New Partnership with the EU

Helen Hayes Excerpts

Tuesday 17th January 2017 Commons Chamber

[Mr Davis]

My hon. Friend the Member for Newark (Robert Jenrick) is right. I cannot imagine that most countries doing deals with the European Union would agree that the European Union’s own court could make the judgment; the judgment would of course be made by an independent court, and generally is.

[Helen Hayes (Dulwich and West Norwood) (Lab)]

The Secretary of State has confirmed that my constituents who are EU nationals will still be used as bargaining chips to secure the rights of United Kingdom nationals living in the EU. The uncertainty is already having an impact on our NHS, universities and the construction sector, among other sectors of our economy. Why will the Secretary of State not retain the moral high ground, confirm the rights of EU nationals living in the UK and their status as valued members of our community and important contributors to our economy and public services, and then seek to hold EU countries to the same high standard of decision making as regards the rights of UK nationals?

[Mr Davis]

The point about dealing with people as a block is that it makes no one a bargaining chip. The trouble is that once we start separating groups, we will turn the remainder into a bargaining chip, and that is absolutely what we must not do. We have a legal responsibility to our citizens. That being said, I have said many times, in every public forum in which I speak about this subject, that we are determined to secure a good, guaranteed position for those people. They should not worry. We just need to get all the other countries lined up to agree with us to do that. We wanted to do it earlier, and we tried to, but we have not been able to do it yet. We will do it as soon as we can.