing Scotland’s overwhelming vote to remain in the European Union.

As evidenced twice in two days, the SNP and many other Members across the House will not let this Prime Minister hold a gun to our heads. We will not be forced to choose between chaos and disaster. Many Members on both sides of the House are angry at how the Government have treated this place, and the desperation exhibited earlier by the Government and the hard Brexiteers in trying to stop Parliament taking back control exemplifies that arrogance. It is clear to me and, I am sure, most people in here that a minority of the public now want to leave the European Union. Indeed, up to 70% of Scots would now vote to remain if they were given another chance.

This Government’s current course of action has been taken only because the Prime Minister is running scared from her own party. Make no mistake, however: the Leader of the Opposition is now as much to blame for the position we find ourselves in. Many Labour Members and a large majority of Labour voters would like him to commit to a second referendum, but he stubbornly refuses to do so. As my hon. Friend the Member for North East Fife (Stephen Gethins) alluded to earlier, that comes despite the good work of the right hon. and learned Member for Holborn and St Pancras (Keir Starmer). He has managed to inch the Labour party towards a common-sense position, but he is struggling to get the party over the line. That just shows that you can lead the right hon. Member for Islington North (Jeremy Corbyn) to water, but you cannot make him drink. Perhaps he should consider what is in the interests of working people across the UK and in his own constituency.

We are 79 days away from a catastrophic no-deal Brexit that would make people poorer, but our two largest parties are leading the public on a merry Brexit dance, with Labour continually doing electoral maths on the back of a fag packet. If we crash out of the EU, the Tories and Labour will be shamed for decades to come. The right hon. Member for Uxbridge and South Ruislip (Boris Johnson) is not here this evening, but he claimed that a no-deal Brexit is closest to what the public voted for. What an utterly ridiculous assertion that is when leading leave campaign figures such as Daniel Hannan said that no one was talking about leaving the single market; when Nigel Farage repeatedly asked the public whether it would be so bad to be like Norway—I do not need to remind the House that Norway is a member of the single market; and when the former Foreign Secretary himself said:

“I would vote to stay in the single market. I’m in favour of the single market.”

Let us not hear these self-same people trying to rewrite history.

I have to say that looking back I believe those of us who advocated a remain vote were too complacent. Yes, the remain vote was clear and decisive in Scotland, but considering the relentless negativity and xenophobia displayed for years by papers such as the Daily Mail and Daily Express, we did not do enough to stand up for the benefits of the EU, and in particular not enough was done to stand up and support freedom of movement.

Every Member of this House has had the option to travel freely across Europe, and many have enthusiastically grasped the opportunity to work and build relationships across the continent. It is impossible to articulate just how valuable this freedom is. My generation, who have largely grown up not knowing anything else, grew complacent. It is such a positive and common-sense policy that we took it for granted; our children, including my daughters, might not have that same chance and opportunity. Undoubtedly one of the biggest tragedies of Brexit is that we are ripping away the opportunities that freedom of movement provides from today’s young people. Given that younger voters voted overwhelmingly to remain, this would be an intergenerational betrayal unlike anything we have seen before.

If we end freedom of movement we will also be bringing an end to further contributions to our society from many EU citizens who might otherwise have chosen to make their homes and lives here. Migrants from across the EU make our NHS function, start businesses and enrich our culture.

With a mind to today’s proceedings and next week’s immigration Bill, I asked people on my Facebook page to give me their experiences of freedom of movement. One of the contributions I had back was from someone called Ivan. He said his life had been defined by freedom of movement. He was born in Spain 43 years ago. During medical school, he studied in Spain and Italy, but after graduating he got a placement in Ninewells hospital, Dundee. He has been working for the Scottish NHS since 2002. He has worked all over the country: Montrose, Perth, Dundee, Vale of Leven, Crieff, Kirriemuir, Arbroath. Since 2006 he has been living in Glasgow and is currently medical officer for the Drug Court.

