Leaving the European Union

I thank my hon. Friend for making that point. I intend to talk about the need to be optimistic. J...

Does the hon. Gentleman agree that there is a responsibility for the public, industry and the Gov...

I thank the hon. Gentleman for that question, but I challenge the language he used—“crash out”—as...

This is not a competition, but not only did I vote for the Referendum party in 1997, I was a memb...

My hon. Friend makes a powerful point. That is exactly right. We need to use the time imaginative...

As a London MP like me, has the hon. Gentleman had representations from people who work in the Ci...

Yes, I have had people talk to me about financial services. The financial services industry is im...

The main thing is that on a number of occasions, the European Commission has been keen to press o...

The hon. Gentleman was right in the first half of his intervention: there are undoubtedly competi...

The hon. Gentleman is generous to give way again. I want to come back to the point that in talkin...

I totally agree with the hon. Gentleman about certainty. That was why I was explaining that we ne...

The hon. Gentleman is making a very fair speech, but does he accept that the view of Lord Kerr, t...

I have read what Lord Kerr said, and I accept that he has said that article 50 is revocable, but ...

What about the weight of legal opinion? What about the fact that it is not only Lord Kerr, who wr...

There is some legal opinion that says that. The hon. Lady talks about the weight of legal opinion...

Is it not ironic that the lawyers who brought the case under the guidance of Gina Miller to requi...

I thank my hon. Friend for making that powerful point.

The lawyers conceded that point, but it was not directly relevant to the case that was being argu...

It was the premise of the judgment.

I hear the chuntering from my hon. Friend, but the reality was that it was not the issue that was...

That exchange is interesting, but it is moot, because we are off. The point is whether we are off...

I thank the hon. Gentleman for giving way again. I totally concur with him and his summary, and I...

There is plenty of uncertainty that we need to get rid of. I do not have time to start attacking ...

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mrs Moon. My remarks will first address the pe...

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mrs Moon. When I speak in these petition debat...

Will the hon. Lady give way?

Okay, I will. My speech is really just an outgrown intervention, so I will not take loads of inte...

I thank the hon. Lady. She says that she cannot see a reason why people might sign the petition. ...

The hon. Gentleman makes a wise point, which shows the danger of standing up and trying to make a...

I have a business in my constituency that manufactures paper cups. I think £400,000 of investment...

I completely sympathise and agree with what the hon. Lady says; I have found the same thing. Ther...

It is a pleasure to serve under your stewardship, Mrs Moon.

Brexit is obviously one of the ...

Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

I will progress the point a little further first.

There has been some talk about potential ...

I appreciate the hon. Gentleman giving way. Does he accept that the question is not so much about...

In my view, we had a clear vote on whether to be in or out of the EU and the decision has been ma...

It is an honour to serve under your chairmanship, Mrs Moon.

We have to take this petition a...

Does the hon. Lady agree that the phrase “crashing out” tends to come from the people who want to...

That would be the reality, though: we would simply say, “We’re going.” That would be like a crash...

Does the hon. Lady agree that comments such as the ones that she makes about staying in the singl...

One point about democracy that we have not touched on, other than mentioning that we should have ...

It is a genuine pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mrs Moon.

Last Thursday, I had t...

Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

I would be delighted to.

I am sure it will come as no surprise to the hon. Gentleman that I do not agree that the argument...

I absolutely accept that. That was the case at the time, of course, but the people of Scotland we...

Will the hon. Gentleman remind us how David Cameron’s party got on in Scotland in 2015, when it p...

It will come as no surprise to the hon. Gentleman that I tend to reflect more favourably on the r...

I too attended a summit at the weekend in the wake of the Franco-British summit. It was a summit ...

I do not advocate, nor do I think anyone in the Government advocates, crashing out. The negotiati...

Does that mean that it is now accepted that the argument that no deal is better than a bad deal i...

I will come to this in a second, but I am saying that I believe a good deal is very much on the c...

Is the hon. Gentleman able to provide the clarity that his colleagues in the Government have so f...

I refer the hon. and learned Lady to the Prime Minister’s speeches at Lancaster House here in Lon...

Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

I will not, because I have given way many times. I apologise.

Of course, we must be prepare...

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mrs Moon.

During the 2016 referendum, I ...

Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

No, I would like to make some progress first.

Scottish attitudes are actually similar to th...

Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

No, I would like to make some more progress, but I will take an intervention from the hon. Lady i...

Does the hon. Gentleman accept, then, that we should discuss and debate? Is it not the Opposition...

