European Council

Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh Excerpts

Monday 24th October 2016 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

We discussed having more meetings of the plenary session, which is what I chaired this morning, and those further meetings will take place in due course. We agreed that a Joint Ministerial Council sub-committee will be set up to deal with the negotiations for leaving the European Union, looking at the issues around those negotiations. That was welcomed by all the devolved Administrations. I look forward to that being a constructive discussion around the table. As we put together the UK’s position on these matters, it is important that we fully understand the impacts on the various parts of the United Kingdom.

[Ms Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh (Ochil and South Perthshire) (SNP)]

The Prime Minister spoke in her statement of negotiating to reflect the kind of mature, co-operative relationship that close friends and allies enjoy. With that in mind, if Northern Ireland can quite rightly get a special deal and the City of London is being considered for one, too, why is it so politically difficult for her even to comprehend a deal for Scotland, something supported by the voters, the Scottish Government and the Scottish Parliament?

[The Prime Minister]

The deal we will negotiate will be the right deal for the United Kingdom. It will take account of the concerns and the implications for various parts of the United Kingdom—different sectors of our economy, for example. The position of Northern Ireland will be a particular one because it will be the one part of the UK with a land border with a country that will be remaining inside the European Union. Given that, there is good will and a good spirit from both this Government and that of the Republic of Ireland for ensuring that future arrangements do not entail a return to borders of the past.