Richard Ottaway
Main Page: Richard Ottaway (Conservative - Croydon South)Department Debates - View all Richard Ottaway's debates with the Cabinet Office
(12 years ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
The Prime Minister
Let me wish the hon. Gentleman a happy Christmas. He is a good example of how there is not always a commonality of opinion within a party, let alone between two different parties.
Richard Ottaway (Croydon South) (Con)
The events of the past few months have confirmed that Britain has a number of allies in Europe and is not alone, but the case for Europe is drifting. Will the Prime Minister take an early opportunity to get on the front foot and set out his agenda before others fill the vacuum?
The Prime Minister
I am very happy to do that. My hon. Friend is right that we have allies in Europe. I note that in this morning’s German newspapers, the leader of the Social Democrats—Labour’s sister party—has accused me of having a Faustian pact with the German Chancellor, so there we have it. We have a very clear agenda: we have been pushing the single market, pushing for the patent court, pushing for the free trade deals, pushing for deregulation, and on every single one of those measures we have made some big progress this year in Europe.