EU Exit Negotiations

Henry Smith Excerpts

Tuesday 5th September 2017 Commons Chamber

[Mr Davis]

I will say two things to the hon. Gentleman. First, the Under-Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, my hon. Friend the Member for Worcester (Mr Walker) spends a great deal of time on this issue with research institutes and universities. Within a few days, we will publish another position paper on science and the future that we see in that area. I think that the hon. Gentleman will be pleased with its contents.

[Henry Smith (Crawley) (Con)]

What assessment has my right hon. Friend made of the figures from the International Monetary Fund that show that the EU’s share of global GDP will fall to just 13% after Brexit and of the significant opportunity that that provides for this country in terms of forging international deals not just with, but beyond, Europe?

[Mr Davis]

We do not even have to look as far as the IMF. The European Commission itself has said that 90% of the growth in world trade will come from outside Europe. That is where the growth markets and the big markets are. We have the fabulous advantages of the English language, English law and all our historic contacts. The simple truth is that we can make a great future outside the European Union.

Brexit and Foreign Affairs

Henry Smith Excerpts

Monday 26th June 2017 Commons Chamber

[The Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union (Mr David Davis)]

May I start by commending the hon. Member for Edinburgh West (Christine Jardine) for learning the ropes quicker than the rest of us did? I hope she has success with her Adjournment debate.

The negotiations over our exit from the European Union are fundamental to our future. It is no exaggeration to say that they will shape everything we want to achieve as a country over the coming years and decades. We are doing nothing less than refashioning Britain’s place in the world. Our success or failure will determine and shape all our futures, so it is obviously a great responsibility but also a great opportunity, and it falls on all of us in this place—every one of us in this Parliament—to make a success of it. If we work together and we succeed, we can ensure a strong and growing economy that spreads prosperity and opportunity around the country, underpins well-funded public services and secures a better future for us and our children.

I have always made it clear that after Brexit the United Kingdom will continue to be the outward-looking global nation it has always been. Indeed, it should be more engaged in the world than ever before, for I firmly believe that last year’s vote to leave the EU was not a call for retrenchment—a call to look in on ourselves. The UK has the means, the ambition and, now, the freedom to play a more positive role in the world.

[Henry Smith (Crawley) (Con)]

I believe that the opportunities provided by Brexit will mean a global Britain. Does my right hon. Friend agree that leaving the customs union and the single market will allow us to forge trade links with countries such as China and the United States, which we cannot do on our own while we are members of the European Union?

[Mr Davis]

My hon. Friend makes a very good point, to which, if he will forgive me, I shall return a little later.

As I was saying, we have the means, the ambition and the freedom to play a more positive part in the world, which is demonstrated by our commitments on defence and international aid. The UK is the only country in the world that meets both its NATO pledge to spend 2% of GDP on defence and the UN target of devoting 0.7% of our gross national income to development spending. That ensures that we defend our values, work to tackle poverty and conflict, and help to protect the most vulnerable in the world.

Oral Answers to Questions

Henry Smith Excerpts

Thursday 27th April 2017 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

I call Tom Pursglove on question 15. [Interruption.] Aah, excellent! I was rather hoping that the hon. Member for Crawley (Henry Smith) would beetle into the Chamber just in time. In fact, I was prolonging the previous exchange in the confident expectation that he would arrive. He has done so, so we will reinstate question 13.

[Henry Smith (Crawley) (Con)]

13. What recent discussions his Department has had with the aerospace industry on the negotiations for the UK leaving the EU.

[Robert Courts (Witney) (Con)]

19. What recent discussions his Department has had with the aerospace industry on the negotiations for the UK leaving the EU.

[The Minister of State, Department for Exiting the European Union (Mr David Jones)]

Engagement with industry is a central element of our plan to build a national consensus around our negotiating position. The Department has been listening and talking to aerospace manufacturers and industry groups across the UK and internationally, including Rolls-Royce, Airbus, ADS and the aerospace growth partnership.

[Henry Smith]

Thank you, Mr Speaker, for your forbearance, if nothing else. [Interruption.] And for much more. Does my right hon. Friend the Minister welcome Boeing’s investment in the new hangar maintenance facility at Gatwick airport as proof of the expanding aviation sector, even post Brexit?

[Mr Jones]

Yes, indeed. Boeing has announced 100 new jobs at its facility at Gatwick. Aviation and the aerospace industry are vital parts of our economy, and we have no doubt that they will continue to thrive after we have left the European Union.

European Union (Notification of Withdrawal) Bill

Henry Smith Excerpts

Ping Pong: House of Commons
Monday 13th March 2017 Commons Chamber

[Keir Starmer]

I am grateful for that intervention, but it is important to focus on the words of the amendment, which asks Ministers to bring forward proposals within three months. That does not tie anybody’s hands or make anybody’s task more difficult. If the issue is resolved within three months—I hope that it is, for the sake of EU citizens living here and of UK citizens living abroad—the amendment represents no problem. It represents a problem only if the Government do not succeed in an early settlement of the issue.

