Early Parliamentary General Election Bill

Graham P Jones Excerpts

2nd reading: House of Commons
Tuesday 29th October 2019 Commons Chamber

[Mr Seely]

Lowering the age limit is a significant point of principle and one should not do it in a rush. In the case of many Bills that we introduce in haste, we repent at leisure.

[Graham P. Jones (Hyndburn) (Lab)]

Is it not the case that the Labour party voted for Brexit—the one that was in our manifesto, rather than the Government’s version of Brexit? Labour has called for a customs union, but the Government have not offered that. Why should we support the Government’s deal, when it is not the promise we made to our own electorate?

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[Mr Seely]

I think the Prime Minister voted for two out of four, which is more than most Opposition Members. I have voted for four out of four and I will keep voting for any sensible Brexit withdrawal deal that comes our way.

[Graham P. Jones]

The hon. Gentleman says he will vote for any Brexit that comes forward. It has been seven or eight days now and the withdrawal agreement Bill has not been brought forward. I do not know why—it is rumoured that the Government are on strike and will not bring it back. In the Bill is an amendment for a customs union. He says he will vote for any sensible option to get it through. Why does he not encourage the Prime Minister to bring the Bill back, vote for a customs union and get Brexit done?

[Mr Seely]

For me, a customs union is not a realistic Brexit and it is not the kind of Brexit that was voted for. That is not the sort of Brexit that many Labour voters want to see either. The Labour party actually did quite well in my patch at the last election. It got 16,000 or 17,000 votes. Half of those votes were from people who wanted Brexit and I think they will be very disappointed by the behaviour of the hon. Gentleman’s leadership in not voting for Brexit. I do not think it is in the interests of his party either. We all want to move on, because there is so much else to do.

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[Mrs Main]

My right hon. Friend tempts me, and since there are no time limits, I may well wax lyrical on that point. However, it is important for us to get to the nub of the matter, which is that we have moved this away from being a choice for the people. I knocked on doors, and people said, “I am for leave” or “I am for remain”—

[Graham P. Jones (Hyndburn) (Lab)]

Will the hon. Lady give way?

[Mrs Main]

May I finish this point first? Otherwise I could be speaking for hours, and I am sure the House would rather I did not detain it for that long.

People came up to that market stall and said that they were for leave or for remain. I did not ask them, “Do you vote Liberal Democrat, do you vote Green, do you vote Labour?” Indeed, members of the Labour party have suggested that they agree with my views, while members of the Conservative party, such as my right hon. Friend the Member for Wantage (Mr Vaizey), probably disagreed with my views at the time. All of us, at the time—well, I believe that the Liberal Democrats said that they would respect the vote—gave the impression that it was a once-in-a-lifetime choice, and a once-in-a-lifetime decision on which we would not renege and which we would not revoke: it would be delivered. It then came to a Parliament whose members were subsequently elected on the basis of their own political tribes.

[Graham P. Jones]

rose—

[Mrs Main]

On political tribes, I shall give way.

[Graham P. Jones]

Will the hon. Lady please explain to me why the Government have not got Brexit through when they have had a majority for three years?

[Mrs Main]

Perhaps the arithmetic in the hon. Gentleman’s particular tribe is not as good as it might be. The Conservatives have not had a working majority for three years; there have been difficulties. However, the hon. Gentleman has fallen into the trap of seeing Brexit as a “political tribe” decision.

Early Parliamentary General Election

Graham P Jones Excerpts

Wednesday 4th September 2019 Commons Chamber

[Sir Bernard Jenkin]

I agree with much of what my hon. Friend says, but I return to the question: how is it going to be resolved? Supposing the Opposition are successful, the Bill goes through and the Prime Minister is obliged to go and seek an extension and to accept an extension to, say, 31 January, or whatever date the European Union decides to offer—

[Graham P. Jones (Hyndburn) (Lab)]

Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

[Sir Bernard Jenkin]

I am not going to give way.

What will happen after that? A definition of madness is to repeat the same thing again and again expecting a different outcome. The longer this goes on, the more that Members of Parliament will fear holding a general election because, out there, faith in the established political parties—

[Graham P. Jones]

Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

[Sir Bernard Jenkin]

I am not going to give way.

The voters’ faith in the established political parties is not being improved by what is going on; it is being further undermined. The last thing I want is for the whole of British politics to be realigned around the question of Brexit, but that is what will happen the longer we carry on putting off this decision.

Like so many of my voters and so many colleagues in this House, I long to move on to the questions beyond Brexit, but that requires us to respect the decision that has been taken. It requires respect for the fact that there is a Government in office with a responsibility to conduct the negotiations as they see fit, or it requires those who do not have confidence in the Government to table a motion of no confidence to resolve that question.

That brings me back to the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011, from which the motion we are debating this evening arises. It has turned out to be a recipe for this paralysis, which would never have arisen but for the Fixed-term Parliaments Act.

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[Mr Baron]

That is not a fair point, for the simple reason that in that general election both the Labour manifesto and the Conservative manifesto promised to deliver Brexit. All we have seen since is utter delay and confusion, caused largely by remain MPs who will not honour the referendum result.

