United Kingdom’s Withdrawal from the European Union

Where we are.

Precisely: we are where we are. I intend not to review how and why we have arrived at this point,...

Will the Attorney General give way?

I will in a moment, but not now.

This is, therefore, the last opportunity to take advantage...

Will the Attorney General give way on that point?

I am not taking interventions at the moment; I will in due course. [Interruption.] I do not inten...

On a point of order, Mr Speaker.

I hope this is a genuine point of order.

The Attorney General refused to accept my intervention, Mr Speaker. I believe that he may be inad...

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman, but that does not require adjudication by the Chair. The Att...

I will take interventions. I did not refuse the hon. Gentleman’s; I was just asking whether he wo...

I will not give way now, but I will give way to Members in due course. I want to set out the choi...

I am grateful to the Attorney General for giving way. Does he agree with me that the motion today...

As the motion notes, this is not purporting to be a section 13(1) vote. This is simply designed t...

I am grateful to the Attorney General for giving way. I want to ask him about the consequences fo...

I understand the right hon. Gentleman’s point. I say straight away that the answer is that this i...

I am most grateful to my right hon. and learned Friend for giving way. I entirely agree that, of ...

My right hon. and learned Friend is a very distinguished and able lawyer, but I never knew that h...

I must make progress, but I will give way, particularly to the hon. Member for Rhondda (Chris Bry...

The Attorney General’s argument is basically that this is a way to guarantee certainty for busine...

There will certainly have to be a Bill. There will have to be a process of ratification in the Ho...

May I move on to the withdrawal agreement? First, I will give briefly to the right hon. Member fo...

If we pass the motion, given that we have business on Monday to continue to express our preferenc...

Plainly, that would be open to the House to do. The problem is that we would have lost the legal ...

On a point of order, a1Mr Speaker. I am seeking to catch the attention of the Attorney General, a...

In my experience, the hon. Gentleman is both noticeable and audible.

I will give way to my hon. Friend the Member for Stone (Sir William Cash), but let me complete my...

I thank the Attorney General for giving way. The amendment that I tabled with colleagues today wa...

We would have accepted the hon. Gentleman’s amendments. Clearly, in terms of the detailed working...

I am most grateful to the Attorney General for giving way. He has referred on a number of occasio...

What I can say to my hon. Friend is that we would certainly give it very careful consideration. W...

I must make some progress. I am very conscious that it is Friday and that we need to move forward...

Members of this House secured a proper meaningful vote for a purpose. It was so that this House w...

rose—

I will give way in a moment. I will just finish this part of my speech.

The Prime Minister ...

rose—

Let me finish this section.

The Prime Minister went on:

“The EU has been clear that t...

The fact is that the withdrawal agreement would be accepted by the European Union—that is the fir...

Answer!

I will answer. We used to say that the political declaration was so vague that it was a blindfold...

I thank my hon. Friend for giving way. He is making excellent points and, in the process, demolis...

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. Let me be clear: Labour Members will never leave a Tory Prime...

In the cul-de-sac of certainty that the Government are announcing today, is it not possible that ...

Given the Government’s conduct in negotiations in recent years, who knows? We can rule very littl...

I am grateful to my five-a-side colleague for giving way. Will he kindly tell us: which bits of t...

We have always been clear: the two documents—the declaration and the withdrawal agreement—have to...

People outside this Chamber will rightly wonder what on earth is going on today, so can my hon. F...

For months and months, my right hon. Friend the Leader of the Opposition, the shadow Brexit Secre...

Does the hon. Gentleman agree that what we have heard today from the Attorney General is an attem...

Order. Every hon. and right hon. Member of this House must be heard. No attempt should be made to...

Perhaps hon. Members on the Government Benches would like to go and join the mob outside. What th...

We talk about political chicanery today, and the hon. and learned Lady is absolutely right. Remem...

I will take no lectures from the SNP, who failed to vote for a customs union that could have crea...

Order. There is far too much noise. The hon. Gentleman must and will be heard.

It is entirely conceivable that the motion could be voted through today, but then when we are req...

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. This is promoting uncertainty rather than providing certainty...

rose—

I will give way to the hon. Gentleman, but then I must make some progress.

I am very grateful to the hon. Gentleman for giving way. It was the EU Council itself that separa...

The hon. Gentleman should read section 13 of the EU withdrawal Act, which he voted for and which ...

I am going to make some progress; I have given way a number of times.

The Prime Minister si...

I thank my hon. Friend for giving way. As always, he is giving a fine performance at the Dispatch...

The purpose of the extension is always the critical issue. Let me just say, in respect of the iss...

Order. Mr Seely, calm yourself. Your attempt to intervene was politely rejected. Do not holler ac...

I say to my hon. Friend that we have raised the idea of a comprehensive customs union for months ...

