European Council

Stella Creasy Excerpts

Tuesday 14th March 2017 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend raises an important point, because all too often people act as if somehow we are just a supplicant in this relationship and that anything that is decided will have an impact only on the United Kingdom. Of course a trade deal will have an impact on companies within the remaining 27 member states, as they want to trade with and operate within the United Kingdom. That is why I am confident that, when we come to the negotiations, people will see the benefit to both sides of getting a good trade deal.

[Stella Creasy (Walthamstow) (Lab/Co-op)]

The Prime Minister has said that, in the deal she wants with the European Union, she would like associate membership of the customs union—a membership that does not as yet exist.

On 6 February, after the last European Council, I asked the Prime Minister whether she had raised that idea with her European counterparts, and she overlooked the question—I am sure it was an oversight—so I ask her the question again. Has she raised the idea, and what was the response? Or should we take her evasiveness as meaning that there is no deal?

[The Prime Minister]

First, the hon. Lady is slightly misinterpreting the speech I gave at Lancaster House, in which I said that there are certain elements of the customs union that we would not wish to be part of because they prevent us from negotiating trade deals on our own, as the United Kingdom, with other countries across the world. I said that the relationship we want with the customs union is to have

“as seamless and as frictionless a border as possible”.

I indicated that that might be called “associate membership” or it might be something else, but we need to do that as part of the negotiations. Our relationship with the customs union will be part of the negotiations that will start when we trigger article 50.

Informal European Council

Stella Creasy Excerpts

Monday 6th February 2017 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I recognise the concern that my hon. Friend has shown for some considerable time on the position of EU citizens living here in the United Kingdom. I have every expectation, given the responses that I have had so far from other member states, that we will indeed be able to get that reassurance at an early stage. I want and intend to be able to reassure people from other EU member states who are living here in the United Kingdom, and I have every expectation that we will be able to get that reassurance at an early stage of the negotiations.

[Stella Creasy (Walthamstow) (Lab/Co-op)]

In the Prime Minister’s Lancaster House speech, she put on her wish list an entirely new form of membership of the customs union: an associate membership. Did she raise the idea with the other members of the European Council this weekend, and quite what did they make of it?

[The Prime Minister]

What I actually did in my Lancaster House speech was to say that I had not come to a firm decision as to whether the future relationship should be an associate membership or some other sort of relationship with the customs union. I was clear that we need to be able to negotiate trade deals with other countries around the world.

European Council

Stella Creasy Excerpts

Monday 24th October 2016 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

As far as the summit is concerned, my point was that any discussions on trade deals with third countries are not in competition with what the EU is doing. We continue to press for the EU-Japan deal and we continue to press the benefits of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership around the European Union table. My hon. Friend is right that there is a limit to what we can do when it comes to entering into a trade arrangement before we have left the EU, but that does not mean that we cannot scope out negotiations and start to have those discussions, which indeed we are doing with a number of countries.

[Stella Creasy (Walthamstow) (Lab/Co-op)]

The Prime Minister made quite a revealing statement today when she said that she will not seek to replicate any parts of the Canadian-European Union trade deal. We know that that is stalling over guarantees for labour, environmental and consumer protection. So we know what the right hon. Lady is ruling out; will she now tell us what she is ruling in?

[The Prime Minister]

Nice try, but I did not say that I was ruling out bits of the Canadian deal. What I said was that we would not replicate the EU-Canada deal, just as we are not trying to replicate the Norway model or the Switzerland model. What we are trying to do, and what we will do, is to deliver the deal that is right for the UK.

Oral Answers to Questions

Stella Creasy Excerpts

Wednesday 12th October 2016 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I think my hon. Friend is absolutely right, and I am pleased to say that the Health Secretary will attend the Baby Loss Awareness Week reception, which will be held in Parliament immediately after today’s Prime Minister’s Questions. I encourage other Members to attend it, too. My hon. Friend is absolutely right that the loss of a baby must be absolutely devastating; I am aware that some people sitting in this Chamber have been through that tragedy in their lives. What is absolutely essential is that the best possible bereavement care be given to parents at this tragic moment in their lives when they are at their most vulnerable. That is why we have provided money to introduce dedicated bereavement rooms at 40 hospitals, as well as investing more in improving birthing facilities, which are also important. Care and counsel for people who have lost a baby is essential; I think we all accept that.

[Stella Creasy (Walthamstow) (Lab/Co-op)]

On 2 July, the Home Office was given details of the 178 children who are still stuck in the Calais refugee camp, but who had a legal right to be here in the UK with their families to keep them safe and protected. Given the delays in acting, what responsibility does the Prime Minister think this Government have to the 18 of those children who have now gone missing?

[The Prime Minister]

Far from not acting, this Government have been working with the French Government on dealing with those who are in the camps. We have put extra resource into speeding up the process of dealing with the claims of the unaccompanied children, making that process faster and quicker, with more children coming here as a result. That is alongside all the other work we are doing in relation to refugees and unaccompanied minors. Crucially, of course, we are also working to ensure that we deal with the traffickers and the smugglers who are often in the camps; we need to make sure that they do not have access to children in the future. We have speeded up the process and more children are coming here as a result.

Outcome of the EU Referendum

Stella Creasy Excerpts

Monday 27th June 2016 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. This is hideous language that we thought we had banished from our country and it is very important that everyone comes out and condemns it as strongly as possible. On his specific questions, the police have resources because we protected their budgets, and there are the necessary laws to prosecute hate crimes. As for the two campaigns, as far as I am concerned, they no longer exist; there is now one Government with one view, which is that we have to find the right path for the future. The sooner we can do that, the better.

[Stella Creasy (Walthamstow) (Lab/Co-op)]

I am proud to say publicly that I voted for Britain to remain in the European Union. I am sure the Prime Minister would, too. I also respect and recognise that people across this House voted differently. All of us now need to help those at the sharp end of the decision, so will he tell us specifically what measures his Government are going to put in place for all the small businesses that are now facing a loss of or a pause in contracts as a result of the decision on Thursday?

[The Prime Minister]

The Business Secretary consulted businesses throughout the campaign, but has obviously stepped that up and is having a very large meeting with businesses tomorrow, and I will be doing more of that later in the week. The true position is that as long as we are in this organisation—until we exit—all the rules about trade, services, financial passports and access to markets do not change. Now, informed by the work of the EU unit, we need to seek the very best possible deal to make sure that businesses can still benefit from access to European markets.

European Council

Stella Creasy Excerpts

Monday 21st March 2016 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

My right hon. Friend is right. There is a series of difficult decisions that we have to take when facing an 11% budget deficit, as we were in 2010, and we still need to get this country back to surplus. I would argue that this is not some artificial target. We have to make sure that in the good years we are putting aside money for a rainy day. That is what this is all about. It does involve difficult decisions. We do not always get those decisions right—I am the first to say that—but it is very important that we stick to the long-term economic plan of getting this country back into the black.

[Stella Creasy (Walthamstow) (Lab/Co-op)]

In his statement the Prime Minister mentioned the work of both his former Secretary of State for Work and Pensions and his current Chancellor, so is he ruling out, as he suggested to the right hon. Member for Hitchin and Harpenden (Mr Lilley), further negotiation with the EU on benefits and spending? How does he intend to fix the big hole in his Budget that appeared this weekend?

[The Prime Minister]

The Budget contains a very good package of measures that will help small businesses, get the country back to work and support our schools. The Chancellor will be here tomorrow winding up the Budget debate, and in the autumn statement a new forecast will be produced and all these issues will be addressed.