EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement

Viscount Chandos Excerpts

Friday 8th January 2021 Lords Chamber

[Viscount Chandos (Lab) [V]]

My Lords, even if my Christmas stocking did not contain a copy of the requested How to Overcome Confirmation Bias, my new year’s resolution was to approach consideration and implementation of this agreement in that spirit. In that context, I welcome the objective and forward-looking response of my right honourable friend the Leader of the Opposition on behalf of the Labour Party. I would commend this approach equally to the Minister; implying that the responsibility for the plight of touring musicians and other artists lies with the EU betrays a regrettable blame game. Just how hard did the negotiators fight for this economically and culturally important sector and its activities within the EU? I strongly support my noble friend Lord Lipsey and others in urging action to address this problem.

The principal other point I should like to raise relates to the Government’s intentions over the admittedly conditional freedoms in the state aid and subsidy regime arising from this agreement. It is now four years since the May Government published the Green Paper on industrial strategy. It is not clear to what extent this Government regard it as a framework for their actions. Did the demonstrably high-risk investment in the OneWeb satellite business, for instance, fit in with it, or reflect only the amateur enthusiasm of the Minister or the adviser? Can the Minister therefore say what the Government’s industrial strategy is, and how they propose to implement new regulatory regimes that balance the important objective of improving productivity and growth—which, as the noble Lord, Lord King of Lothbury, has just emphasised, is so important—with the vital protection of consumer interests?