Leaving the European Union

Louise Ellman Excerpts

Monday 21st January 2019 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

My right hon. Friend has regularly asked me that question, and my answer has not changed. First, I believe that it is our duty to deliver leaving the European Union and, as he knows, there is a date in legislation for us to leave—it is 29 March. That is the end of the two-year article 50 process.

[Dame Louise Ellman (Liverpool, Riverside) (Lab/Co-op)]

Last week, the Prime Minister suffered a major defeat. Today, she has not come to the House with any answers. She claims she wants to have extensive discussions on a variety of issues both inside and outside this House, yet meaningful discussions need time, so why is she refusing to call for an extension of article 50?

[The Prime Minister]

There were two elements in my statement on the question of discussions: the discussions we are holding to find a deal that can secure the support of the House and the discussions we will be having in the next stage of negotiations not just within the House, but outside the House. It is important for us to work to find a deal that enables us to leave on 29 March.

Exiting the European Union

Louise Ellman Excerpts

Monday 10th December 2018 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend makes an interesting point about good faith. I believe it is important that both sides move together at this point with that good faith and do negotiate, and that the EU recognises the need for further reassurance on this matter and responds to that positively.

[Dame Louise Ellman (Liverpool, Riverside) (Lab/Co-op)]

The Prime Minister told the House this afternoon that this is

“the very best deal that is actually negotiable with the EU”,

yet she now tells us she plans to go back to Brussels to plead with the EU to help her and get her out of this hole. This is not a Government in control; surely we should put this issue back to the people to ask if they really want to continue with this perilous journey that will make the UK poorer.

[The Prime Minister]

We have a deal agreed with the EU. There is one aspect of it on which people require further reassurance, and it is on that basis that we are going back.

Oral Answers to Questions

Louise Ellman Excerpts

Wednesday 28th November 2018 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend might not be surprised if I say that I do not quite share that analysis of the deal that we put forward. Look, this is a deal that does deliver on Brexit. I think this is important: it does deliver on Brexit but it does so in a way that protects our United Kingdom. That is an issue that I have set out in this House on many occasions, and it is one that we were very keen to ensure was dealt with in this deal. It is a deal that protects jobs, but it also delivers on the people’s vote to ensure that we leave the European Union and that we do so in a way that delivers no free movement, no jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice, and not sending those vast annual sums to the European Union every year. But I thank my hon. Friend for engaging with those young people in Durham and debating this matter with them. It is very important that we ensure that young people maintain that interest in politics.

[Dame Louise Ellman (Liverpool, Riverside) (Lab/Co-op)]

Q7. The Chancellor has broadcast to the nation that Brexit will make the UK poorer, the Prime Minister’s last-minute concession in Europe puts Gibraltar’s future on the line, and our long-term trade arrangements are simply unknown. Article 50 can be revoked. Is it not time for a people’s vote with an option to remain?

[The Prime Minister]

First, I have already quoted—referenced—what the Chancellor said. The hon. Lady’s reference to the issue of Gibraltar goes absolutely contrary to what the Chief Minister of Gibraltar has said about the way in which the United Kingdom has absolutely stood by Gibraltar—and we will continue to stand by Gibraltar. She will have heard me say before that I believe, in terms of a second referendum, that it is important that we deliver on the vote of the British people. But I would also just ask her to consider this: it would not be possible to hold a referendum before 29 March next year. That would mean having to extend article 50—[Interruption.] She wants to extend article 50 —delaying Brexit or leaving with no deal. I believe that the best option for this country is to ensure that we deliver on the Brexit vote, that we leave the European Union next March, that we do not delay that point, and that we leave with a good deal that will protect jobs across the country.

June European Council

Louise Ellman Excerpts

Monday 2nd July 2018 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

Certainly it is the case that business has been expressing its views to Government and elsewhere on these matters for some time, but we should recognise that there are businesses around the UK that have integrated supply chains with countries in the EU, businesses that will be exporting to the EU without those integrated supply chains, and businesses that will be exporting to the rest of the world and who want to see us negotiating trade deals around the rest of the world. We are looking for a deal and deals in future trade that are in the best of the interests of the UK, and that includes business and jobs here.

