Brexit: European Parliament Resolution
Debate between Lord Foulkes of Cumnock and Baroness Goldie
Lord Foulkes of Cumnock (Lab)
My Lords, has the Minister had time to consider paragraph 29 of the European Parliament resolution, which calls for the relocation of the European Banking Authority and the European Medicines Agency from the United Kingdom to another country in Europe as quickly as practicable? Have the Government made any assessment of the impact of that?
Baroness Goldie
If I can recover from the stereophonic effect of the contributions from the Labour Benches, I thank the noble Lord for raising that issue. It is specific to the negotiations. I am certain that it will be discussed within the negotiations. It would be quite wrong for me to pre-empt an answer to that, and I am not going to do so.
Brexit: Declaration of Friendship
Debate between Lord Foulkes of Cumnock and Baroness Goldie
Baroness Goldie
I have no pretensions to architectural expertise and I hesitate to venture an opinion. What is clear is that during the negotiations we will not only seek to do whatever we can to get the best possible deal for the United Kingdom but, equally importantly, set out the parameters for our future relationship with the EU. I do not agree with the noble Lord’s dismissal of the argument that we will leave the EU but remain in Europe. I do not think that that is a platitude; it is a self-evident truth.
Lord Foulkes of Cumnock (Lab)
My Lords, would the Minister consider sending one of these declarations of friendship and intent to the Scottish Parliament?
Baroness Goldie
I say to the noble Lord that if I were to articulate the words that instinctively come to my lips about the First Minister of Scotland, they would not constitute parliamentary language.
Turkey
Debate between Lord Foulkes of Cumnock and Baroness Goldie
Baroness Goldie
I thank the noble Lord, Lord Campbell, for his kind remarks. He makes an important point and I am absolutely clear that in all our exchanges with Turkey, we in the United Kingdom will indeed be indicating our feelings on these issues.
Lord Foulkes of Cumnock (Lab)
My Lords, I want particularly to intervene to join in the thanks expressed to my good friend the noble Baroness, Lady Goldie, on her well-merited promotion. Perhaps she could clarify the position on the death penalty, because from what she said I am not clear about it. We must make it absolutely clear that there must be no suggestion that the death penalty can be reintroduced. I say that as a member of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. The assembly would have grave concerns if there was any suggestion that the death penalty was to be reintroduced.