Renegotiation of EU Membership (Devolved Administrations)

Gavin Robinson Excerpts

Tuesday 10th November 2015 Westminster Hall

[Stephen Gethins]

I thank the hon. Lady for raising that point. I want to talk today about all devolved Administrations, not only Scotland. I am particularly pleased to see Members here from Northern Ireland, Wales and elsewhere in the United Kingdom. Renegotiation will have a significant impact in Northern Ireland, not least given the particular situation of its land border with Ireland and the large number of jobs that depend on EU membership. That is why I am particularly keen for the UK Government to tell us what they will do to consult with Northern Irish Ministers and Welsh Ministers, not only Ministers in Scotland. The hon. Lady raises a valid point.

There is a key issue here: mutual respect. We should have mutual respect for all democratically elected Governments. The lack of a formal consultation so far has been nothing short of a democratic disgrace, especially given the significant impact that renegotiation will have. The first question I pose to the Minister is not about the consultation that has taken place. What formal consultation process—not a phone call—will there be as we take the Prime Minister’s letter today forward?

[Gavin Robinson (Belfast East) (DUP)]

As a former special adviser who had the privilege of attending Joint Ministerial Committee meetings on Europe and enjoyed the contributions from Fiona Hyslop as a braveheart for Scotland, does the hon. Gentleman agree that that, as a formal structure, is perfunctory? It meets on a three-monthly or four-monthly basis, and no meaningful engagement can take place in that timetabled way when negotiations are proceeding.

[Stephen Gethins]

The hon. Gentleman makes a good point, as a former special adviser—a noble trade—who has taken part in Joint Ministerial Committee meetings. It is good that the Minister said today that this will be top of the agenda, but it is just not enough, given the immediacy. The hon. Gentleman makes an excellent point indeed.

I say to the Minister that he can win friends and influence people, should he just liaise with his colleagues in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales. We can look to Richard Lochhead, Europe’s longest-serving fisheries Minister, who has been making the case for farmers and fishermen, Aileen McLeod, who has been promoting Scotland’s world-class climate change action, or Roseanna Cunningham, who has been championing the European Alliance for Apprenticeships.

The EU matters to the devolved Administrations, and the agenda driven by the UK Independence party and Conservative Back Benchers just does not cut it. I will give the Minister a little point of information: UKIP has never saved its deposit in a parliamentary election in Scotland. That will gladden his heart; UKIP is almost as unpopular in Scotland as the Conservatives are.

Dog Meat Trade

Gavin Robinson Excerpts

Thursday 5th November 2015 Commons Chamber

[Robert Flello]

Absolutely. I wholeheartedly endorse my hon. Friend’s comments.

I am not a vegetarian, and as revolting as I find even the thought of eating a companion animal, I am not seeking to outlaw dog meat simply because I do not like it. However, this is not the humane slaughter of animals for meat in an abattoir, but a process in which animals are taken from their homes—often family pets are stolen—housed and transported in disgusting conditions in which they can often barely move and killed in the most excruciatingly cruel and painful ways.

I warn anyone listening that many of the things they will hear are deeply upsetting and disturbing. A quick search on the internet on this subject turns up some of the most graphic and horrifying images of animal cruelty anyone is ever likely to see. The methods used to kill the animals defy belief. Perhaps most sickeningly, there remains a belief that to produce the most tender and tasty dog meat, it should contain a high level of adrenaline and that the dog should therefore be stressed and fearful at the moment it is killed. It is common for the animal to be bludgeoned, hanged or electrocuted, and, in some cases, for the animal to be thrown fully conscious into a drum of boiling water—anything that ensures maximum suffering.

[Gavin Robinson (Belfast East) (DUP)]

I commend the hon. Gentleman for shining a light on international barbarism within the dog meat trade, but does he agree it would be a missed opportunity not to show a level of introspection on the cruelty and barbarism in the UK towards animals, whether it be dog baiting, badger baiting, dog fighting or, as the hon. the Member for Dumfries and Galloway (Richard Arkless) has recently highlighted, the puppy farm trade between Northern Ireland, including my constituency, and his constituency in Scotland and the rest of the UK?

[Robert Flello]

As hon. Members will know, I secured a debate last September on the puppy trade, and I certainly accept we need to get our own house in order, but, although what we do in this country is appalling, what goes on elsewhere takes it to a whole new depth of despair and disgust.

Britain in the World

Gavin Robinson Excerpts

Monday 1st June 2015 Commons Chamber

[Gavin Robinson (Belfast East) (DUP)]

Mr Deputy Speaker, thank you for calling me in this debate on the Most Gracious Speech. I appreciate the warm wishes of welcome and guidance that I have received from Members throughout the House, but most particularly from those other Democratic Unionists who join me here on the Ulster Benches.

I remain concerned that anything I might say, or anything that the hon. Member for Plymouth, Moor View (Johnny Mercer) did say, will encourage the hon. Member for Beckenham (Bob Stewart) to raise his game further still than he has already pledged. I fear the consequences of that for us.

It is an enormous privilege to address the House and to represent the good people of Belfast East. I am pleased to inform those in the House who have approached me in the last few days inquiring after the health of my mentor and friend, the right hon. Peter Robinson MLA, our First Minister, that he was discharged from hospital on Friday, attended the Irish cup in Royal County Down on Saturday and joked that last week was a worse week for Northern Ireland’s world No. 1 golfer, Rory McIlroy, than for him—but both will bounce back.

Belfast East has been for generations, and continues to be, the cultural, political and economic heartbeat of Northern Ireland. To anyone who takes the time to read maiden speeches, let me say that it is easy to reminisce about the success of our former glories, whether in the Harland and Wolff shipyard, the world’s largest rope works, the world’s largest cigarette manufacturers or the world renowned aircraft industry. Today, however, I can inform all Members, with privilege and pleasure, that Belfast East retains its status as the economic driver of our region and Northern Ireland as a whole. Bombardier, the aircraft manufacturer, continues to employ more than 5,000 people in my constituency. Harland and Wolff shipyard no longer does what it used to do, but is regaining its place, not only in the maintenance and repair of oil rigs, but in the manufacture of wind turbines for renewable energy. The story of Belfast East is one of continual renewal, and I do believe that there is much hope for the future.

I pay tribute to my predecessor, Naomi Long, who was the first Member elected to the House as a member of the Alliance party. Anyone who knows her will recognise that not only her tenaciousness but her talent did much for Belfast East. I have been contacted continually by people who recognised her ability and encourage me to take forward the great work she did on freedom of religion for persecuted Christians throughout the world. I pledge myself to do that.

Much has been said about the consequences and impact of the general election. For those who were in the Chamber 10 or 20 minutes ago, it could be summed up by the adolescent quest for Lebensraum within this quarter of the Chamber, but it is much more important than that. The general election in Northern Ireland has re-energised Unionism within Northern Ireland. I am delighted to have returned Belfast East to Unionist hands. My colleague, the new hon. Member for South Antrim (Danny Kinahan), retains his seat for Unionism, but his colleague, the hon. Member for Fermanagh and South Tyrone (Tom Elliott), brings back a seat that was lost some 14 years ago. His is the most westerly constituency of this United Kingdom, and I am delighted to say that it is back in Unionist hands.

The lesson for everyone in the House is that the cerebral argument only took us so far last September. All those who value the Union—who recognise the benefits of the Union and are prepared to extol its virtues—need to rekindle the flames of passion and desire for this United Kingdom. Over the course of this Parliament, I pledge myself to advance that cause and to extol the virtues and benefits of the Union across the British Isles, and I pledge myself to the people of Belfast East and to this honourable House.