The hon. Lady is absolutely right: every Opposition should hold the Government to account and hol...

Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

No, I would like to make some progress on addressing the point of the petition. It asks us: “Why ...

I am a member of the Exiting the European Union Committee, and when we took evidence it was clear...

That proves the point: we have seen nothing constructive from the Opposition. Actually, in the sa...

Does my hon. Friend agree that, first, it seems the overwhelming majority of people who want a se...

I agree. If the result had gone the other way and the United Kingdom had voted to remain in the E...

Will the hon. Gentleman give way on that point?

I would like to make some more progress. I do not think we would have seen a call for another ref...

How can anyone know what is right or wrong about forecasts of the economic impact of Brexit when ...

I vividly remember being told during that campaign that, according to the Treasury, not just leav...

I am pleased to begin the summing up of the debate. Interestingly, no one wanted to speak about h...

Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

I will.

I call Ross Thomson—sorry, Andrew Bowie.

I have been called much worse, Mrs Moon. I may be wrong—forgive me—but I did not hear anyone in t...

Perhaps I have misunderstood what a buccaneering maritime trading nation is or what period in his...

Does the hon. Gentleman agree that the accusations about “Project Fear” are way off? We should ta...

To be honest, some of the claims made by those who claimed to be on the remain side before the re...

Going back to my earlier comments, would the hon. Gentleman agree that continually saying people ...

No, I do not agree at all. I remember when one of the hon. Gentleman’s colleagues in the main Cha...

Is it not time that we all admitted that there were things we did not know about the European Uni...

The hon. Lady makes a valid point. However, I want to make it clear that I respect the wish of th...

Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

My goodness—what a decision! The hon. Gentlemen are almost identical. I give way to the hon. Memb...

I am grateful. I am sure that the hon. Gentleman accepts that is not the Scottish Conservatives w...

I am afraid what the hon. Gentleman says about its being against the wishes of the people is comp...

The hon. Gentleman mentions the choice between the 55% who want to stay in the UK and the 62% who...

I think that that prospect is becoming much less likely as time goes on. We certainly can retain ...

The difference between those two referendums is that the one on our membership of the European Un...

It was legal according to the wish of the people of Catalonia. The referendum in Gibraltar was il...

The hon. Gentleman has made a few valid points in his speech about ensuring honesty and clarity o...

That prompts the question as to why the Secretary of State for Scotland made those unconditional ...

It is all very well to explain that, but when we look at the signatures on the petition, they com...

The hon. Lady makes a valid point, and I have a lot of sympathy with her. However, the fact is th...

It is a great pleasure to serve again under your chairmanship, Mr Hanson.

We have had a goo...

The hon. Lady has admitted that we had a good and constructive debate about how we all need to ha...

I do not know what deal the Government are going to make. I hope that they are capable of making ...

Does the hon. Lady agree that, from that point of view, EFTA membership is very attractive? One o...

Well, it could, but we should not be so lacking in imagination that we cannot conceive of alterna...

Thank you for your stewardship and chairmanship of this worthwhile and interesting debate, Mr Han...

I just want to take the Minister back to her point about democracy. Does she accept that no Parli...

The referendum that we saw in 2016 was a brilliant example of a thriving democracy. That vote, wh...

Does the Minister accept the recommendations of various Committees, including the Business, Energ...

No. The Government’s policy is to leave Euratom, because although it provides some benefits, it a...

Does the Minister not accept that the Government might have got things the wrong way around? They...

A vote to leave the European Union entails an end to the jurisdiction of the European Court of Ju...

Of course, we will still be subject to the rulings of the European Court of Human Rights. My cons...

As my hon. Friend rightly points out, the European Court of Human Rights arises from the European...

I am listening to what the Minister is saying, and I have a lot of time for the interventions fro...

I must disagree with the hon. Lady. I think that sovereignty, whether it is parliamentary or lega...

On nuclear safeguards?

On many issues. Whether on immigration, on which the ECJ has the final say, or on nuclear safegua...

Will the Minister give way?

I will not, because I have been generous in giving way and accepting many interventions.

It...

On a point of order, Mr Hanson.

I very much hope it is a point of order.

I would not let you down, Mr Hanson. Is it in order for a Minister to decline to take an interven...

I am grateful for the point of order, but the Minister has the Floor. She can give way or not, ac...

Thank you, Mr Hanson.

Our country will be free to harness our people’s abilities, talents a...

I pay tribute to all hon. Members for such a good-natured debate—unlike some other debates and he...