European Council

Debate between Baroness May of Maidenhead and Ian Murray

Monday 25th March 2019 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

As the right hon. Gentleman will know, the House has already passed, I think, two motions saying that it does not want to leave without a deal, and it will have further opportunities to look at the options that lie ahead. The right hon. Gentleman talks about a binding motion to ensure that we do not leave without a deal, but if we are going to leave—which the right hon. Gentleman does not want to do, but I believe we should be doing because that is what people voted for—and if we are not going to leave without a deal, we need to leave with a deal and we need to agree the deal that we can leave with.

[Ian Murray (Edinburgh South) (Lab)]

Does not this statement show the completely incoherent approach from the Prime Minister? She has just answered a question from the right hon. Member for Carshalton and Wallington (Tom Brake) regarding no deal, saying that the only way to prevent no deal is to back a deal, yet her statement from the Dispatch Box said:

“Unless this House agrees to it, no deal will not happen.”

So what did she mean by that?

[The Prime Minister]

That is a statement that I have made not just today, but previously. I have been very clear that this House may very well try to ensure that we do not leave without a deal, but that the question to Members—if they wish to do that—is, what do they then want to do? Do they want to leave with a deal, or do some Members of this House not want to leave at all? We need to leave.

Leaving the European Union

Debate between Baroness May of Maidenhead and Ian Murray

Tuesday 26th February 2019 Commons Chamber

[Ian Murray (Edinburgh South) (Lab)]

I hope the Prime Minister will forgive me when I say that every time she makes a promise from that Dispatch Box it is met with cynicism among the Opposition because of the number of promises she has broken and the number of votes in this House that she has decided not to take forward. That has been emphasised further today by her failure to answer a simple question: when the Division bell rings in this House to prevent no deal, will she vote for or against?

[The Prime Minister]

As I have said to other hon. Members and to others outside this House, one of the frustrations in this debate is the way in which people will not focus on the immediate issue before us. The immediate issue before us is negotiating changes to the deal such that we can take a meaningful vote in this House on a deal to leave the European Union.

Leaving the EU

Debate between Baroness May of Maidenhead and Ian Murray

Tuesday 12th February 2019 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

When I was in Northern Ireland, I met the five political parties. I met representatives from civil society and businesses. They were making a variety of points in relation to this issue. One of the points that civil society was making in particular was the importance of the commitment to no hard border between Northern Ireland and Ireland in helping to ensure that the progress that had been made in Northern Ireland since the Belfast/Good Friday agreement would continue.

[Ian Murray (Edinburgh South) (Lab)]

In her statement, the Prime Minister used the phrase “hold your nerve” with regards to negotiations with the EU, but is she also not saying to the sensible members of her Cabinet, many of whom are sitting on the Front Bench with her, that they should hold their nerve in refusing to take no deal off the table so that she can run down the clock, come back to this House at the 11th hour and blackmail the House to back her deal?

[The Prime Minister]

The choice that this House and Members of this House will face—this choice will come at whatever point, but I believe that it should come before 29 March so we can deliver on leaving the EU on 29 March—is very simply whether they do want to leave with a deal, or whether they want to leave with no deal, because unless we stay in the European Union, the only way not to have no deal is to agree a deal.

Leaving the EU

Debate between Baroness May of Maidenhead and Ian Murray

Monday 14th January 2019 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

Yes, I can confirm that to my hon. Friend. It is clear that if no agreement has been reached on this matter, there will be no access to our waters for EU boats in the circumstances in which the backstop is in place. That is one of the reasons why the European Union will not consider that to be a good place for it to be.

[Ian Murray (Edinburgh South) (Lab)]

In the Prime Minister’s Lancaster House speech, she said that a future agreement with the EU would be concluded by the time the article 50 process had finished. That was to be used for businesses to implement the deal during the transition period. That is now not the case, is it?

[The Prime Minister]

We have the framework for that future relationship in the political declaration, we have the commitment that we can start work on that quickly, and we have the implementation period for businesses.

European Council

Debate between Baroness May of Maidenhead and Ian Murray

Monday 17th December 2018 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. That is exactly what this Government are doing—steering a course to deliver on what people voted for. We gave them the decision, we asked them to make that decision, they made that decision, and we should respect it.

[Ian Murray (Edinburgh South) (Lab)]

Is the Prime Minister’s plan B no deal?

[The Prime Minister]

What I am working on at the moment is to ensure that we can get the assurances necessary to deal with the concerns that people have on the deal that has been negotiated.

Exiting the European Union

Debate between Baroness May of Maidenhead and Ian Murray

Monday 10th December 2018 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. Any of the alternative arrangements that are being put up by contrast to the Government’s deal also require a backstop. The backstop is there in the circumstances where the negotiations fail to achieve the future relationship in time at the end of the transition period, and that could happen in the negotiation of any of the agreements.

[Ian Murray (Edinburgh South) (Lab)]

This ongoing farce would be funny if it was not so serious for the jobs and prosperity of my constituents. The Prime Minister rightly says that she wants to be honest with the public, so can she be honest: is her deal non-negotiable?

