The Government's Plan for Brexit

Robert Neill Excerpts

Wednesday 7th December 2016 Commons Chamber

[Robert Neill (Bromley and Chislehurst) (Con)]

It is a pleasure, as always, to follow the hon. Member for Foyle (Mark Durkan). As a Unionist, I share his concern about the need to ensure that whatever arrangements we make will protect and safeguard the Good Friday agreement, the position of Northern Ireland and our relationships with the Republic. As Chairman of the Justice Committee, I also think it is important for us to take account of the position of the Crown dependencies, including the Isle of Man, which has a particular economic relationship with both Northern Ireland and the Republic.

It is no secret that I campaigned and voted to stay in the European Union, and I still believe that that would have been the better outcome. I regret the decision that the majority of the British people took. However, as a democrat, one must live with decisions that one may think were ill-advised. The majority decided otherwise, and we must respect their decision. For that reason, I have no problem with voting for the Government amendment, but neither would I have a problem with the Labour party’s original motion. Let me explain why.

It is perfectly reasonable and sensible to have a plan. Having made a decision, we now need to remove ourselves from the European Union in an orderly fashion, and that requires a high-level set of objectives. It certainly does not mean giving away every bit of the detail of our negotiating tactics on the day. I have complete faith in the ability of the Secretary of State and his team—especially given the Secretary of State’s business background—to handle those matters pragmatically, and pragmatism is, I think, the most important consideration. At the end of the day, the British people voted to leave the European Union, but they did not vote to do so on terms that would make them materially worse off. It is therefore critical that, whatever we achieve, we achieve it in a way that safeguards the economic interests of this country and its people, which I believe will be possible if we are cool-headed and sensible. That must always be the top priority.

It is also appropriate for us to get on with the job of triggering article 50, for the same reason. Both the plan and the move to invoke article 50 are necessary to deal with uncertainty. It is quite right that some of the worst economic predictions made in the referendum campaign have not come about, which is good news, but that is, of course, in part—not wholly—because of investment decisions taken before the referendum. Let us hope things continue that way but, as my old grandmother said, “Don’t always count your chickens until they’re hatched.”

What is crucial, however, is that we continue to have a stable climate for investment. In some areas that has been achieved, but in other sectors, particularly financial services and the property sector, there are clear instances of investment decisions being put on hold. The sooner we have clarity about the timeframe we are working to—hence we have the Government amendment—and a plan that we are working to, the better, as it will then be much easier to reassure business about those key points. I think that that is a perfectly sensible means of reconciling the original motion and the amendment.

The key things with which the plan needs to deal are financial services, legal certainty and, above all, our ability, if necessary, to have a sensible period of transition. The Prime Minister has hinted that we should not face a cliff edge. Our financial and legal services sectors are critical to this country’s economic wellbeing, and because of the complexity of the regulations we have to deal with and re-transpose into our own law, a transitional period might well be needed. Ministers should not be afraid of that; if it is a necessary part of our achieving a practical outcome for this country, we should be happy to have it. We should also have confidence in proper scrutiny by this House of what is in the interests of our nation as a whole. As democrats, we can be optimistic about the future, but only if we are pragmatic and do not allow sloganising to get in the way of common sense in our negotiations.