Informal European Council

Debate between Baroness May of Maidenhead and Robert Jenrick

Monday 6th February 2017 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I have been very clear that Parliament will have a vote on the deal. This is a matter that is going to be discussed in some detail tomorrow, when the Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union will be able to set out in more detail than in response to a single question what the situation will be.

[Robert Jenrick (Newark) (Con)]

Further to the question asked by the right hon. Member for Birmingham, Edgbaston (Ms Stuart), I am sure the Prime Minister shares my concern about Iran’s ballistic and cruise missile tests on 29 January. What discussions did she have with European partners about how we can work with the Trump Administration to preserve and, if anything, strengthen the Iranian nuclear deal?

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend is right to raise concerns about the ballistic missile tests that took place. The overwhelming message that we took from the informal Council in relation to working with America on a number of issues, including not only Russia and Ukraine but Iran, was that it is important for us to engage directly with the American Administration on these matters and, obviously, make clear the positions that we hold in Europe.

European Council 2016

Debate between Baroness May of Maidenhead and Robert Jenrick

Monday 19th December 2016 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

Of course, we have the commitment to spending 2% of GDP on defence, and that is an important commitment that we have given. I understand that the support will be there for the carriers. I think it is right that we encourage others within the European Union and within NATO to increase their spending to the same sort of level.

[Robert Jenrick (Newark) (Con)]

Shortly before the Council met, the 15th round of the EU-US Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership talks ended, predictably enough, once again in stalemate. At the same time, the prospects for a bilateral UK-US deal appear to be on the rise—a deal that would not compromise sovereignty between our two nations and that would not require a new supranational body to organise disputes, because we respect each other’s legal systems. Will my right hon. Friend make such a deal the heart of our relationship with the incoming Administration?

[The Prime Minister]

First, for as long as we continue to be a member of the European Union, we will continue to press the advantages of the TTIP deal and encourage discussions on TTIP. But, yes, I am looking forward to discussions with the United States of America about the possibilities of a trade deal that we will be able to have with them in due course.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Baroness May of Maidenhead and Robert Jenrick

Wednesday 14th December 2016 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

We must all take responsibility for decisions that we have taken, whether we take them sitting around the National Security Council table or, indeed, whether we take them in the House, with the decision it took in 2013. The hon. Lady raised the question of UK-led action in relation to the protection of civilians. The UK has been pressing for action in the United Nations Security Council, working with the French. The two most recent emergency UN Security Council meetings were called for by us, and the most recent took place yesterday. As she will know, there have been six UN Security Council resolutions which have been vetoed by Russia. The most recent was also vetoed by China. We continue to work with the United Nations, but if we are to get a solution that works on the ground other countries have to buy into it, and it has to be a solution that Russia buys into, as well as the regime.

[Robert Jenrick (Newark) (Con)]

I have received a message from Nick from Grantham—actually, it was a text message from our hon. Friend the Member for Grantham and Stamford (Nick Boles). For the avoidance of doubt, this is one text message that he is willing to have read out in public. Other than getting rid of his tumour and making a swift return to this place, nothing matters more to him than ensuring that round-the-clock emergency services are restored to his local hospital in Grantham. Will my right hon. Friend receive the petition that he has organised, ensure that the passionate views of his constituents are heard, and above all reassure people in that rural area that they will always have access to safe emergency care for them and their families?

[The Prime Minister]

I am sure the thoughts of the whole House are with our hon. Friend the Member for Grantham and Stamford (Nick Boles), and I wish him the very best for his recovery as he goes through this illness. I recognise the strength of feeling he has about the emergency services in his local hospital. I believe that those concerns are shared by our new hon. Friend the Member for Sleaford and North Hykeham (Dr Johnson). I can assure my hon. Friend the Member for Grantham and Stamford that the process that is taking place, which is looking at the development of local services, is about listening to local people, hearing the local voice and, above all, ensuring that the services available to people in their local area are the right services for that area and that they can be delivered safely and securely for local people.

European Council

Debate between Baroness May of Maidenhead and Robert Jenrick

Monday 24th October 2016 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I have been clear in a number of responses this afternoon about the importance we place on being able not just to trade with but to operate within the European market—for goods and for services. I say that precisely because I am aware of the importance of financial services to the United Kingdom, to our economy as a whole and, obviously, to particular constituencies regarding individuals and their employment. Being able to operate within the European Union is important to other parts of our professional services, such as legal services. We are in discussions with the financial sector on the issues that it believes are the priorities for the future so that we can ensure that we are able to get the best possible deal in the negotiations.