[The Prime Minister]

We have negotiated the deal with the European Union that covers many aspects over and above the issue of the backstop. The one that Members of this House have raised concerns about is the particular aspect of the backstop in relation to whether or not it can be indefinite or is only temporary. It is that specific point on which we are seeking these reassurances.

Leaving the EU

Debate between Baroness May of Maidenhead and Ian Murray

Monday 26th November 2018 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I thank my hon. Friend for bringing that document to the House’s attention. It is absolutely right that when people come to look at this deal, they will remember that commitment that once people had voted, the Government would enact that vote. That is what the Government are doing.

[Ian Murray (Edinburgh South) (Lab)]

The Prime Minister has been unequivocal in denying the people a people’s vote on her deal, but time and again in this House she has refused to concede that her deal makes this country poorer, compared with being a member of the European Union. If she is insistent on making my constituents and those of everyone in this House poorer, should they not be asked if no Brexit is as good as a bad Brexit?

[The Prime Minister]

Let me make it very clear to the hon. Gentleman that nobody is talking about making people poorer. What we are talking about is protecting people’s jobs and livelihoods and delivering a deal that delivers on the vote of the British people. That is what this deal does.

Progress on EU Negotiations

Debate between Baroness May of Maidenhead and Ian Murray

Thursday 22nd November 2018 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

Obviously, when we go through negotiations, compromises are made on both sides—that is the nature of a negotiation—but I have kept my focus on delivering what I believe were the key issues that, as my hon. Friend said, many people who had never entered the democratic process before voted for when they voted to leave the European Union.

I think that key for many people was bringing an end to free movement, and this brings an end to free movement. I think that the end of the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice and the end of sending those vast amounts of money to the European Union every year were two other key factors that people voted for. That is what this deal delivers, but it does so in a way that does protect their jobs. I think that the people whom my hon. Friend talks about—those who, up and down the country, felt marginalised all too often in the past—want to see a Government who are protecting their jobs and livelihoods, but are also setting a course that will give a brighter future to them and their children.

[Ian Murray (Edinburgh South) (Lab)]

Last night the Chancellor of the Exchequer conceded on national television that the Government’s “worst of all worlds” Brexit will make the country much poorer than the current position of being a member of the European Union. Does the Prime Minister agree with the Chancellor?

[The Prime Minister]

I have been asked the same question by one of the hon. Gentleman’s colleagues, in relation to our economic future. Life will be different outside the European Union—of course it will be different—but what is to our economic advantage is being able to negotiate our own trade deals around the rest of the world, as well as having a good trade deal with the European Union. That is what this deal delivers. It is good for the UK, and it is good for jobs.

EU Exit Negotiations

Debate between Baroness May of Maidenhead and Ian Murray

Thursday 15th November 2018 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

There are references in what we have agreed in relation to some of the matters the hon. Lady raises, but the deal is about the future of this country. [Interruption.] She is holding up the withdrawal agreement. The withdrawal agreement is about our withdrawal from the European Union. It is not about our future relationship. The matters she referred to are about our future relationship.

[Ian Murray (Edinburgh South) (Lab)]

Can the Prime Minister look my constituents in the eye and guarantee that this withdrawal agreement will put them in a better position than the one they currently enjoy as a member of the European Union, and promise them that not one will be a penny worse off as a result of the agreement?

[The Prime Minister]

What is going to ensure the future of the hon. Gentleman’s constituents and those of Members across the House is not the withdrawal agreement but the future relationship we deliver with the European Union. That is precisely why we have made the element of the economic partnership as such an important part of that future relationship.

October EU Council

Debate between Baroness May of Maidenhead and Ian Murray

Monday 22nd October 2018 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend raises an important point, particularly in relation to cyber-attacks and to our continuing to work with the European Union on these issues. Concern about cyber-attacks was one of the reasons that the Dutch Prime Minister and I were keen to press the EU to move ahead on this work, to ensure that we can take measures, potentially including sanctions, in relation to this. We will continue to work with them on that.

[Ian Murray (Edinburgh South) (Lab)]

The Prime Minister has completely and utterly dismissed the 770,000 people who marched in London on Saturday and the many hundreds of thousands who would have marched if they had been able to be in London. She is going to fix the vote in this House on her withdrawal deal. What message does that send to the many millions of people who are demanding a people’s vote?

[The Prime Minister]

I think that I have answered this question, and I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answers that I gave earlier.

Leaving the EU

Debate between Baroness May of Maidenhead and Ian Murray

Monday 9th July 2018 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

The route that we are taking is a route that delivers on Brexit and delivers on the vote of the British people, but does so in a way that protects jobs and livelihoods and maintains the other commitments that we have made. My hon. Friend is absolutely right: people talk about things in this House, but it is the jobs of our constituents that we should be concerned about.

[Ian Murray (Edinburgh South) (Lab)]

The Government are in utter chaos over a Cabinet agreement that has taken two years to achieve, to which the EU may never agree and that covers barely 20% of our economy. If it is such a good agreement, why has the Prime Minister lost two Secretaries of State who were in charge of the Brexit negotiations?

