European Union: Future Relationship

Stephen Doughty Excerpts

Thursday 27th February 2020 Commons Chamber

[Michael Gove]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. We want to have a comprehensive free trade agreement on the model I outlined in my statement, but if we do not, there are other great countries, including Australia, New Zealand and, of course, the United States, that have a huge volume of trade with the EU without having an agreement of that kind.

[Stephen Doughty (Cardiff South and Penarth) (Lab/Co-op)]

We cannot level up by damaging the foundations, but that is exactly what would happen to the economy if we walked away in June, as the Government have this morning been briefing that we will. As my hon. Friend the Member for Stretford and Urmston (Kate Green) said, it would also do damage to our security. The document clearly says there should be no

“role for the CJEU in resolving UK-EU disputes”.

Does that mean that the Government are happy potentially to lose access to not only databases that are crucial to our security, but the European arrest warrant?