We have heard a great deal—[Interruption.]

Order. I understand the hubbub and air of excitement in the Chamber, for which I am sure the hon....

Thank you, Mr Speaker. We have heard a great deal about the process and the underlying reasons fo...

I am grateful to my hon. Friend, with whom I have regular discussions. He makes an interesting po...

I understand my hon. Friend’s point, but I have to point out to him that, under EU law, it has be...

Order. I am sorry to interrupt, but I think, if I may say so, that we should reflect on the fact ...

I add to that, Mr Speaker, that if Members are so blind that they do not want to listen to these ...

My hon. Friend makes a series of powerful points, but is not the problem that he is letting the p...

I of course want to leave the European Union, but the problem with the withdrawal agreement is th...

Is it not the case that the withdrawal agreement would cause irreversible and lasting damage to N...

I heard the Prime Minister repeatedly mention our precious Union. The Northern Ireland backstop d...

Is it my hon. Friend’s view that we are not being shown today the Bill to implement the withdrawa...

That is exactly the point. I see the Solicitor General chuntering a little. He is a good friend o...

I am perfectly clear that whatever the public voted for in the referendum, or at the last general...

I very much agree with my hon. Friend. Indeed, I will go further and say that the change of gear ...

My hon. Friend knows that I revere him when it comes to constitutional law. I wonder whether, in ...

My right hon. Friend makes a very good point. That is why I have just asked the Attorney General ...

I am enormously grateful to the hon. Gentleman for giving way—my patience has paid off. Let me ta...

I have great respect for the hon. Lady. I will only say that we have had this debate before and w...

My hon. Friend talks about opting back into the European Communities Act, which we all know is wh...

No, because I have heard no suggestion, from either side of the House, that the repeal of the 197...

I understand that my hon. Friend opposes the motion on the basis that he wants a clean break with...

I have witnessed over the past few weeks members of my own party, tragically, repeatedly going th...

I particularly appreciate my hon. Friend’s remarks in respect of Northern Ireland, but the hon. M...

I know that, and I have heard it, but so has the DUP.

Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

I simply say this before giving way to the right hon. Gentleman. The reality is that DUP Members ...

The Democratic Unionist party has never pretended that it represents the majority or everyone in ...

I agree with every word that the right hon. Gentleman said. That is true. It is not good enough t...

It is important now for me to end my remarks—[Hon. Members: “Hear, hear!] I expected that from th...

It is disappointing that, as I stand to speak on behalf of the Scottish National party and the Sc...

My right hon. Friend sets out well the game-playing that has gone on. There is no doubt game-play...

I am grateful to my hon. Friend. We are at a dangerous juncture. I appeal to Members on the Labou...

Can we have a bit less of the holier-than-thou grandstanding from the SNP on this issue? Let us b...

My goodness! This is a serious moment for all of us. I applaud the 1 million-odd people who march...

The first thing I will say is that the SNP does not speak for Scotland. Secondly, the right hon. ...

I say to my hon. Friend—he knows I have respect for him—that I want us to unite. I am not attacki...

Order. I am sorry, but there is a very disorderly atmosphere in the House, with sustained barrack...

Quite right, Mr Speaker. I say to the Labour party that the day will come when there will be a re...

I am going to make some progress.

There has been no attempt to engage across the House and ...

I thank the right hon. Gentleman for giving way. I am really delighted that he is now looking at ...

My right hon. Friend is absolutely correct. We have had no clarity from the Attorney General on t...

And Labour.

And those on the Labour side as well. We have all sought to work together to bring unity to the O...

I am going to make some progress.

Mr Speaker, I do not think I will forget the Prime Minist...

It is very kind of the right hon. Gentleman to give way. Does he agree with the Scottish Fisherme...

I am very grateful to the hon. Gentleman for his intervention. I ask him to reflect on the fact t...

I am very grateful to my right hon. Friend for giving way. I am sure Scotland, unlike the Prime M...

My hon. and learned Friend is absolutely correct. We have been enriched by freedom of movement. W...

I am going to make some progress, because I am aware that other people wish to speak.

We we...

I am very grateful to the right hon. Gentleman for giving way, but I beg him. I am standing in fr...

I applaud the hon. Gentleman for that intervention because I agree with him, and that is precisel...

I am conscious of time and I have been generous with interventions, so I now want to make some pr...

Some time ago, the right hon. Gentleman talked about the enrichment of free movement. Is it not t...

My goodness, I was almost expecting the hon. Gentleman to burst into a chorus of “Land of Hope an...

Does the right hon. Gentleman have a kindly word for businesses in Scotland and for the over 1 mi...

Yes, of course I do, because businesses in Scotland know that the best way to protect their inter...

Is it not interesting that while my right hon. Friend is talking about Westminster not being inte...

I am grateful to my hon. Friend, and she is absolutely right. We are sent here as 35 SNP MPs to s...

