Brexit: Petition to Revoke Article 50 Notification

Lord Tebbit Excerpts

Tuesday 26th March 2019 Lords Chamber

[Lord Callanan]

We have explored this issue many times in response to the noble Baroness. We respect the result of the referendum, which was the largest participatory democratic exercise ever carried out in this country, and we are committed to implementing that result.

[Lord Tebbit (Con)]

My Lords, does my noble friend have any idea of how many of the signatories are British subjects and how many are foreigners?

[Lord Callanan]

No doubt my noble friend is an avid follower of social media and will therefore have seen some doubt being cast on some of the signatories, but I do not doubt that the vast majority were indeed British citizens.

Brexit: No-deal Preparations

Lord Tebbit Excerpts

Wednesday 20th March 2019 Lords Chamber

[Lord Callanan]

I do not have the up-to-date figures in front of me, but my information is that the uptake of these ERO numbers, as they are known, has increased markedly in recent days. This applies only to businesses that would need them, which exported only to the EU and did not already export outside it. I do not have the up-to-date figures, but I know there has been a sharp uptake in applications and the granting thereof.

[Lord Tebbit (Con)]

My Lords, could my noble friend remind me—

[Baroness Goldie (Con)]

My Lords, I am sorry. The noble Lord was not in for the repeat of the Statement.

Brexit: Negotiations

Lord Tebbit Excerpts

Thursday 24th January 2019 Lords Chamber

[Lord Callanan]

Well, there are different forms of remain—an extension to Article 50 or a revocation of Article 50, both of which have the effect of remaining. But we are very clear that that is not the policy of the Government. We believe the referendum result should be honoured, and we will be leaving.

[Lord Tebbit (Con)]

My Lords—

[Lord Cormack (Con)]

My Lords—

[Lord Tebbit]

Privy counsellors have precedence. Do sit down, please.

I wonder if my noble friend the Minister has read the splendid statement by the boss of Wetherspoons, the pub owners, setting out his method for dealing with a possible no-deal Brexit. He has ceased buying brandy from France and is buying better and cheaper brandy from Australia, and so on with his wines and others. The customers are getting better and cheaper liquor, and the company is making better profits. Is that not a typical result of leaving with no agreement?

[Lord Callanan]

I am not sure I want to give from the Dispatch Box advice to Wetherspoons on its purchasing policies. I hope it will continue to serve its customers well, and I hope it will continue to make a profit. I say to my noble friend that no deal is not our preferred outcome, but as I said earlier it is the legal default. The best way to avoid no deal is to vote for a deal.

Brexit: Economic Forecast

Lord Tebbit Excerpts

Wednesday 28th November 2018 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Ludford]

My Lords—

[Lord Tebbit (Con)]

My Lords—

[Baroness Ludford]

No; I will not give way to a third Tory. Can the Minister tell us whether this is the first Government in history who have deliberately pursued a policy that they know—as the Chancellor confirmed this morning—will make this country and its people poorer? If not, please can he name any other Governments who have acted in such a way?

--- Later in debate ---

[Lord Tebbit]

My Lords—

[Lord Taylor of Holbeach (Con)]

My Lords, my noble friends will have to decide which of them will ask a question.

[Lord Tebbit]

My Lords, will my noble friend remind the questioner that square one for this country was to be a free, democratic country in which we elected our own Government and could sack our own Government? That is not the European Union.

[Lord Callanan]

I will agree with my noble friend briefly and then perhaps we can hear from the noble Lord, Lord Bridges.

Brexit: Withdrawal Agreement Scrutiny

Lord Tebbit Excerpts

Wednesday 31st October 2018 Lords Chamber

[Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Con)]

My Lords, would my noble friend set out what timetable he has agreed with the usual channels to discuss the 1,000 statutory instruments and the six primary Bills that have to be agreed by 29 March?

[Lord Tebbit (Con)]

My Lords, does the Minister agree that the chief negotiator at the European Commission, Monsieur Barnier, has no intention whatever of coming to any reasonable agreement with this country under the terms of the treaty, and therefore that he is mucking the place about while we are trying to do an honest job?

[Baroness Smith of Basildon (Lab)]

My Lords, two questions were asked. Perhaps the Chief Whip could indicate which question the Minister should answer.

Brexit: Negotiations

Lord Tebbit Excerpts

Thursday 6th September 2018 Lords Chamber

[Lord Callanan]

No, they do not.

[Lord Tebbit (Con)]

My Lords, does my noble friend not agree that we have to get those who are opposed to our proposals to leave the European Union used to the idea that the people of this kingdom are well capable of running their own affairs? We did it successfully for rather a long time before our friends on the continent got round to the idea. We have constantly, over the centuries, had to come to their rescue against the dictatorships which have sprung up on the continent. This is another case of a dictatorship springing up on the continent from which we have to break free.

