UK/EU Future Economic Partnership

Seema Malhotra Excerpts

Monday 5th March 2018 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend has raised an important point that nobody else has referenced: this agreement needs to endure. The worst thing would be if we came to an agreement that in a few years was beginning to unravel. It is important that the agreement be an arrangement and partnership with the EU that will, as she says, stand the test of time.

[Seema Malhotra (Feltham and Heston) (Lab/Co-op)]

The Prime Minister accepted in her Mansion House speech last week that the UK would not be able to trade on the same terms with the EU post Brexit. Under her Government’s calculations, how much of a hit will her Brexit be to the UK economy?

[The Prime Minister]

The idea that we can benefit only from carrying on working in exactly the same way is wrong. We will have a different partnership and relationship with the EU. Yes, there are some hard choices for us to make and some areas where access will not be the same as in the past, but that does not mean that the country’s economy cannot go from strength to strength as a result of getting the right relationship with the EU and trading around the rest of the world.