Leaving the EU: Parliamentary Vote

Yes, I agree with my hon. Friend, and I will touch on that point later in my speech.

If the...

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Austin, and to follow the hon. Member for B...

Out of the 17.4 million people who voted to leave the European Union, how many put on the ballot ...

In the run-up to the referendum, it was abundantly clear from leave and remain campaigners, inclu...

Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

No, I will not take too many interventions. I do not know how many sub-clauses there were in the ...

On that point, will my hon. Friend give way?

I will.

There was a 72% turnout in the 2016 referendum. At the last election, the Labour party and the Co...

I do to some extent, but we have a healthy democracy and the debate carries on. E-petitions are a...

rose—

For example, if the Liberal Democrats had won the 2017 general election with an overwhelming land...

Given that we have introduced referendums into our parliamentary system, is it not the whole poin...

The hon. Lady makes an important point about clarity and what people were voting for. We could de...

I thank the petitioners for bringing this debate to the House. It is a good debate to have. I hav...

Does the hon. Lady think that everyone who voted in the alternative vote referendum fully underst...

When a referendum result is so close, as was the case with the Brexit vote, and so crucial for th...

After the last referendum, we waited more than 40 years for the 2016 referendum. How frequent sho...

The hon. Gentleman addresses an important debate: what is the lifetime of a referendum? When can ...

rose—

I hope the hon. Gentleman will let me make a little progress.

We are stuck with a decision ...

The hon. Lady is making a powerful speech, but referendums hold a very strange place in the Briti...

I thank the hon. Gentleman for that intervention, but I do not believe that a discussion on the B...

rose—

I would like to make some progress.

Who in 2016 mentioned Euratom, REACH—the registration, ...

It is a pleasure to contribute to the debate under your chairmanship, Mr Austin. It is also a ple...

When we look at our high streets, we are looking at our shops. Does what is happening reflect the...

I thank the hon. Member for his intervention. I am sure it reflects trends such as the increased ...

The hon. Lady is citing specific statistics, so maybe she can answer two questions: why is employ...

I thank the hon. Member for his intervention and I am very pleased that unemployment is now about...

I appreciate and recognise exactly what the hon. Lady is saying, but the strongest expression of ...

The hon. Gentleman makes a good point, but I am not sure that he is accurate. My understanding is...

Is that the official leave campaign or another campaign?

That is a very good question, and I am sure that if we asked the Digital, Culture, Media and Spor...

NATO is incredibly important, as are all our international relationships. In a conflict situation...

I do not think it was Mrs May or any of us who said we did not want the US to be in NATO. Unless ...

I am delighted to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Austin. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Mem...

Given there seems to be an impasse within the Government on which direction to take, does my hon....

That is a wonderful notion, but what will come out of the negotiations, if anything, will be a co...

I share my hon. Friend’s concern about referenda. However, our result was not like the Republic o...

We always argue whether it is “referenda” or “referendums”, but I will stick to “referendums”. Th...

On the question of 52:48, a concern would be where to draw the line. The debate on the Scottish r...

Of course, the Scottish referendum had a 40% benchmark, which derailed the whole process for Scot...

Will my hon. Friend give way?

I was just on my peroration there, but I will give way.

I thank my hon. Friend for giving way. I am really worried that there has been no White Paper pub...

I agree with my hon. Friend. It would be helpful if parliamentarians had the evidence to start wi...

Thank you, Mr Austin, for allowing me to make a short speech. I apologise for being in the main C...

I gently point out that this debate is not on the subject of having a people’s vote, but on Parli...

I am very happy to do that. Of course, I think of Members of Parliament as people. Clearly we are...

Will the right hon. Gentleman reflect on the closeness of the original vote? A no-deal exit is so...

I agree entirely with the hon. Lady. Members of Parliament should be offered a choice that reflec...

My worry is that whatever pressure we come under in this place and outside, our role in another r...

We are each entitled to our views. I do not know what level of engagement the hon. Gentleman has ...

It is as pleasure to begin summing up the debate. I commend the hon. Member for Blaydon (Liz Twis...

I have seen numerous clips on television and read numerous articles in which campaigners from bot...

