Prime Minister’s Statement Debate

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Department: Cabinet Office

Prime Minister’s Statement

Chris Leslie Excerpts
Saturday 19th October 2019

(4 years, 6 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Boris Johnson Portrait The Prime Minister
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Yes, I certainly can.

Chris Leslie Portrait Mr Chris Leslie (Nottingham East) (IGC)
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Hon. Members are going to be promised—[Interruption.] Hon. Members are obviously going to be promised everything today by the Prime Minister; they should take it with a pinch of salt. I have to tell the Prime Minister that it speaks volumes that he and the Chancellor have refused to publish a fresh economic impact assessment of his proposal today. But I think the Chancellor has said, “Well, one was produced last year”—November 2018—by his predecessor, where, on the basis of an average free trade agreement, we would see the British economy lag by 5% of GDP. Can he at least give us the courtesy, at the Dispatch Box now, of saying that that model—that average free trade agreement: down 5%—is the expectation we could have of his plan?

Boris Johnson Portrait The Prime Minister
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No, it certainly is not.