EU Exit Negotiations

Lord Garel-Jones Excerpts

Monday 13th November 2017 Lords Chamber

[Lord Garel-Jones (Con)]

My Lords, I ask my noble friend the Minister to comment on the ruling of the Supreme Court in this matter:

“The 2016 referendum is of great political significance. However, its legal significance is determined by what Parliament included in the statute authorising it, and that statute simply provided for the referendum to be held without specifying the consequences. The change in the law required to implement the referendum’s outcome must be made in the only way permitted by the UK constitution, namely by legislation”.


Does that not mean that, while we obviously wish the Government well in the negotiations, the final outcome will be judged by Parliament?

[Lord Callanan]

Of course, we have said that Parliament will get a final vote on the withdrawal agreement, and we have just announced that there will be legislation to implement that. Parliament also voted for Article 50 to be implemented and the EU notified that we are leaving the organisation on 29 March 2019.

Brexit: United Kingdom-European Union Parliamentary Assembly

Lord Garel-Jones Excerpts

Wednesday 12th July 2017 Lords Chamber

[Lord Garel-Jones (Con)]

My Lords, does the Minister agree that although the Question of the noble Lord, Lord Soley, is quite legitimate, in a complex negotiation such as Brexit, involving 27 nation states and where all kinds of difficult compromises will have to be made, the less that the Government have to reveal in advance about their negotiating position, the better?

[Baroness Anelay of St Johns]

Absolutely right, my Lords, but in defence of the noble Lord, Lord Soley—although my goodness, he does not need me to defend him—it is a fact that the Government simply cannot under the rules of the European Parliament take any action on this specific matter. As for the generality of my noble friend’s comments: absolutely right.