Asked by
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what progress they have made in
discussions with the European Union about the United Kingdom’s
withdrawal from the European Union.
The Minister of State, Department for Exiting the European Union
(Lord Callanan) (Con)
My Lords, the UK and the EU have agreed a deal that works for the
UK’s economy, security and the union. As noble Lords will be
aware, the House of Commons has rejected this deal on three
occasions. It is now for the next Prime Minister to seek a way
forward that honours the result of the 2016 referendum.
(Con)
My Lords, I am grateful to my noble friend for that reply. As he
is aware, there are effectively only three months remaining in
which to negotiate a variation of the deal that will get past the
House of Commons. Will my noble friend take this opportunity to
tell the House what discussions are taking place at the level of
officials to see what leeway can be achieved regarding the
political declaration? We are mindful that each of the remaining
candidates is in favour of a deal, and it would be shameful if it
fell through because of lack of time to negotiate.
Informal discussions are always going on. The Prime Minister is
in Brussels today for the European Council, where she will be
having bilateral meetings with several other European leaders.
(LD)
My Lords, the various backers of , such as and , have backed him on the basis
that we must leave the EU on 31 October. However, in the debate
on Monday the putative future Prime Minister, , refused to give such an
absolute guarantee. He thought that leaving on 31 October was
only “eminently feasible”. Could the Minister tell us what
precisely is the Brexit policy of the person who looks likely to
be the next Prime Minister?
No. [Laughter.]
of Kentish Town (Lab)
I wish it was that funny. Could the Minister undertake to explain
to Mr Johnson that if there is no deal, there will be no
transition period? If he does nothing else, he will have earned
his place here as a Minister if he takes this message back,
because Mr Johnson does not seem to understand it.
I am fascinated by the degree to which the Opposition want to
comment on Conservative leadership elections—I note that nobody
is commenting on the Liberal Democrat leadership election at the
moment. I and other ministerial colleagues have had discussions
with a number of the candidates. We have had some fascinating
discourse on the possible options for the new Prime Minister to
take forward.
(Non-Afl)
My Lords, in the absence of any progress on a deal with the
European Union and, concurrently, of any progress on the
re-formation of a Government for Northern Ireland, when will we
put the women of Northern Ireland out of their misery and allow
our abortion laws to apply there ?
As the noble Baroness will be well aware, that is really not a
policy responsibility of my department, so I will pass on that
one.
(Con)
Can my noble friend tell us when the EU will take responsibility
for half of this deal, which has been turned down by gigantic
majorities in the House of Commons?
My noble friend is well aware that the deal was agreed jointly
between the UK Government and the EU. Any solution will also need
to be agreed jointly.
(CB)
Can the Minister assure the House that Parliament will not be
prorogued to prevent it expressing a view on the appropriate way
forward before 31 October?
Parliament has expressed its view on these matters many times,
both in the other place and in this House. I am sure that both
Houses will continue to express their views in the future.
(Lab)
My Lords, the Minister expressed some surprise in an earlier
answer at the interest that was being shown in the Conservative
Party leadership. I am sure he will not be surprised to learn
that the interest is due to this being an election for not just
the Conservative Party leader but the next Prime Minister. Could
he therefore give a slightly better answer on what he anticipates
the policy of that upcoming Prime Minister to be?
I take the noble Baroness’s point: I was being slightly facetious
in my answer. Of course there is interest in what the policy of
the next Prime Minister will be, but I do not know who that
person will be yet and therefore I do not know exactly what that
policy will be.
(Lab Co-op)
My Lords—
(Con)
My Lords, might there be an opportunity for the House of Commons
to indicate what alteration to the present agreement it is
seeking? I have not yet seen a detailed amendment proposed in the
House of Commons to the existing agreement in the hope that a
modification of it could be agreed.
As always, my noble and learned friend makes some wise points,
but an amendment was agreed in the House of Commons: the
so-called Brady amendment on alternative arrangements to ensure
no hard border. That remains the one positive amendment passed,
indicating where support in the House of Commons might lie, but
of course we need to persuade the EU of the merits of that.
I am always happy to give way to the noble and learned Lord,
, for whom the
House has the greatest respect. However, as even this House seems
to be exhausted by this issue and as discussions appear to be in
limbo, what is the Minister doing with his day?
This morning, answering the noble Lord’s question. My time is
gainfully occupied. I was in Portugal last week to sign a treaty
on reciprocal voting rights to ensure that UK citizens in
Portugal and Portuguese citizens in the UK can participate in
local elections. We are pursuing a number of such treaties. We
are also getting on with no-deal preparation because, as I have
repeated many times, that remains the legal default.