Order. An eight-minute limit on Back-Bench speeches applies with immediate effect.

11.11 am...

It is a pleasure to follow the right hon. Member for Ross, Skye and Lochaber (Ian Blackford), but...

rose—

I hope the hon. Gentleman will forgive me but I want to finish my point. I will give way just onc...

On 3 March the right hon. Gentleman stated on his website:

“British Governments have lied a...

My simple point is: absolutely. There has been a trail of deceit on both sides of the House and b...

I will not give way because others wish to speak.

Is the Attorney General’s comment correct...

What a shambles this has been, Mr Speaker. Today we see desperate measures by a desperate Governm...

My hon. Friend is making a powerful and important speech. Just a week ago, the Environmental Audi...

My hon. Friend makes an important point. My Committee has repeatedly said that businesses and peo...

I had the honour of serving on the Public Accounts Committee with the hon. Lady when I first ente...

The hon. Gentleman served honourably on the Public Accounts Committee, of which he was an assiduo...

Does my hon. Friend agree that Members on both sides of the House heard the voice of the people i...

I completely agree but, above all, we must rule out no deal. We have voted in this House, yet a n...

I certainly do not want to see us crash out with no deal, either. I do not support a second refer...

If we were to propose and pass a Bill for a second referendum, the reality is that this House wou...

My hon. Friend is making a powerful speech and is being very generous in giving way. Was she as d...

Of course, it is up to the Government of the day to set out their position, but I would hope that...

I know that numerous Members, particularly on the Conservative side, are finding this a very diff...

I will be voting against the motion not because I do not believe we owe the money—I disagree with...

Will the right hon. Gentleman tell the House how, compliant with the Speaker’s ruling, he would h...

I will readily tell the House—although I will come to this very point later in my speech: the Gov...

Does that not mean that the motion before us should be called not the Withdrawal Bill proposal bu...

That would indeed be the consequence if the motion were passed. I will be perfectly frank with th...

indicated dissent.

It is, and for that reason alone it deserves to be defeated.

The last point I want to make ...

I have great respect for the right hon. Gentleman and the work that he does on the Select Committ...

I reciprocate the respect for the Minister, who is doing a very good job, I have to say, in extre...

indicated dissent.

It is. Half an agreement is being presented to the House. The Government should be focusing all t...

I thank my right hon. Friend for giving way. He is making a powerful and important speech. Does h...

Indeed, and it has always been the case, because of the withdrawal agreement, that it would have ...

It cannot, because it is the same session.

That is an interesting question, but I am being diverted from the final point that I want to make...

Will the right hon. Gentleman give way?

No. We have a divided Cabinet, a divided Parliament, a divided country and people are feeling ver...

There may be one thing that unites most of us on both sides—the utterly wearying quality of the d...

Will my right hon. and learned Friend give way?

In a moment.

The issue that we have to consider today is whether the offer that the Attorne...

I do not say this with any sense of rancour; I say it out of frustration and concern for this cou...

I greatly respect my hon. Friend; indeed, I respect the views of all my hon. Friends and others o...

If we want to avoid chaos, can we not vote for the deal? My right hon. and learned Friend says th...

I am always willing to consider compromise, but, as I said before, compromise has to come from a ...

I hope that my right hon. and learned Friend is not asserting that it is wrong to want to amend o...

But the Bill was intended to implement the agreement for the future relationship on which we had ...

Order. After the right hon. Member for East Antrim (Sammy Wilson), the next hon. Member to speak ...

I do not intend to spend a long time referring to or looking at the political and parliamentary s...

rose—

I know that the hon. Lady wants to intervene, but she has done so time and again. Despite what sh...

Does the right hon. Gentleman accept that those of us who consider ourselves passionate Unionists...

I understand the dilemma that many of my hon. Friends on the other side of the Chamber face. The ...

Does the right hon. Gentleman agree that as a result of having absolutely nothing changed about t...

That is the judgment that we have made. For us, having been through a terrorist campaign of 40 ye...

Let me make another point. I oppose the agreement for a second reason, because I believe that it ...

Does the right hon. Gentleman agree that if we vote for this deal this afternoon, we will, for th...

And, of course, whether or not it is just a line down the Irish sea, as described by some people,...

No, I will not give way anymore. I have only a few minutes remaining.

The third reason why ...

I draw the House’s attention to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests. It is a...

The right hon. Gentleman is making an important point. Was he not also in some way inspired by th...

The hon. Gentleman makes an interesting point in his own way, but my point is that on Monday the ...

rose—

I am so sorry; I do not have time to give way.

I hope very much that the Prime Minister wil...

I am grateful to be called to speak in this important debate. I say at the start that I will do t...

Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

I will not, because it would mean that my Back-Bench colleagues will not get a chance to speak.