Article 50

Seema Malhotra Excerpts

Wednesday 29th March 2017 Commons Chamber

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

I also want to put on record how proud I am of what we have achieved as members of the EU, not just for our security and the economy, but also as regards peace between our nations, which twice in the last century have been at war. We know that there is more than one way to Brexit, and over the next two years there will clearly be a big debate about the trade-offs we will need to make. We also know that the Prime Minister wishes to ensure the future prosperity of Britain. So far, however, there has been no economic assessment of the Government’s plans. Will the Prime Minister confirm that an economic assessment will be published with the final deal, and that it will compare the expected outcome both to what we have now, and to the prospect if there is no deal?

[The Prime Minister]

The hon. Lady asked me to make a comparison with what we have now. Of course, we have decided to leave the EU and therefore to change our relationship with it, but we will make sure that Members have the necessary information when we come to the vote in Parliament on the deal we are putting forward.

European Council

Seema Malhotra Excerpts

Monday 24th October 2016 Commons Chamber

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

The European Investment Bank provides vital funds for affordable housing, hospitals, investment in new technologies and our utilities. We received £5.6 billion last year for projects up and down the country. Has the Prime Minister had any discussions about our stake in the European Investment Bank—we hold a sixth of the shares—and will she confirm that she will do nothing to put it at risk?

[The Prime Minister]

The hon. Lady makes an important point. I can inform her that the Treasury is in discussions with the European Investment Bank. We recognise the important role the bank plays and want to ensure that nobody loses out as a result of the decision taken by the British people. Those discussions are ongoing with the European Investment Bank.

Outcome of the EU Referendum

Seema Malhotra Excerpts

Monday 27th June 2016 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

The question is not “Could there be a second referendum?”, but “Should there be a second referendum?” I do not believe there should be. That is the point that I would make. It is not clear from the Daily Record poll today that the Scottish people want a second referendum. They, like me, want to focus on getting the best relationship for the United Kingdom with Europe. Let us try and keep all these single markets together.

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

At the weekend I received an email from a teacher in my constituency saying that children from ethnic minority and EU heritage backgrounds

“were crying and telling me that they were going to have to leave. Other children told us that their parents were proud and said it was great.”

The teacher said that

“we reassured all of the children and talked about the fact that everyone here would be able to stay but our community was afraid.”

What guidance is the Prime Minister giving to teachers and head teachers? I am sure that my school was not the only one affected.

[The Prime Minister]

We should be very proud of our diversity in this country and of the welcome that we have given to immigrants and refugees coming to our country, and we are proud of the contribution that they make. That message needs to go out loud and clear. Just because we are leaving the European Union, it will not make us a less tolerant, less diverse nation. That needs to go out loud and clear from all of us, whatever side of the debate we were on and whatever we felt about the campaign and some of the posters in it.

Oral Answers to Questions

Seema Malhotra Excerpts

Wednesday 15th July 2015 Commons Chamber

[David Mundell]

I certainly think I know better than the Liberal Democrats, who have been complicit in covering Scotland with wind farm developments. It is clear that ours is a popular policy among communities right across Scotland who do not want to see our landscape covered with unnecessary wind farm developments. I stand behind our policy.

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

4. What recent discussions he has had with Ministers of the Scottish Government on progress on implementing the Scottish rate of income tax.

[The Secretary of State for Scotland (David Mundell)]

The UK and Scottish Governments continue to work closely with each other on the implementation of the Scottish rate of income tax. The question now is how the Scottish Government will use the new power when it comes into effect in April 2016.

[Seema Malhotra]

Transferring control of income tax to Scotland requires Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs to identify who Scottish taxpayers are, but over the last year we have seen an increase in the risk rating by HMRC in terms of its ability to identify those taxpayers. Has that risk increased or decreased recently?

[David Mundell]

I can tell the House that the UK Government and the Scottish Government work closely together on this issue. Despite the bluster that we often see here, the reality is that the UK and Scottish Governments are working closely on many important issues for the people of Scotland. I am absolutely confident that the Scottish rate of income tax will be capable of being introduced next April. HMRC has done the necessary work; what we need now is to hear from the SNP what it intends to do with those tax powers.