[Graham P. Jones]

The hon. Gentleman keeps saying that this is a remain Parliament with remain MPs—he keeps throwing that around—but the House of Commons Library confirmed that in excess of 575 MPs have voted for Brexit and voted for leave. How can he say that they are remain MPs when they vote to leave the European Union?

[Mr Baron]

For the simple reason that the House has consistently voted not to honour the triggering of article 50. We keep kicking it into the long grass. When the hon. Gentleman and I voted to trigger article 50, the Bill was simple and short: it said that we would leave by 29 March, with or without a deal.

[Graham P. Jones]

rose—

[Mr Baron]

No, the hon. Gentleman has had his chance. It said that we would leave with or without a deal. Too many Members have continued to kick the can down the road—not once, not twice, but now three times, courtesy of the Bill passed earlier. It is absolutely ridiculous, and people are utterly fed up with it. A lot of remain MPs must look at themselves in the mirror and own up to the fact that all they want to do is stop Brexit. The people out there have had enough.

Exiting the European Union

Graham P Jones Excerpts

Monday 10th December 2018 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I have given an answer in relation to the people’s vote on a number of occasions. Some 17.4 million people voted to leave the European Union. She cites her constituent; there are many other constituents who, having voted to remain, would now vote to leave the European Union, because they believe it is important for Government and Parliament to deliver on the referendum.

[Graham P. Jones (Hyndburn) (Lab)]

Prime Minister, was this the easiest deal in history?

[The Prime Minister]

I think if the hon. Gentleman looks back on the various statements I have made about tough negotiations and difficult choices being made, he will know the answer to that question.

EU Exit Negotiations

Graham P Jones Excerpts

Monday 15th October 2018 Commons Chamber

[Graham P. Jones (Hyndburn) (Lab)]

If the European Parliament, the EU 27 or this Parliament vote against any deal that the Prime Minister brings forward, what next?

[The Prime Minister]

As I said earlier, this House has set out clearly what the process would be were it to be the case that, on a meaningful vote, the position that the Government set forward was not agreed by this House.

G7

Graham P Jones Excerpts

Monday 11th June 2018 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

My right hon. Friend the International Trade Secretary has been in discussion with the United States, but also with the Trade Commissioner, Cecilia Malmström, in the European Union, and I am of course talking to other European leaders. We want to ensure that the action taken is proportionate and within the WTO rules when those countermeasures are put in place.

[Graham P. Jones (Hyndburn) (Lab)]

The Prime Minister has referred to the empowerment of women and of girls in particular. Did she have an opportunity at the G7 to raise two specific issues: the hundreds of thousands of child prostitutes in India and the use of rape as a method of violence in places such as the Democratic Republic of the Congo?

[The Prime Minister]

The specific examples given by the hon. Gentleman were not raised, but the overall issue of the prevention of sexual violence in conflict was referred to in the meeting between the G7 leaders and the Gender Equality Advisory Council, which was set up by Prime Minister Trudeau. I was also able, within that, to talk about the issues of human trafficking and modern slavery, particularly modern slavery for the purpose of sexual exploitation.

Oral Answers to Questions

Graham P Jones Excerpts

Wednesday 20th December 2017 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

We value the important role that the City of London plays, not just as a financial centre for Europe but as a financial centre for the world, and we want to retain and maintain that. Mr Barnier has made a number of comments recently about the opening negotiating position of the European Union. Both the Bank of England and the Treasury have today set out reassurance about ensuring that banks will be able to continue to operate and the City of London will continue to retain its global position. That will, however, be part of the negotiations on phase 2 of Brexit, and we are very clear about how important it is.

[Graham P. Jones (Hyndburn) (Lab)]

Q13. Mr and Mrs Walker from Great Harwood in my constituency have a son with learning difficulties. In August, Mr Walker was knocked down by a driver who was over the limit, had taken drugs, had no lights and was speeding. Mr Walker is 69, and he is now quadriplegic. He is not entitled to the personal independence payment, he cannot access Motability, and he and Mrs Walker are now paying £400 per calendar month for a hire car. I wrote to the Department for Work and Pensions about this case on 21 November and have not heard a reply. It is shocking that this country and this Government cannot look after the elderly and the disabled. Will the Prime Minister look into this case urgently?

[The Prime Minister]

First, may I give our best wishes to Mr Walker and his family and say how sorry we are to hear of what has befallen him? The hon. Gentleman references a letter to the DWP and I will ensure that case is investigated and he receives a response.

G20

Graham P Jones Excerpts

Monday 10th July 2017 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend is very right: 80% of the votes at the general election were for parties that said they wanted to deliver on the Brexit decision taken by the British people in the referendum last year. That is what the Government are going to get on and do, and I hope others across the House will support us in doing it.

