All 6 Debates between Boris Johnson and Paul Sweeney

Brexit Negotiations

Debate between Boris Johnson and Paul Sweeney
Thursday 3rd October 2019

(4 years, 5 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Boris Johnson Portrait The Prime Minister
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I am grateful to my hon. Friend for his comments. As I said to the colleague who made the suggestion earlier, I will reflect on that. I think that it would be more conventional to do the deal first—the withdrawal Act prescribes that we do the deal and then bring it to the House—and I think that is probably what the House would prefer, but I am happy to have discussions on that matter.

Paul Sweeney Portrait Mr Paul Sweeney (Glasgow North East) (Lab/Co-op)
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From listening to today’s proceedings, it increasingly seems to me that this is an internal debate within the Conservative party, rather than a meaningful attempt at international diplomacy. [Interruption.] I hear the outcry from the Treasury Bench, but the reality is that the Irish Deputy Prime Minister, Simon Coveney, said this morning that Ireland “cannot possibly” support the Prime Minister’s proposals and that the UK should come back with something “fit for purpose”. Elaborating on that, he said:

“We cannot support any proposal that suggests that one party or indeed a minority in Northern Ireland could make the decision for the majority in terms of how these proposals would be implemented”.

If this plan is to be workable, how will the Prime Minister respond to that challenge?

Boris Johnson Portrait The Prime Minister
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The hon. Gentleman raises an important point. I listened carefully to what my friend Simon Coveney had to say. We must get the mechanism of consent right so that all communities—both communities —feel reassured about it. I am happy to discuss that not only with Simon Coveney in Dublin but also with the hon. Gentleman.

Prime Minister's Update

Debate between Boris Johnson and Paul Sweeney
Wednesday 25th September 2019

(4 years, 6 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Boris Johnson Portrait The Prime Minister
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No, and that is why we are all here today.

Paul Sweeney Portrait Mr Paul Sweeney (Glasgow North East) (Lab/Co-op)
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The Prime Minister congratulated those who sought to challenge the decision to prorogue Parliament in the court—bizarrely, given that he did not co-operate with that court case, particularly the one in the Court of Session. Further to the point made by my hon. Friend the Member for Hove (Peter Kyle), surely the Prime Minister did not co-operate because if he had done so and signed that written affidavit, he would be facing potential charges of perjury.

Boris Johnson Portrait The Prime Minister
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I must respectfully disagree with the point that the hon. Gentleman makes. As far as I am concerned, the Government have treated the court with great respect and we intend to respect the judgment.

Priorities for Government

Debate between Boris Johnson and Paul Sweeney
Thursday 25th July 2019

(4 years, 8 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Boris Johnson Portrait The Prime Minister
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I think that what the people of this country want to know is what is the Government’s programme for taking this country forward. I think that the contrast is between a Conservative party, which is the party of the people, and which wants to improve healthcare and invest in public services, and the Labour party, which would destroy the UK economy and ruin the livelihoods of everybody.

Paul Sweeney Portrait Mr Paul Sweeney (Glasgow North East) (Lab/Co-op)
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The Prime Minister says that he wants to leave no town behind and to unleash this nation’s productive potential. If that is not just empty rhetoric, will he commit to saving the Caley railway works in Springburn in my constituency, which are due to close tomorrow? I want to see the railway works reopened as quickly as possible, so will he form a cross-Government taskforce to save them as quickly as possible?

Boris Johnson Portrait The Prime Minister
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As the hon. Gentleman knows, business support is a devolved matter, so he should look to the Government of Scotland—the incompetent Government of Scotland—as his first port of call.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Boris Johnson and Paul Sweeney
Tuesday 26th June 2018

(5 years, 9 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Paul Sweeney Portrait Mr Sweeney
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I must say that the Foreign Secretary is looking rather sprightly this morning after his overnight flight. I hope that the jet lag was not too severe.

When the Prime Minister was asked about Donald Trump's policy of ripping toddlers from their mothers and holding them in cages, she would merely say that it was “wrong” and

“not something that we agree with.”—[Official Report, 20 June 2018; Vol. 643, c. 325.]

May I ask the Foreign Secretary, on behalf of the British people, if he can do better than that, and describe the genuine outrage that we as a country felt about this obscene policy?

Boris Johnson Portrait Boris Johnson
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I think that when the Prime Minister spoke, she spoke for me and for everyone else in the House, and, indeed, for the nation—and the hon. Gentleman will have noticed that no sooner had she spoken than the President signed an executive order repealing the policy.

Syria: De-escalation Zones

Debate between Boris Johnson and Paul Sweeney
Monday 26th February 2018

(6 years, 1 month ago)

Commons Chamber
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Boris Johnson Portrait Boris Johnson
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Much as I admire the hon. Gentleman’s idealism, I must respectfully disagree with him. I believe that our military campaign has been highly effective in removing Daesh from Raqqa and Mosul. It was invaluable. The UK had the second biggest number of missions in the air campaign, as the House will know, and it was crucial that we did that. At the same time, as I have said to many hon. Members, we should not neglect the towering work of our humanitarian aid workers. We support the White Helmets very generously, for example, and they have saved 100,000 lives, which is something in which the people of this country can take a great deal of pride. Britain is leading in the humanitarian effort in Syria.

Paul Sweeney Portrait Mr Paul Sweeney (Glasgow North East) (Lab/Co-op)
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In the last decade of bloodshed and tragedy in Syria, we have seen that the old adage that the strong do what they can and the weak suffer what they must holds true today. The latest machination of that has the UN warning that civilians in Afrin are effectively trapped by the ongoing violence. If the Foreign Secretary will not urge his Turkish colleagues to stop the violence altogether, can he not, as an immediate step, urge them to open up corridors to a safety zone that can be guaranteed by the NATO alliance?

Boris Johnson Portrait Boris Johnson
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We certainly have urged our Turkish counterparts to do everything they can to minimise humanitarian suffering, and I will study the proposal the hon. Gentleman makes.

Zimbabwe

Debate between Boris Johnson and Paul Sweeney
Wednesday 15th November 2017

(6 years, 4 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Urgent Questions are proposed each morning by backbench MPs, and up to two may be selected each day by the Speaker. Chosen Urgent Questions are announced 30 minutes before Parliament sits each day.

Each Urgent Question requires a Government Minister to give a response on the debate topic.

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Boris Johnson Portrait Boris Johnson
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Absolutely. That is the key point. This is potentially a moment of hope, and many people in this country will be looking at it in that way. We must ensure that we do not jump the gun and that we are not premature, which is why I have been cautious with the House today. However, my hon. Friend can be absolutely certain that if our hopes are fulfilled, the UK will be at the forefront of helping to turn Zimbabwe around.

Paul Sweeney Portrait Mr Paul Sweeney (Glasgow North East) (Lab/Co-op)
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If there is to be a transition, I share the Foreign Secretary’s hope that it will be peaceful. Does he know whether the opposition parties have had any involvement in recent hours, or if there is capacity for the opposition parties to be involved in any transitional arrangements? Or is it too early to say?

Boris Johnson Portrait Boris Johnson
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I am not aware of Morgan Tsvangirai or other opposition figures being involved in what is going on, but the opportunity is there in free and fair elections for them to put their case to the Zimbabwean people. That is what we want to see.