Debate on the Address

Seema Malhotra Excerpts

Wednesday 27th May 2015 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I agree that we need to help people who are out of work into work, and for those people in work, we want to see their living standards rise. We will do that by seeing the welcome increase in the minimum wage that is taking place this year, and also by taking people on low pay out of tax altogether. That is the choice we made in the last Parliament, and we pledged to continue it in this Parliament by saying that people can earn £12,500 before they start paying income tax. That is one of the best ways in which we can encourage work in our country.

The greatest driver of opportunity is education. Some argued in the election that school reform had gone too far. I disagree. I think it is time to increase the pace of reform in education. Every child we leave in a coasting or failing school is an opportunity wasted and potentially a life wasted, so our schools Bill will crack down on coasting schools and force them to accept new leadership, so that every child has the opportunity to go to a great school.

At the heart of our education reforms will be our commitment to create a further 500 new free schools at least, creating an additional 270,000 extra places. We should be clear about the facts about free schools. Almost half of free schools so far have been set up in the most deprived communities in our country, and most important of all, almost a quarter are rated as outstanding compared with a fifth of other schools. Considering the short time that free schools have been going, for a quarter of them to be outstanding is truly remarkable. It is the fastest growing and most successful schools programme in recent British history, and it is opening up the education system and giving new opportunities to children who in the past would not have had them. Anyone who cares about equality of opportunity should support the free schools programme.

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

Does the Prime Minister see the fact that 60,000 people used food banks in 2010 as opposed to a million last year as a sign of the success or failure of his Government?

[The Prime Minister]

I do not want to see anyone having to rely on food from a food bank. That is why we need to take more people out of poverty, get more people into employment, cut more people’s taxes, and continue with the long-term economic plan that is working.

European Council

Seema Malhotra Excerpts

Monday 27th October 2014 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

It is worth one last effort to try to renegotiate Britain’s place inside the EU, to give the British public a proper choice between a reformed membership of the EU or leaving. That is what people want. That is what I will deliver. I think it is possible to get a deal that would make it in Britain’s interests to stay. My hon. Friend may take a different view, but let us get the deal and then trust the people.

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

The then Economic Secretary to the Treasury, now sitting next to the Prime Minister, sent a letter to Lord Boswell on 11 March this year noting the UK’s GNI reservations, the EUROSTAT verification visit to the UK in February and the fact that the Government “give high priority” to addressing these issues. If these issues were indeed a high priority, could it be that in the interim the Treasury dropped the ball, and could that be why Britain is in this situation today?

[The Prime Minister]

Very well read, but we have dealt with this issue already. It is only when the figures are available from all the European Union countries that it is possible to see what the net contribution for Britain will be. It is only at that point that that judgment can be made.

Iraq: Coalition Against ISIL

Seema Malhotra Excerpts

Friday 26th September 2014 Commons Chamber

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

I rise to make a few short remarks, following the learned contributions of other hon. Members.

This is not an easy debate or an easy decision to make; nobody wants to be part of the process of war. However, ISIL represents little but the tools of ego and hate. There is no love, no compassion and no element of progress or development; there is only destruction and power, the violation of women and the murder of whole communities, whether Christian, Yazidi or Muslim. This battle is not against Islam; it is in defence of Islam.

ISIL needs to be stopped, in Iraq and in Syria, by its own Governments and with international support, as needed. In an ideal world, that would be achieved through negotiations, and if the difference between us was a genuinely political one, negotiation would be possible. The problem is that the behaviour of ISIL is not subject to negotiation. ISIL is a cancer that will spread as far as the world will allow it. Standing back is not an option if we believe that humanity is worth fighting for and protecting. To do nothing is to abdicate responsibility and to let ISIL get away with its barbarism.

I have come to the view that we need to play our part in a coalition to support air strikes, but I see no appetite for our boots to be on the ground. ISIL is a huge threat to the stability of Iraq and the wider region, and so far air strikes have been successful in limiting its advance. The action has the support of other Arab nations and is a product of the assistance that has been directly requested by the Iraqi Government.