[Graham Jones (Hyndburn) (Lab)]

The Prime Minister said in her statement that, “women and children are being enslaved, forced into hard labour, raped, beaten and passed from abuser to abuser for profit.” Does she agree that that is no more true than when it comes to the depravity of child prostitution in India? Did she raise that issue with Prime Minister Modi?

[The Prime Minister]

I have raised this issue—the question of modern slavery—previously with Prime Minister Modi, as the United Kingdom wants people around the world to address it. We are very clear that we want to see this issue being dealt with. That is one of the reasons why we have put into legislation the requirement for companies here in the UK, which will be manufacturing and will be sourcing products from around the world, to look at their supply chains and report on what they find in them and whether or not modern slavery is taking place within them.

Oral Answers to Questions

Graham P Jones Excerpts

Wednesday 19th April 2017 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right to point out the record levels of funding that are going into schools. It is also the case, as I said earlier, that over the years there has been a general acceptance across this House that the current system of funding is not fair in certain parts of the country. That is why we want to end that postcode lottery and look at a system that is fairer and more up to date and that will support our plan for a society where progress is based on merit and not on privilege. I am very happy to look at her concerns. I recognise that small rural schools have particular issues, and I am happy to look at them to ensure that we get the funding formula right and that we can spread the money as fairly as possible.

[Graham Jones (Hyndburn) (Lab)]

Q13. Every school in Hyndburn is facing a massive budget cut. Why is a child in Hyndburn worth less than a child in Tory heartlands in the south?

[The Prime Minister]

Currently, significant sums of money are going to children in certain schools, sometimes double the amount going to a child in another school. We need to find a fairer system. We have consulted on that system and we will be responding to that consultation.

I note what the hon. Gentleman has said about the Leader of the Opposition, the leader of his party. He said:

“He’s not fit to rule. The public see this is a man who doesn’t take responsibility seriously and that he can’t take the party forward other than in a divisive way.”

If he cannot take the party forward, how can he hope to take the country forward?

Oral Answers to Questions

Graham P Jones Excerpts

Wednesday 22nd March 2017 Commons Chamber

[Ben Gummer]

My hon. Friend has doctors in high places. All I would say to him is that specific inquiries about NHS digital services should be directed to the Health Secretary, but I shall ensure that my hon. Friend receives a proper reply from him. As for the Government’s general strategy, our purpose is to make sure that we have the most secure government information systems anywhere in the world. That is what lies behind the government transformation strategy and the Government’s cyber-strategy, too.

[Graham Jones (Hyndburn) (Lab)]

Is the Government’s strategy on big data not the wrong way round? It is concentrating on big organisations having a central repository of data over people, whereas this should be about an empowering state where individuals have control over their own data—they should not have them held by big organisations.

[Ben Gummer]

The Government are seeking to achieve precisely the latter of those things, which is why gov.uk Verify has been built as it has. It is very important that citizens have complete faith in the data held by government and feel able to interrogate data in the way that is open to them. We are not quite where I would like to be on this yet, but as we design digital services in the future I want to arrive at precisely the point the hon. Gentleman indicates.

Chilcot Inquiry and Parliamentary Accountability

Graham P Jones Excerpts

Wednesday 30th November 2016 Commons Chamber

[Caroline Lucas (Brighton, Pavilion)]

Few would now dispute that the Iraq invasion was the biggest foreign policy failure of recent times. The Chilcot report provides detailed confirmation that military intervention was by no means a last resort, and that all other avenues were not exhausted.

[Graham Jones (Hyndbura) (Lab)]

Will the hon. Lady give way?

[Caroline Lucas]

I will make a bit of progress and then I will.

Chilcot also showed that Iraq posed no immediate threat to the UK, and, crucially, that hindsight was not necessary to see those things. That seven-year Iraq inquiry, which cost £10 million of public money, also officially recorded detailed evidence of the vast discrepancy between the former Prime Minister’s public statements and his private correspondence. If we do nothing about that and take no steps towards accountability for it, it is unclear to me how we begin to restore faith in our political system.

Sir John Chilcot made it clear earlier this month that Tony Blair did long-term damage to trust in politics by presenting a case for the Iraq war that went beyond

“the facts of the case”.

Sir John told MPs he could “only imagine” how long it would take to repair that trust.

That need to restore trust in politics is a key reason why I support the motion. This should not be pursued as a personal or party political attack, and this should be reflected in our language and approach. This process must be based on the facts and the evidence.

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[Roger Mullin (Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath) (SNP)]

One of the most ridiculous arguments put forward here today by a number of hon. Members is that the Scottish National party has no right to have a debate on Chilcot and that we should choose subjects that are of concern to Scotland. I say to them: tell that to the Scottish families whose sons died in that war. Tell it to the Scottish families whose sons were injured and who will have to live with their scars, both physical and mental, for the rest of their lives. Tell it to those people—

[Graham Jones]

Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

[Roger Mullin]

I will not give way, for the very good reason that I tried often to intervene on—

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[Graham Jones]

I have a family who suffered. He should give way. It’s a disgrace—

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Mrs Eleanor Laing)]

Order. The hon. Member for Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath (Roger Mullin) is not giving way.