EU Withdrawal

Lord Hunt of Wirral Excerpts

Wednesday 13th February 2019 Lords Chamber

[Lord Hunt of Wirral (Con)]

My Lords, I draw attention to my interests as set out in the register.

I am not certain whether one is permitted to use a term derived from another European language in these fractious times but there is an inevitable element of déjà vu, not only in this debate but at this critical time in this nation’s history. Even as the situation develops in new and usually perturbing ways, it is increasingly difficult to find new things to say, although I admire the skill of my noble friend Lord Saatchi, who certainly broke new ground in his contribution to this debate.

I have always been a great admirer of the negotiating skill of the noble Lord, Lord Hannay of Chiswick, but I hope he will not mind if I say I wish he had been in charge at the material time but that I think it is too late to follow his advice now.

In order to avoid repeating myself, I thought it wise to cast my eye over the various speeches I have made in this place since the referendum result in June 2016. I was relieved to find, slightly to my surprise, that I have been following a remarkably consistent line: first, that we must accept the referendum result; that we must be mindful of the equivocal verdict of the British people in a general election less than a year later; and, perhaps most important of all, that there is a pressing need to address the underlying causes of the vote for Brexit and, in particular, to heal the scars that it will leave.

I have repeatedly called for moderation, for a new common ground. I do not think that has fallen on deaf ears as such but, sadly, the deafening siren call of party interest can too easily drown out the less strident tones of moderation. I congratulate the noble and learned Lord, Lord Hope of Craighead, on an outstandingly brilliant speech, one of several he has made on this subject.

As the intractable impasse over the border in Ireland overshadows us all, I listened carefully to the brilliant speech of the noble Baroness, Lady Bull. Rather like her, I was drawn to that great Irish poet, WB Yeats. I have in mind his Second Coming, which says:

“Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;

Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world”.

We must not allow that to happen.

As many speakers have pointed out, in June 2016 no one voted to be poorer; no one voted to make our streets or our global environment more dangerous; no one voted to see the City of London relegated from the top of the international premier league to mid-table obscurity; and no one voted to have dark threats—almost incitement in some cases—of civil unrest, sometimes made by public figures who really ought to know better. None the less, those could be the consequences if we do not compromise now and work together in the public interest across traditional political boundaries.

Brexit was always going to entail a daunting process of negotiation. Despite the disingenuous assertions of some political figures, negotiation is by its very nature a multilateral, not unilateral, process. It requires engagement, skill and patience and cannot be brought to a satisfactory conclusion through an evocation of the Dunkirk spirit alone.

My message is simple: we should support the Prime Minister in her endeavours to honour the referendum and the commitments made in 2017, while also protecting our long-term economic and political stability and development. Furthermore, do not let us do so half-heartedly but with passion—the very passion that brought us all into public life in the first place—otherwise Yeats will indeed be casting a lugubrious shadow over us for a long time yet, with his terrible premonition that:

“The best lack all conviction, while the worst

Are full of passionate intensity”.

Let us all hope that the second coming of the withdrawal agreement sees a coming together here, in the House of Commons and right across the nation—because then, and only then, shall we be able to move forward together once more.