Extracts from Parliamentary proceedings - Apr 26
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Extract from oral answer (Lords) on Brexit: Galileo Space
Project Lord Wallace of Saltaire (LD): My Lords, the Minister
referred to the Government investigating co-operation with other
partners. If we are talking about other Governments with satellite
programmes, I imagine it is a choice of China, Russia, India and
the United States. Are the Government investigating all of those as
options? The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for
Business, Energy and...Request free
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Extract from oral answer
(Lords) on Brexit: Galileo Space Project
Lord Wallace of Saltaire (LD): My Lords, the Minister referred to the Government investigating co-operation with other partners. If we are talking about other Governments with satellite programmes, I imagine it is a choice of China, Russia, India and the United States. Are the Government investigating all of those as options?
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department
for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (Lord Henley)
(Con): My Lords, all I said—I am not going to go much
further than this—is that we are looking at other options. I also
stress that we have the capability to do quite a lot ourselves. I
am not suggesting that we will engage with Russia and other
similar countries. Extract from Commons debate on Brexit: Customs and Borders Sir Hugo Swire (East Devon) (Con):...According to World Economics, the Commonwealth economy is bigger than that of the current eurozone, while intra-Commonwealth trade has grown faster than the global average over the past 10 years. I fundamentally believe that the diversity of the Commonwealth is a strength in itself, with half of the top 20 global emerging cities within the group. There are 2.4 billion people in the Commonwealth, of which more than 60% are under the age of 29. It is worth remembering, in terms of opportunity for British business, that the middle class of India alone is bigger than that of Europe...Mr Edward Vaizey (Wantage) (Con):...I have come here to ask un-shelled Mel some questions to educate myself, because I want to make the decision that is best for my country. I am one of the Prime Minister’s trade envoys to Vietnam, so I know a tiny bit about trade. If it is best to leave the customs union and make up for the economic impact of doing so by means of free trade deals, can my right hon. Friend the Financial Secretary to the Treasury tell me when we are planning to sign these new trade deals, who we are planning to sign them with, what their value to our economy will be and what the related issues will be? For example, I have read in the newspapers that one aspect of trade deals with countries such as India and Australia—they are both countries that I love—will be more relaxed immigration and visa rules. I do not have a particular problem with that, but is my right hon. Friend aware of that issue, and how does he think it will go down with the public? Albert Owen (Ynys Môn) (Lab):...I believe that the customs union is right for this country. I also believe that we should go further, but I am a realist. I want to unite the people of this divided United Kingdom and I believe that the customs union could be the symbol to do that, because while we could leave certain aspects of the European Union, we could remain in the customs union, trading freely with our European neighbours. That would also not deter us from trading with other countries. We heard from the Father of the House, the right hon. and learned Member for Rushcliffe (Mr Clarke), that Germany is increasing its trade with India, for example, and we can do the same. An outward-looking United Kingdom in the customs union could be of benefit to us. There could be a positive double whammy of our remaining within the customs union and trading freely with my friends in the Republic of Ireland, thereby benefiting my constituents, and that, I believe, is in the national interest of the whole United Kingdom. Robert Courts (Witney) (Con):...Britain, which is by nature and instinct a globally trading nation, has always been disproportionately penalised by membership of the customs union. For most of our membership we were the only state—or one of only two—to export more outside the EU than to it. That phased application of the common external tariff in the 1970s hit British consumers and Commonwealth exporters badly, and although there have been improvements, our trade remains distorted. The EU currently has no free trade agreement with the world’s largest economy, the USA, or with rising giants such as India, or with long-standing British allies such as Australia. Where free trade agreements are in place, they are often limited in scope... To read the whole debate, CLICK HERE Extract from Westminster Hall debate on Financial Services The Economic Secretary to the Treasury (John Glen):...Let me move back to my script. The industry in the UK has matured and developed in the UK as a creator of wealth for a broad spectrum of people across the world. Firms based in the UK do business with and have exposure to jurisdictions across the globe. We need to ensure that investors and banks from across the world can continue to come together to meet and transact, which means embracing the exciting commercial opportunities that will define international capital markets over the coming decades. The UK already has world-leading positions in the markets of the future, including FinTech, for which we have developed what we call FinTech bridges to other jurisdictions—most recently Australia. We are world leaders in green and sustainable finance, or rupee and renminbi products, and we are committed to strengthening that position further. That also means expanding our bilateral relationships with key partners around the globe, which includes our economic and financial dialogues with China, India, Brazil, Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore and Japan. There are enormous growth opportunities for the future... To read the whole debate, CLICK HERE |