[Robert Jenrick (Newark) (Con)]

Does my right hon. Friend agree that in a free society there is never an obligation on anyone, certainly not Members of Parliament, to change their views just because a majority has voted a different way? However, there is an obligation on all of us, including those of us who voted to remain, to work in the national interest and not to undermine it by tying the hands of the Prime Minister and the Government in a way that would never happen in commerce or in private negotiations.

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend speaks with the voice of experience on this matter. That is exactly the point. If we are to get the best possible deal for the United Kingdom, it is important that we are able to enter the negotiations not having set out a whole series of red lines and not having set out our negotiating position in detail. We need to be able to negotiate the best possible deal for the UK. Tying the Government’s hands would be the best way of getting the worst deal for the UK.

G20 Summit

Debate between Baroness May of Maidenhead and Robert Jenrick

Wednesday 7th September 2016 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I will not repeat what I said earlier about our stance on the negotiations but, given what the Labour leader said in the Chamber today, I encourage the hon. Lady to take him to one side and point out to him the benefits of free trade.

[Robert Jenrick (Newark) (Con)]

I am delighted to hear the Prime Minister’s obvious commitment to free trade, but in many respects free trade is on the retreat in the world today. Global trade and investment are on the decline, we have seen a lack of support for it in the United States Congress and from presidential candidates, and, even here, misinformation and scaremongering from some quarters in recent years has led to an erosion of faith in the benefits of free trade among our constituents. Does the Prime Minister agree that, given the centrality of free trade and of signing agreements to the future of our economy, now is the time to put aside that scaremongering, particularly from some parts of the left of British politics, and to believe in free trade and its ability to work for everyone?

[The Prime Minister]

It was significant that the G20 was very clear that we wanted to take action on protectionism and we did not want a retreat to it. My hon. Friend makes an important and valid point that was discussed at the G20 about the need for all who support free trade to go out there, make the case for it and show the benefits that it can bring. As I said earlier—this has been universally echoed on the Government Benches—free trade underpins our economic growth and prosperity.

Litvinenko Inquiry

Debate between Baroness May of Maidenhead and Robert Jenrick

Thursday 21st January 2016 Commons Chamber

[Mrs May]

We are very clear that we want to ensure that those responsible for the murder are brought to justice. That is why, as I have indicated, every effort is being made in relation to the two individuals named in the report as having conducted the act here in London. The investigation is ongoing and every effort is being made to ensure that they can be arrested and brought to justice here in the UK.

[Robert Jenrick (Newark) (Con)]

I, too, was struck by the reported final words of Mr Litvinenko to his son, Anatoly. What an assured and articulate man he has grown into, as we saw on the TV recently. To repay the confidence of Mr Litvinenko in this country, may I ask the Home Secretary to go further? In particular, will she respond in detail to Mrs Litvinenko’s request regarding the additional names she has prepared with Ben Emmerson, and whether those individuals should be banned and sanctions taken against them?

[Mrs May]

I echo my hon. Friend’s comments about Anatoly Litvinenko. His demeanour in the interview on television last night showed a fine young man who has grown up in this country against a background of very difficult circumstances, given what happened to his father. As I indicated earlier to the shadow Home Secretary, I would be happy to meet Marina and Anatoly Litvinenko. Obviously, that would provide an opportunity to discuss the matters my hon. Friend raises.

Paris Terrorist Attacks

Debate between Baroness May of Maidenhead and Robert Jenrick

Monday 16th November 2015 Commons Chamber

[Mrs May]

I join the hon. Lady in commending her constituent Michael O’Connor for the action that he took. It is unimaginable to have been in that situation, with the shots all around and so many people being killed; the presence of mind that he showed was considerable. As the hon. Lady said, it saved two lives.

I can confirm that the support available to British nationals who have been caught up in this extends to those who are temporarily resident in France.

[Robert Jenrick (Newark) (Con)]

I share my right hon. Friend’s gratitude to our intelligence and security services, but as long as Schengen continues—and I hope that the British Government are actively advocating reform and the end of Schengen, to the extent that that is possible—our security will depend, at least in part, on those on the front line of Europe. What support are the Government giving the intelligence and security agencies on the front-line extremities of Europe to beef up our own security?

[Mrs May]

As I have said in reply to a number of Members on both sides of the House, the internal borders of Schengen are primarily a matter for the countries that are in Schengen, but the United Kingdom takes very seriously the question of the external borders of the European Union. We have been working to enhance the security of those external borders by, for example, encouraging the proper registration of migrants who are crossing them. We have also supplied resources to Greece in particular, but we have offered resources to Italy as well, to help those countries to deal with the numbers of people crossing the borders, as part of the process of strengthening the security at the external borders, which, as my hon. Friend said, is so important to us.