My biggest concern, however, is the lack of a coherent strategy to go alongside the international coalition’s military action. I hope that in the Deputy Prime Minister’s winding-up speech, we will hear more about an active political dialogue, led by Arab nations who put aside their differences to genuinely share responsibility for handling the crisis, providing joined-up humanitarian support and planning for a sustainable peace. The world needs Arab nations to stand up in unity to tackle comprehensively the funding and support that ISIL receives, and to lead this campaign for ISIL’s defeat and a long-term peace.

Any action we take must not create a vacuum that sees any new instability emerge. To those who say it is not our battle, I say this: it is a fight for the whole world. However, any action must also be subject to close scrutiny, and I hope that this House will seriously take its part in that process.

NATO Summit

Seema Malhotra Excerpts

Monday 8th September 2014 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

Engagement is certainly taking place. I spoke to the King of Saudi Arabia around 10 days ago about how we should best work together to confront the threat, which the Saudis see very much as a threat to them. John Kerry, the US Secretary of State, is currently in the region and talking to a number of the important regional players. That process needs to continue.

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

Will the Prime Minister clarify what support is being provided to Iraq to ensure that it has an inclusive and strong Government to tackle its national threat, and to ensure that it has the resources to support the safety of citizens in war zones, particularly women and children, given the reports of appalling sexual violence perpetrated by ISIL?

[The Prime Minister]

To take the second part of the hon. Lady’s question first, our aid budget is obviously being brought to bear, working with others, to build refugee camps and to help those people who get to safety, whether the Yazidi community or other people who are being persecuted.

On working with the Iraqi Government, we are stepping up what we are doing. We obviously have a full embassy engaged in that work, as do the Americans. We are doing more, but the crucial decision needs to be made by the Iraqi leaders. They need to decide that it is time to end the client politics of looking after the Shi’a and not the Sunni, and instead to form a proper, inclusive Government that includes Sunni, Shi’a and Kurd.

Ukraine (Flight MH17) and Gaza

Seema Malhotra Excerpts

Monday 21st July 2014 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I agree with my hon. Friend that it is what we have available—what is deployable—that counts, but I disagree with the suggestion that we do not have the sort of capability we need. When it came to providing additional air policing for the Baltic states, who was able to step up to the plate? It was Britain, because we have the relevant fighter aircraft and other aircraft. When it came to the conflict in Libya, who had the right capabilities for deploying the Typhoon, air-to-air refuelling and the other surveillance aircraft? I am not saying that everything is perfect, but by getting rid of mainland European battle tanks and bases in Germany and replacing them with deployable assets that can be used in modern conflict, I think that we have made some progress.

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

Does the Prime Minister agree with Secretary of State Kerry that Israel is not doing enough to minimise civilian casualties? Will he also be clear with the House about whether he believes that Israel’s current strategy is proportionate?

[The Prime Minister]

I certainly agree with what John Kerry has been saying to the Israelis about the importance of reducing civilian casualties, exercising restraint and bringing an end to the conflict.

European Council

Seema Malhotra Excerpts

Monday 30th June 2014 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I thank my right hon. Friend for that question. The work of the British Government—a coalition Government—in the EU is to complete the single market in digital, energy and services and to sign the trade deals with the fastest growing parts of the world. That agenda is progressing well, and it is important that we stick to it. I am not setting out impossible demands; I am setting out things that could be changed, and should be changed, in order to reform Britain’s place in the EU.

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

An estimated 3.3 million of our constituents are in jobs that could be at risk if the UK exits the EU. Business leaders have reacted with fury after Friday’s fiasco and its aftermath. John Cridland, the head of the CBI, has said that Britain’s economic future depends on being in Europe. Does the Prime Minister agree with him, and can he guarantee that he will never vote for Britain to leave the EU?

[The Prime Minister]

I do not agree with the hon. Lady. The CBI’s director general said:

“We will…press the case for the UK remaining in a reformed European Union.”

That is my policy. As I said, the Institute of Directors, the British Chambers of Commerce and David Frost, the former Europe director in the Foreign Office, all made the point that this was the right stand to take, and it is important to stand up for a principle and to fight for it.