EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement

Lord Bassam of Brighton Excerpts

Friday 8th January 2021 Lords Chamber

[Lord Bassam of Brighton (Lab) [V]]

[Inaudible]—has always said that to crash out of the transition with no deal would have been unthinkable, creating uncertainty, endless negotiation and damage to businesses in exposed sectors, particularly manufacturing and farming. To flirt with that option was highly irresponsible, so, faced with this deal or no deal, we voted in the national interest for the least-worst option for business, supply chains, the economy and jobs.

Make no mistake: this is Prime Minister Johnson’s deal. We believe that it falls short of what the Government promised. Ultimately, the Prime Minister owns the agreement and must take full responsibility for its shortcomings, including any lack of preparedness.

This is a thin deal and its flaws will be exposed over time. It will need fixing for the future. Labour will guard against any attempts to water down working and environmental protections. We accept that we will inherit this deal after the next election, but we intend to build from it as a means of promoting British interests.

With the deal now in force, Ministers must act to properly support British industry as it adjusts to new trading rules, builds supply chains and expands into new markets. We are focused on making this country the best place to be. The biggest challenges facing our country and planet require co-operation and international solutions. Labour in government will work with others to tackle those.

In his statement announcing the deal, the Prime Minister incorrectly claimed that there will be no new non-tariff barriers on British business. Since then, we have heard suggestions from other Cabinet Ministers that non-tariff barriers might be a good thing because they get businesses match-fit for international trade. After a year of economic uncertainty and Covid upheaval, how can any new costs to business be positive?

The Northern Ireland Secretary incorrectly claimed too that the agreement eliminates the need for the Irish Sea border. We have already seen Sainsbury’s in Northern Ireland having to stock products originally destined for SPAR shops across the island of Ireland as part of its contingency planning. So can the Minister confirm that, contrary to the statement by the Northern Ireland Secretary, the Northern Ireland protocol remains in place, alongside various customs burdens that come with it?

The Prime Minister and the International Trade Secretary repeatedly celebrate the UK signing more than 60 trade agreements. Most of those are rollovers and, in the case of Japan, could be worth less to the UK than if Her Majesty’s Government had rolled over the existing EU-Japan agreement. When do the Government expect to start striking trade agreements that take us beyond what we already had?

The Prime Minister also presented the deal as a spectacular victory for the whole economy, before being obliged to admit that it is limited on services, particularly financial services. In recent days there have been reports of capital flows from London to EU financial centres. Can the Minister confirm whether the Government already need to seek further negotiations with the EU to improve UK firms’ access to EU financial markets? What steps are being taken to allow access by the insurance industry, another large contributor to the UK economy?

The deal does not allow for the full mutual recognition of professional qualifications that many sectors rely on. Particular concern has been expressed by the legal profession. Can the Minister confirm the status of patent and trademark attorneys, for example, as these are not specified in the treaty’s definition of “lawyer” for the United Kingdom?

The Minister claimed earlier that the Government have protected our security interests and that the deal would not impact on the security capability, arguing that our police and intelligence service might do better in the current arrangements. We accept that the deal covers aspects of security co-operation, but can the Minister explain exactly how the loss of real-time access to key databases enhances our ability to keep people safe? I am told that the Home Office plans to create a parallel platform. What are the timescales and costs associated with this project?

In the first days of the new agreement, there were multiple reports of citizens being unable to travel between the UK and the EU because of documentation. Can we be assured that the Government are on the case to resolve these issues? What is the situation regarding UK motorists and the green-card-free circulation zone?

This is just a flavour of the issues which will recur and grow over the next few years. Like my party, I am a pragmatist. It was complicated being a member of the EU, and it will be a complex world outside it. The Prime Minister’s desire for the UK to be “world-beating” and to go where others fear to tread in the world of trade might be laudable as an ambition. My fear, and that of our party, is that the level of incompetence displayed by the Government will be writ large and hamper our ability to take best advantage of even this thin deal.