[Dame Louise Ellman (Liverpool, Riverside) (Lab/Co-op)]

Jobs at risk, scientific research threatened, and now people may not be able to receive the vital medicines they need when they are needed: Brexit is an unfolding disaster. Did the Prime Minister bring back any answers to these essential questions?

[The Prime Minister]

Of course it is right that, as I said earlier, across Government preparations are being made for every contingency, which includes the possibility of no deal being reached with the EU. The hon. Lady talks about issues relating to jobs: we are continuing to see new jobs being created in this country by firms that are investing here and looking ahead to a bright future for Britain and for our economy.

Oral Answers to Questions

Louise Ellman Excerpts

Wednesday 7th March 2018 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend raises an important point. As a result of decisions made by the Scottish nationalists in government in Scotland, many people there will be paying higher taxes. Those earning more than £26,000 will pay higher taxes in Scotland than in the rest of the United Kingdom. I was in the Chamber for the end of Defence questions the other day when my right hon. Friend the Defence Secretary said that he was looking into the point that my hon. Friend has raised about armed forces personnel in Scotland.

[Mrs Louise Ellman (Liverpool, Riverside) (Lab/Co-op)]

Q3. Labour lifted a million children out of poverty, and this Government are on course to plunge a record 37% of children into poverty. Vulnerable people are being denied social care because of Government cuts in local authority budgets. Is this really a society that is working for everyone?

[The Prime Minister]

The number of people in absolute poverty has fallen under this Conservative Government. However, we want to ensure that families are helped to support themselves, which is why we have increased the national living wage, increased the personal allowance and so taken more people out of income tax, and revised the benefits system so that more people are encouraged and able to get into the workplace

Carillion and Public Sector Outsourcing

Louise Ellman Excerpts

Wednesday 24th January 2018 Commons Chamber

[Mrs Louise Ellman (Liverpool, Riverside) (Lab/Co-op)]

It is good to see you back in the Chair, Mr Deputy Speaker.

I will focus on the impact of Carillion’s collapse on the completion of the new Royal Liverpool Hospital. I am extremely concerned about subcontractors that have not been paid for work done, apprentices uncertain of their future, pensions at risk and the prospect of workers losing their jobs. However, in the short time available I will focus on the importance of securing a date for the completion of the new Royal, where 90% of the £365 million contract has been completed. I am told that the “hospital company”—the private finance initiative company set up to build the hospital—can appoint a contractor to complete the job, and that the cost will be met from insurance, but no date has yet been given.

There is an added complication. The hospital company is owned by PIP Infrastructure Investment Ltd and Carillion Private Finance (Health) Ltd. Carillion Private Finance (Health) Ltd is controlled by Carillion Private Finance Ltd and is a “subsidiary undertaking” of Carillion plc, and Carillion plc is one of the Carillion companies that is in compulsory liquidation. What does this complex web mean for the appointment of a new contractor and the completion of the hospital?

When I raised this issue in the House previously, I was told by the Minister that the matter could be dealt with simply and that it was for the existing hospital to resolve, but that is not the case. Assurances that the hospital will be completed are simply not enough. I want firm dates for when a new contractor will be appointed and when that new hospital will be open for business. As a matter of urgency, the people of Liverpool need the services that the hospital will provide. Carillion’s collapse must not leave Liverpool in the lurch. I call on the Minister to give the answers, and to give them now.

Carillion

Louise Ellman Excerpts

Monday 15th January 2018 Commons Chamber

[Mr Lidington]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for his comments. The Department of Health is looking at each of the different hospital construction contracts. Obviously, the way forward depends very much on the exact legal structure of those different contracts and on the stage that they have reached. For example, the chief executive of the Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospitals NHS Trust said earlier today that he saw no problem with moving forward to the completion of the new hospital construction work in Liverpool. The west midlands projects to which my hon. Friend refers are at a much earlier stage of development. However, I assure him that Health Ministers have this matter very much in their sights and I am sure that they will be in touch with him.

