Brexit: Parliamentary Processes

Lord Wallace of Saltaire Excerpts
Tuesday 24th July 2018

(6 years, 5 months ago)

Lords Chamber
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Lord Callanan Portrait Lord Callanan
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Scrutiny committees are not a matter for the Government; they are a matter for Parliament. I think the noble Lord will find that the European Parliament gets similar arrangements. The Commission negotiates trade deals that the European Parliament votes to accept or reject, and the position will be the same for this Parliament.

Lord Wallace of Saltaire Portrait Lord Wallace of Saltaire (LD)
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My Lords, it was quite clear from the Minister’s wind-up remarks last night that the Government are still at a very early stage in negotiating the future relationship. How will it be possible to have a meaningful vote before March 2019 if all that we have is an agreement about the principles of withdrawal and the sketchiest of ideas about the nature of the future relationship in the many different and complex areas discussed in the debate yesterday?

Lord Callanan Portrait Lord Callanan
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We are hoping that the framework that we agree will be a detailed exposition, and the noble Lord will be able to scrutinise it alongside the withdrawal agreement.