European Union (Notification of Withdrawal) Bill Debate
Full Debate: Read Full DebateDepartment: Department for Exiting the European Union
Lord Field of Birkenhead
Main Page: Lord Field of Birkenhead (Crossbench - Life peer)Department Debates - View all Lord Field of Birkenhead's debates with the Department for Exiting the European Union
European Union (Notification of Withdrawal) Bill
Lord Field of Birkenhead ExcerptsMonday 13th March 2017
(7 years, 1 month ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate European Union (Notification of Withdrawal) Act 2017 View all European Union (Notification of Withdrawal) Act 2017 Debates Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts Amendment Paper: HL Bill 111-I Marshalled list for consideration of Commons reaons (PDF, 72KB) - (13 Mar 2017)
Keir Starmer
The Secretary of State said that it was binding so far as he was concerned. That is not the same as a legal commitment, and Secretaries of State and Governments can change. That is why we need a commitment on the face of the Bill.
Let me fast forward to the second amendment. If there is really no problem with proposed subsections (1), (2) and (3), why not accept them along with proposed subsection (4) and put them on the face of the Bill? This is becoming an obsession with having a clean Bill: “Our Bill must not be amended, even when it is proper, right and decent to do so.”
Frank Field (Birkenhead) (Lab)
How does my hon. and learned Friend answer the Brexit Secretary’s point that if and when we pass the Bill and it is given Royal Assent, the Government’s first priority will be to negotiate the rights both of people here who are from Europe and of our citizens abroad? Does my hon. and learned Friend not accept that if we pass this amendment and give those rights to European citizens here, there will be no incentive whatsoever for other European countries to concede those rights to our citizens?