Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Debbie Abrahams and Dominic Raab

Tuesday 3rd September 2019 Commons Chamber

[Debbie Abrahams (Oldham East and Saddleworth) (Lab)]

T2. The unilateral revocation of articles 370 and 35A and the associated actions by the Indian Government breach the rule of law, democracy and human rights. Given the imminent UN General Assembly, what specific actions will the Government take to ensure that all Security Council resolutions, especially resolution 47 and the Simla agreement, are upheld?

[Dominic Raab]

I totally share the hon. Lady’s concerns. We will be looking to ensure internationally respected human rights are respected; they have been raised in this Chamber already in relation to detention and mistreatment but also to communication blackouts. We will also be looking to see generally on all sides a de-escalation of tensions and positive measures to build up confidence; that is the only way this issue will be resolved and calmed down.

EU Exit Negotiations

Debate between Debbie Abrahams and Dominic Raab

Tuesday 9th October 2018 Commons Chamber

[Dominic Raab]

They are absolutely right, as they proved by electing my hon. Friend to this place.

[Debbie Abrahams (Oldham East and Saddleworth) (Lab)]

The Secretary of State mentioned that he is confident of reaching a withdrawal agreement in autumn. He also talked about a political declaration having a clear blueprint for a future relationship with the EU. When will the House be able to scrutinise both the withdrawal agreement and the blueprint, and what level of detail will they have?

[Dominic Raab]

I thank the hon. Lady for her very important question. The timeframe for scrutiny in this House and the other place is also very important. After the agreement has been reached in all the areas she describes, we will have a period where the documents are laid and a meaningful vote. After that, the legislation implementing the withdrawal agreement would be introduced.

Brexit Negotiations and No Deal Contingency Planning

Debate between Debbie Abrahams and Dominic Raab

Tuesday 4th September 2018 Commons Chamber

[Dominic Raab]

The key thing in relation to the common rulebook is that it cannot be said that it would have no effect on our freedom and our latitude in free trade negotiations—that would not be an honest answer to my hon. Friend—but because, as a result of our proposals, we will have virtually full control over regulatory aspects of services and full control over tariffs, we will be in a strong position not just to continue the frictionless trade we want with our EU friends but to strike out around the world with the growth markets of the future from Latin America to Asia.

[Debbie Abrahams (Oldham East and Saddleworth) (Lab)]

It is absolutely clear that the European Commission’s chief negotiator, Monsieur Barnier, does not support the Chequers proposal. I share the concern of Members on both sides of the House that we have no plan B, and I would like clarity on the feedback the Secretary of State has had from EU Heads of Government and Heads of State, who will ultimately decide on the deal that is brought to the European Council.

[Dominic Raab]

I worked in dispute resolution before entering politics and, in almost any negotiation, pushback will be heard from one interlocutor or another at various points that is ultimately not reflected in the final deal. It might be stating the obvious, but negotiation is about working through objections and resistance.

On support from member states, Angela Merkel said on 10 July that we have made good progress and that it is a good thing we have these proposals on the table. The Irish Taoiseach said:

“The Chequers statement is welcome. I believe it can input into the talks on the future relationship.”

We have also had the statements I described from the Latvian Foreign Minister, the Danish Finance Minister and the Polish Foreign Minister.