UK Parliament / Open data

Trade Bill

Proceeding contribution from Greg Hands (Conservative) in the House of Commons on Monday, 20 July 2020. It occurred during Debate on bills on Trade Bill.

I absolutely give my hon. Friend that assurance, and I will come on to discuss those deals in a moment, although they are not within the scope of the current Bill.

My hon. Friend the Member for Huntingdon has tabled new clause 4 on new trade agreements, and that gives me the opportunity to stress the importance that the Government place on parliamentary scrutiny, and the commitments we have made in that space. The House will know that the negotiation and entering into of international agreements is a prerogative power of the Executive. The new clause would give Parliament veto rights over our negotiating objectives.

The Constitution Committee in the other place reported on that issue in 2019, and stated:

“This would impinge inappropriately on the Government’s prerogative power and limit the Government’s flexibility in the negotiations.”

I agree, and as the House will know, there are already rigorous checks and balances on the Government’s power to negotiate and ratify new agreements through the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010. [Interruption.] The right hon. Member for Islington South and Finsbury (Emily Thornberry) is fond of heckling, but she voted for that Act.

Type
Proceeding contribution
Reference
678 c1891 
Session
2019-21
Chamber / Committee
House of Commons chamber
Back to top