[The Prime Minister]

The agreement that we have reached, which will be reflected in the White Paper to be published later this week, will set out our intentions across the whole of our economy. We made some very specific proposals in relation to industrial goods, but we will cover the other aspects of our economy and the flexibility that we believe is right in those areas for the future.

UK/EU Future Economic Partnership

Debate between Baroness May of Maidenhead and Ian Murray

Monday 5th March 2018 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I discussed with President Tusk last week the approach that the UK thinks appropriate, and I hope that we can have a good and open dialogue in our future negotiations. I have set out my proposals for the UK’s future partnership, and we look forward to hearing from the EU what its proposals are.

[Ian Murray (Edinburgh South) (Lab)]

What will the Government do if any or all of the Prime Minister’s five tests are not met?

Brexit Negotiations

Debate between Baroness May of Maidenhead and Ian Murray

Monday 11th December 2017 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I am sure that the whole House will want to wish my hon. Friend a very happy birthday today. I hope that he and others will take reassurance from the fact that we have achieved sufficient progress and we can move on to the second phase. That shows that through determined work we can achieve what we want to achieve, which is a good withdrawal agreement, a good future relationship with the European Union, and leaving on 29 March 2019.

[Ian Murray (Edinburgh South) (Lab)]

Within a few paragraphs of the Prime Minister’s statement, she reaffirms that the UK will leave the single market and the customs union, says that the Government “will fully protect and maintain Northern Ireland’s position within the single market of the United Kingdom”, and says that there will be “no hard border” and “regulatory harmonisation”. Are not those three statements contradictory?

European Council

Debate between Baroness May of Maidenhead and Ian Murray

Monday 23rd October 2017 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend raises an interesting point. We have made clear to the European Union the work that the UK has done on this in the past. There was a particular discussion on this issue in relation to the digital market, and also a recognition in the European Union, given what we have always said and the efforts that we have made in the past, that this is an issue that has to be looked at on a global scale and not just within the European Union.

[Ian Murray (Edinburgh South) (Lab)]

Surely the Prime Minister must recognise the concerns of business leaders about the lack of progress on at least a transitional deal, given that they are having to make decisions about investment and jobs in this country over the next 18 months to two years. What message does she think it sends to the people who create jobs and wealth in this country when her Cabinet is completely split over whether there should be a no deal cliff-edge scenario?

[The Prime Minister]

The Government are working to ensure that we get the best possible deal for the United Kingdom. That is where our efforts are being focused, and that is what we will continue to do. I set out the implementation period in my Florence speech, and, as I indicated earlier, this issue was alluded to by the European Council and by the Commission in the April guidelines. This is a matter on which I believe we can make progress because it is in both sides’ interests.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Baroness May of Maidenhead and Ian Murray

Wednesday 19th July 2017 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend raises a very important issue. We all know that child sexual exploitation is an absolutely horrific crime. It is absolutely right that if victims are going to come forward to report this abuse, they need to know that they will be supported so that they can have the confidence to do so and be confident in their future security and safety. The victim contact scheme is supposed to treat victims properly and ensure that consideration is given to victim-related conditions when looking at an offender’s licence on release. If my hon. Friend would like to write with the details of the case to my right hon. Friend the Justice Secretary, he will look at it very carefully.

[Ian Murray (Edinburgh South) (Lab)]

Q7. The interim Prime Minister has repeatedly refused to answer the question asked by my right hon. Friend the Leader of the Opposition, so may I try again? It was reported over the weekend, by the temporary Chancellor’s own Cabinet colleagues, that he had said that some public sector workers are “overpaid”. Will the Prime Minister tell the House, the country and those public sector workers which ones she thinks are overpaid, which ones she thinks are underpaid and what she is going to do about it?

[The Prime Minister]

As I said earlier, I recognise that there will be people working in the public sector who do find life a struggle and are just about managing, and there will be people in the private sector who are in the same place. I also say to the hon. Gentleman that, as we have seen in the figures released today, there are some people working in the public sector who are very well paid. We need to ensure that, when we look at public sector pay, we balance being fair to workers, protecting jobs and being fair to those who pay for the public sector, and that we also support people by ensuring that they can keep more of the money they earn. That is why we believe in cutting taxes.

European Council

Debate between Baroness May of Maidenhead and Ian Murray

Monday 26th June 2017 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

Yes, I was very clear about the view of the electorate and about the position taken in the election by the Government and the majority of people who have come into this House, which was to deliver on the will of the British people as expressed in the referendum.

[Ian Murray (Edinburgh South) (Lab)]

The Prime Minister said at the beginning of her statement that she wished the UK and the EU to trade as freely as possible in both goods and services. Can she confirm to the House whether any time was spent on developing proposals for the UK to remain both in the single market and the customs union?

[The Prime Minister]

We want to ensure that we have a good, frictionless access to the single market that is as tariff-free as possible. That is what we mean when we talk about a comprehensive free trade agreement, and that comprehensive free trade agreement will be part of the negotiations.