Ivan’s family has also benefitted from that freedom. His wife is Irish, living in Glasgow since studying at uni in the late ’90’s. Moreover, in 2010 she started working in Copenhagen for the United Nations. Their first daughter was born in 2011 in Denmark. Then after moving back to Glasgow their youngest daughter was born at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital maternity unit in 2014. The oldest has a Spanish passport, the youngest an Irish one, but both girls are Scots through and through. And so is Ivan—he is a card-carrying SNP member.

Ivan wanted me to explain why he is now an SNP voter and member, previously having voted Labour. He has been working in addictions for 13 years and he started to see two contrasting positions. For example, Alan Johnson sacked David Nutt a few years ago from the chair of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs for presenting reputable facts that were not to his political advantage. On the other hand, Ivan saw the Scottish Government trying to implement minimum pricing against public opinion, mass media backlash and two of the strongest lobbies in the nation: the supermarkets and the drinks industry. Ivan says that if he sees a political party willingly going against its own political interests because it believes it will benefit the whole nation, he will pay attention—and that was before this Brexit debacle. In Ivan’s team there are doctors from Hungary, Germany, Spain and Italy. His name is Ivan Fernandez Cabrera. To me, and to the vast majority of Scots I am sure, Ivan and his family are every bit as Scottish as my family, my colleagues on these Benches, and even colleagues on the Benches opposite. I am grateful for the huge contribution he and his wife have made to life in Scotland.

We have been strong on this issue. The SNP is clear: we will always stand up for EU citizens and everything they do for our society. Some in the leave campaign cheated and very probably broke the law to deliver that 2016 result, and I will concede that they were extremely effective in selling their version of Brexit to the public, but this vision was an abject lie at best and dog-whistle racism at worst. I am instantly reminded of Nigel Farage standing in front of the infamous “Breaking point” billboard, which conflated the refugee crisis with the EU and treated desperate human beings escaping conflict and seeking safety as if they were a threat. Scotland rejected this bleak, insular vision, and instead chose a different approach: Scotland voted to retain its place in Europe, a fact this Government have tried their level best to ignore since day one.

England and Wales voted to leave the EU and, should the Government get something through, are getting what they voted for. Northern Ireland voted to remain and, for good reason, may have a compromise, which we respect; yet Scotland is being dragged out against its overwhelmingly expressed will and without any of the caveats afforded to Northern Ireland.

The Scottish Government proposed the compromise of staying in the single market and customs union, which would mean retaining many of the economic advantages of being in the EU while leaving its political aspects. Again, this was ignored but, to be fair, Scotland is used to being ignored by Westminster. The actions of the Prime Minister and her Government since the EU referendum are perhaps the best example of that wilful ignorance.

The UK has lurched from crisis to crisis for years. It is clear that the UK is broken and that no Westminster Government will be able to make meaningful strides towards a brighter future, which leaves one inescapable conclusion: that to ensure good governance and the chance of building an economy and a society that is open to the world, tolerant and gives everyone the opportunity to flourish, Scotland must become an independent country.

Oral Answers to Questions

Gavin Newlands Excerpts

Thursday 14th June 2018 Commons Chamber

[Mr David Davis]

We take all remarks from business and business leaders very seriously. We have to make an assessment as to what is in the best interests of the whole country. We also have to balance—for example, with respect to customs union—the interests of existing companies and companies that may make the most of opportunities in the rest of the world when we get freedom from the common commercial policy. My direct answer to the end of my hon. Friend’s question is that we will be publishing a White Paper in the near future, and the matter will be addressed in that White Paper.

[Gavin Newlands (Paisley and Renfrewshire North) (SNP)]

Can the Secretary of State confirm that any separate regulatory alignment deal for Northern Ireland will be available to Scotland?

[Mr Davis]

As we said in our proposal to the European Union, the backstop proposal was for the whole of the United Kingdom, and everything else will be for the whole of the United Kingdom, with minor variations that currently exist in Northern Ireland.