The Labour party has been pushing the Government for many months to guarantee EU rights. My right hon. Friend the Member for Leigh (Andy Burnham) first tabled a Labour motion on the issue back in July 2016, just weeks after the referendum, but the Government have refused to take unilateral action. I remind the House that the International Trade Secretary, who is sitting on the Government Front Bench, said last year that to guarantee those rights to EU citizens

“would be to hand over one of our main cards in the negotiations”.

[Henry Smith (Crawley) (Con)]

rose—

[Conor Burns (Bournemouth West) (Con)]

rose—

European Union (Notification of Withdrawal) Bill

Henry Smith Excerpts

2nd reading: House of Commons
Wednesday 1st February 2017 Commons Chamber

[Henry Smith (Crawley) (Con)]

This is a long Second Reading debate, and yet the Bill is very succinct, and rightly so. I therefore think it is incumbent on me to be concise in my remarks.

In the lead-up to the referendum on our membership of the European Union last June, the Government published—at the cost of a little over £9 million, from memory—a booklet that went to virtually every household in the UK explaining why they believed it was best for us to remain members of the EU. The booklet also said, however, “Whatever decision the British people make, we will implement.” It is therefore, I believe, our duty to ensure that we pass this Bill tonight, without delay or amendments designed to wreck it, so that the Prime Minister has the authority to start the official formal withdrawal process, and so that this Parliament can once again exercise its sovereignty in rightly holding the Government to account to ensure that we get the best possible deal as we leave the European Union and once again broaden our horizons as a global Britain.

New Partnership with the EU

Henry Smith Excerpts

Tuesday 17th January 2017 Commons Chamber

[Mr Davis]

What the hon. Gentleman will understand better than most is that once we have exited the European Union, every change in law will be subject to this Parliament’s decision.

[Henry Smith (Crawley) (Con)]

I very much welcome the Prime Minister’s speech today, and indeed my right hon. Friend’s statement. Over the weekend, the New Zealand Prime Minister visited London and expressed a desire for a trade deal, and US President-elect Trump also wants a swift deal with the UK. There seems to be some confusion, so can my right hon. Friend confirm that we cannot negotiate global free trade deals if we remain members of the customs union?

[Mr Davis]

My hon. Friend is exactly right. The common commercial policy prevents us from making such deals, which is why we have come to the conclusion that we have.

Oral Answers to Questions

Henry Smith Excerpts

Thursday 1st December 2016 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

On the principle of humanitarian assistance to the involuntarily delayed, I call Mr Henry Smith.

[Henry Smith (Crawley) (Con)]

T4. My sincere thanks, Mr Speaker, for your understanding. With regard to the EU exit negotiations, does my right hon. Friend agree that, for the first time in history perhaps, we start from an equal point, which is a great advantage to this country’s position?

[Mr David Jones]

My hon. Friend is entirely right. On the day we leave the EU, we will be in perfect alignment with the rest of the EU regulations, directives and so on, which gives us a strong, solid base for moving forward with negotiations.

Next Steps in Leaving the European Union

Henry Smith Excerpts

Monday 10th October 2016 Commons Chamber

[Mr Davis]

We have said in terms—principally after the Japanese letter—that we are absolutely determined to make sure that we guarantee, or acquire, access for all companies in the UK to the maximum possible number of markets. That is what we are doing.

[Henry Smith (Crawley) (Con)]

I very much welcome my right hon. Friend’s statements. Can he say whether, as part of the consideration process, he will look to review the UK’s involvement in the European Commission’s single European sky initiative?

[Mr Davis]

Yes, the Department for Transport is on that issue as we speak. They were some of the people I was thinking of when I said that there are many areas where we have a very strong negotiating hand because of our current position. Britain is the strongest target, as it were, for flight arrivals in the entire European Union.

Exiting the European Union

Henry Smith Excerpts

Monday 5th September 2016 Commons Chamber

[Mr Davis]

One aspect of democracy is that one side wins and one side does not win. [Interruption.] Someone from the Labour Front Bench says that young people lost, which is certainly not true. We will see a bigger, greater and more glorious country in future than the one we already have. Just because the hon. Member for Middlesbrough (Andy McDonald) does not understand that does not mean that they lost.

To return to the hon. Lady’s point, young people may of course feel at this point that their views did not win the day. I am afraid that that is part of democracy. It is our job to ensure they gain from the outcome of that decision.

[Henry Smith (Crawley) (Con)]

In warmly welcoming my right hon. Friend to his very well-deserved position, I implore him to have early discussions with our right hon. Friends the Home Secretary, the Secretary of State for Transport and others to ensure that the words “European Union” are removed at the earliest possible moment from UK passports and driving licences.

[Mr Davis]

I will draw my hon. Friend’s comments to their attention.