I have seen abundant statements from leading leave campaigners that said that if we left the Euro...

Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

The hon. Gentleman has had enough chances to speak, between his substantive speech and his interv...

The hon. Gentleman is making some very important points. Does he agree that, once we know more an...

Some of the revelations of the past few days could certainly lead to that. We now need to ensure ...

Does the hon. Gentleman agree that it is incumbent not only on our Government but on the European...

A better way of dealing with it is for the Parliament whose job is to hold the United Kingdom Gov...

Order. [Hon. Members: “It was outside!”] Was it? I thought it was someone’s phone in the Chamber....

Demonstrators outside are saying, “Stop Brexit!” Good timing.

They are indeed. I can speak for longer if you want, Mr Austin, but—

I thought that was coming from someone’s phone—apologies. Had you finished?

I would love to have that on my phone, but I had finished.

5.52 pm

It is a pleasure to wind up the debate on behalf of the Opposition with you in the Chair, Mr Aust...

Is my hon. Friend surprised that foreign direct investment has dropped by 90% from 2016 to today?...

I am not surprised, frankly. A couple of weeks ago, I was in Strasbourg talking to colleagues fro...

Does that not demonstrate that the hard Brexiteers want Brexit at any cost, including the cost of...

That is a point that I have made on the Floor of the House: there are those within the governing ...

Does the hon. Gentleman not think it slightly ironic that the Government and their friends at the...

The hon. Gentleman makes a very fair point. There has been a series of contradictions over the ye...

If the hon. Gentleman has ruled out the option of a referendum on the deal, what solution does he...

I appreciate the Liberal Democrats’ love of referendums, but I remind the right hon. Gentleman th...

I do not think the hon. Gentleman answered my right hon. Friend’s question, so it would be nice t...

Let me return to the right hon. Gentleman’s question: it is not possible for us at this stage to ...

I am the new Dr Who.

That was a seamless transition, Mr Davies.

The majority in Parliament respect the referendu...

I thank the hon. Member for Blaydon (Liz Twist) for opening and contributing to the debate on beh...

Will the Minister feel that the events of 2016 were as real as she states if, for instance, polic...

I am not going to comment on the speculative and hypothetical theories that are being circulated,...

What does the Minister make of the 90% drop in foreign direct investment, which has been commente...

The hon. Lady can refer to the Department for International Trade figures that I relied on, which...

Although I do not agree with that decision, I accept that that instruction was given. Can the Min...

To me and to the millions of people who listened to any of the debate in the run-up to that impor...

Does the Minister not agree that it is in the best interests of the whole country that we come to...

The hon. Lady’s point is inherently contradictory. On the one hand, she says, “Isn’t it important...

I believe that the Minister was a member of the European Research Group. Does she think that the ...

I do not recognise any of the terms used by the right hon. Gentleman. I do not believe in a hard ...

Will the Minister give way?

I will not, because I need to get on with my speech and I have given way many times. Those are th...

Will the Minister acknowledge that when Labour, echoing the views of business, the trade unions a...

I do not think the Government have embraced Labour’s aspirations for a long time, and long may th...

The Minister has, on the second attempt, defined what the Government’s amendment seeks to do: to ...

I disagree. The Hailsham amendment would set a dangerous constitutional precedent that would limi...

Will the Minister accept that such language may lead to a groundswell for a further referendum? P...

The Government have been clear, and our amendment reiterates that clarity, that Parliament will h...

Can the Minister explain what she understands by the phrase “a meaningful vote”? It seems to many...

No, not at all. The Government amendment writes into law our existing commitment on the vote on t...

The Minister is of course right that the Government’s amendment does not remove Parliament’s powe...

The Government will present to both Houses of Parliament the terms of the withdrawal agreement as...

On 25 April, the Secretary of State gave evidence to the Exiting the European Union Committee. It...

We have been very clear, as has Michel Barnier on behalf of the EU, that we hope that by the time...

Will the Minister give way?

I will not, because I am running out of time and the hon. Member for Blaydon needs time to respon...

It is my pleasure to respond on behalf of the petitioners to some of the points that have been ma...