Oral Answers to Questions

Gavin Newlands Excerpts

Thursday 3rd May 2018 Commons Chamber

The Secretary of State was asked—

[Gavin Newlands (Paisley and Renfrewshire North) (SNP)]

1. What recent progress he has made on negotiating the UK’s exit from the EU.

[Mr John Whittingdale (Maldon) (Con)]

4. What progress he has made on negotiating the UK’s future relationship with the EU.

--- Later in debate ---

[Gavin Newlands]

There is now a clear consensus in this Parliament that, at the very least, the United Kingdom should enter into a customs arrangement with the EU post Brexit, but after another indecisive Brexit Cabinet Sub-Committee meeting, the Government, after two years, have still failed to reach an agreed position on the customs issue. Every 42 days, the Government lose a Cabinet Minister, and the Secretary of State is 6:1 third favourite to be the next to go. Those are good odds, if you ask me. If the eventual will of the Cabinet and the Prime Minister is to seek a customs arrangement with the EU, will the Secretary of State resign?

[Mr Davis]

I am not sure whether it is constitutional to discuss my resignation, but I will say that I do not take it to be imminent.

The simple truth is that this is a complex and important issue, which will affect our country for generations. It has a direct effect on the sensitive issue of Northern Ireland and the peace process there, which we are committed to protecting at all costs. It is therefore no surprise that it will take some time to nail down the policy.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr David Davis]

Of course, what will be binding in international law is what is written into the withdrawal agreement, and I would therefore expect Parliament to have views on what conditions should be in it.

[Gavin Newlands (Paisley and Renfrewshire North) (SNP)]

T4. As we have heard, 60 Tory MPs have delivered an ultimatum to the Prime Minister threatening to bring down the Government—although I do not think the Government need any assistance in that regard at the moment—if they continue to seek a customs partnership with the EU countries. When did the Secretary of State first become aware of that document?

[Mr Robin Walker]

I am not aware of the document to which the hon. Gentleman refers.

EU Exit Negotiations

Gavin Newlands Excerpts

Tuesday 5th December 2017 Commons Chamber

[Mr Davis]

The aim of the negotiation is together to get to an outcome that serves our interests, the EU27’s interests and particularly Ireland’s interests because, as my hon. Friend says, they are our good friends and the people who, in some ways, are closest to us.

[Gavin Newlands (Paisley and Renfrewshire North) (SNP)]

If the Secretary of State is so confident that we in this place, the media and the general public are misinterpreting what may or may not have been in the draft agreement, will he publish it to clear things up?

[Mr Davis]

I cannot imagine that the hon. Gentleman thinks that that would advance the negotiations one jot.

Oral Answers to Questions

Gavin Newlands Excerpts

Thursday 2nd November 2017 Commons Chamber

[Mr Davis]

My hon. Friend is right to say that this is about all the regions and all the nations of the United Kingdom—not simply the Black country, although that is very important. I have already seen the London Mayor to talk about London and northern mayors to talk about the north, and I am about to see Andy Street. We will continue our ongoing discussions with the regions of the UK, both through local government and the businesses in these sectors.

[Gavin Newlands (Paisley and Renfrewshire North) (SNP)]

T3. Earlier this week, Calum Steele, the general secretary of the Scottish Police Federation, said that a failure to be a part of Europol after Brexit will hinder our ability to investigate horrendous crimes such as people trafficking, drug dealing and prostitution. Obviously, the Secretary of State will recognise that organised crime does not respect national borders, so will he categorically assure the Scottish Police Federation and this House that co-operation through Europol will continue after Brexit?

[Mr Davis]

We are at the beginning of a negotiation, as the hon. Gentleman knows. [Interruption.] I cannot hear his heckle from a sedentary position. The Prime Minister has made it clear that the whole issue of security, counter-terrorism and foreign policy will make up a second treaty which we intend to put to the European Union. Every member state I have spoken to has welcomed that, so I expect that we will be able to make the Scottish Police Federation very happy.