[Lord Callanan]

I am delighted to say that, in his advancing age, the noble Lord has lost none of his robustness. I am not sure I quite share his sentiments but we are committed to Brexit. In future, we want to be a nation in charge of our own laws, our own borders and our own money. This is what Brexit is all about. This is what people voted for and that is what we will deliver.

Brexit: European Council and Commission

Lord Tebbit Excerpts

Tuesday 27th March 2018 Lords Chamber

[Lord Foulkes of Cumnock (Lab)]

My Lords—

[Lord Tebbit (Con)]

My Lords—

[Noble Lords]

This side!

[The Minister of State, Ministry of Defence (Earl Howe) (Con)]

My Lords, it is disappointing that I should have to get my feet. There is time to hear from both noble Lords. I think it is the turn of the Conservative Benches first.

[Lord Tebbit]

My Lords, could my noble friend perhaps arrange some sort of education process for those people on the other side of the House who do not believe that the British people are capable of running a democratic process? We had been doing it for quite a long time before most of those on the continent got round to the idea of having a democratic process.

[Lord Callanan]

I see that my noble friend is as provocative as ever. We believe in democracy; part of the referendum was about taking back control. I am sure that this House, and the other place, are quite capable of organising our own affairs in the future.

Brexit: Revocability

Lord Tebbit Excerpts

Wednesday 20th December 2017 Lords Chamber

[Lord Callanan]

The noble Baroness will be well aware that the Government always follow the advice of the Prime Minister.

[Lord Tebbit (Con)]

My Lords, does my noble friend not agree that this Question has been a waste of time? There is simply no doubt that the British people voted in the referendum to leave the European Union and it is their will that must be upheld, not that of a bunch of tame lawyers or other people on the Liberal Benches or anywhere else.

[Lord Callanan]

When I was a young student politician, my noble friend was one of my political heroes.

Brexit: United Kingdom-European Union Parliamentary Assembly

Lord Tebbit Excerpts

Wednesday 12th July 2017 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Anelay of St Johns]

My Lords, the noble Baroness makes an extremely valid point: that better exchange of information leads to better understanding in negotiations. That is why, as Ministers, we have not only engaged thoroughly with our counterparts around the European Union but encouraged Select Committee visits. I know that those visits have been thorough, and if they have been to the European Parliament, they have been supported by the secretariat and the European Parliament. The worst thing is for newspaper articles to appear giving misleading information, not necessarily intentionally but just because we have not had the opportunity to discuss with colleagues the real issues.

[Lord Tebbit (Con)]

My Lords, does my noble friend agree, on the proposal of the noble Lord, Lord Soley, that most of us can recognise what the Americans call a boondoggle when we see one? Secondly, would she be so kind as to instruct the Liberal Benches that this Parliament in this country can dismiss the Executive? Can the European Parliament dismiss the Executive?

[Noble Lords]

Yes!

[Lord Tebbit]

I do not think there is any record of it yet. It can sack the Commission? Oh, no.

[Baroness Anelay of St Johns]

My Lords, I find it very interesting that when I have travelled around the world as a Minister I have met Ministers who have never appeared in Parliament and never had to answer questions in Parliament. For me, it is a vital part of parliamentary accountability. But there are also occasions, I know as a Member of Parliament, when as a Minister you could get your finger caught in the nut and the screw.

Brexit: EU Institution Relocations

Lord Tebbit Excerpts

Thursday 6th July 2017 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Anelay of St Johns]

My Lords, I would not know anything about fetishes. I certainly know quite a lot more about the need to ensure that this House is well informed. That is what I shall seek to do about the way the Government engage in negotiations. The noble Baroness raised an important point: we must ensure that we have security and safety in the healthcare system. That is exactly what my right honourable friends Greg Clark and Jeremy Hunt were doing this week when they set out the principles on which we will work with the regulatory system across Europe and the role that we can play there. The precise description of that is yet to come but they were not saying that it would be the European Court of Justice that made the ultimate decision. Clearly, regulations are important for safety.

[Lord Tebbit (Con)]

My Lords, does my noble friend not find it as disappointing as I do, as an indication of the failure of our education system, that so many people, even in this House, are utterly ignorant of the fact that the United Kingdom ran its own affairs very successfully for a very long time when most of Europe was in a constant turmoil of revolutions, coups and the like? Of course we can manage on our own. We do not need their court of justice to educate us in justice.

[Baroness Anelay of St Johns]

My Lords, as a history teacher, I certainly learned that this country has a proud history and one that we should recall. It is one that our young people today can carry forward because they have great ability, and we have the duty to ensure that their great ability can be put to best use for this country.