[Mrs Louise Ellman (Liverpool, Riverside) (Lab/Co-op)]

Despite the Minister’s comments, I remain deeply concerned about the future of the new Royal Liverpool University Hospital. When will the new arrangements be made and when will the hospital be completed? The people of Liverpool must not pay the price for Carillion’s failure.

[Mr Lidington]

I agree with the hon. Lady’s final sentence. I refer her to the very strong words of reassurance from the chief executive of her hospital trust that things are in train to deliver the new hospital within the time that he was forecasting.

European Council

Louise Ellman Excerpts

Monday 23rd October 2017 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I do think—this was clear from some of the comments from other European leaders which I quoted earlier—that the speech that I gave in Florence has brought about a change in momentum, and has been a spur to the negotiations and the progress that was made at the European Council. However, I could not possibly comment on what Chancellor Merkel and President Macron were saying when they were talking to me in that manner.

[Mrs Louise Ellman (Liverpool, Riverside) (Lab/Co-op)]

Today the North West British Leadership Team warned about the consequences of Brexit for jobs in the region, particularly manufacturing jobs. Is the Prime Minister withholding information about the risks posed to manufacturing by a bad Brexit, or, indeed, any Brexit?

[The Prime Minister]

As I have said, what I see is optimism about the trade deal that we can secure for the future with the European Union and about the trade deals that we can negotiate around the rest of the world, but also optimism about what we can do here in the UK, through our modern industrial strategy, to ensure that this is a country that works for everyone, that we see jobs being created in the north-west and in other parts of our country, and that we see those jobs—yes, in manufacturing, but also, crucially, in sectors of the future, such as artificial intelligence and driverless cars.

G20

Louise Ellman Excerpts

Monday 10th July 2017 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I thank my hon. Friend for that. May I also recognise the important role that Kettering plays in the economy of the country? When we see these new trade deals come into place, I am sure that his constituents and others across the country will benefit from them.

[Mrs Louise Ellman (Liverpool, Riverside) (Lab/Co-op)]

Can the Prime Minister guarantee that Brexit will not weaken the fight against terrorism? Will we retain full membership of Europol and Eurojust?

[The Prime Minister]

As the hon. Lady will know, I have stood at this Dispatch Box in the past and defended our membership of Europol and a number of other arrangements we have in the security field, such as SIS II—the Schengen information system—and various others. As we are in formal negotiations with the EU, such matters will of course be matters for those negotiations, but I am clear that we want to continue to retain our co-operation on matters relating to crime and counter-terrorism. Some of the arrangements with other European countries are outside the EU. We want to maintain that co-operation because it is important not only for us but for countries in the EU.

European Council

Louise Ellman Excerpts

Monday 26th June 2017 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I assure my hon. Friend that we are looking for a wide range of trade deals with countries around the world when we leave the European Union. I think that those trade deals are important because they bring prosperity, growth and jobs here to the UK, and also because it is free trade that has lifted millions out of poverty around the world. Ensuring that those free trade deals are in place has huge advantages for not just the least developed countries but others, and their citizens, and that will enable us to see growth, jobs and prosperity spread more widely than they are today.

[Mrs Louise Ellman (Liverpool, Riverside) (Lab/Co-op)]

Will the Prime Minister tell us what discussions took place on co-operation against terrorism? Was there any reference to what happened on the streets of London just over a week ago on al-Quds day, when demonstrators were allowed to shout out blaming Zionists for the Grenfell Tower fire and castigating rabbis and synagogues?

[The Prime Minister]

There was a significant discussion on counter-terrorism and the need for us to co-operate in dealing with this issue. We focused, as I said in my statement, on issues around the internet and on the way in which it is used to promulgate hateful propaganda and to allow terrorists to plan and to have a safe space. We are united in our wish and our determination to take action with the tech companies to ensure that this cannot happen in the future. On the hon. Lady’s last point, I would simply say that across the whole House we are clear that there is no place for hate crime or hate speech in this country.