European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Bill

Nic Dakin Excerpts

2nd reading: House of Commons & Programme motion: House of Commons
Tuesday 22nd October 2019 Commons Chamber

[Nic Dakin (Scunthorpe) (Lab)]

Juno Elsie Dakin was born last Thursday when this deal was being finalised in Europe. When she comes to maturity and is able to vote, she will be able to judge whether we did the right or wrong thing with the passage of this Bill. She will be able to judge whether we took steps to keep the Union together or whether it was imperilled, leading to Scotland and Northern Ireland leaving. She will be able to judge whether our place in the world is the same as it is now. She will be able to judge whether workers’ rights, consumer rights and environmental rights are as strong or stronger than they are now. It is a fact that no person born this century voted in the referendum, but every person born this century will have the biggest stake in the outcome. They will have a duty, as we have a duty today, to shape wherever we get to in the best possible way to keep this great country great—to keep the great in Great Britain—and to ensure that the steps that we take today do not imperil that or put it at risk.

As the Member of Parliament for Scunthorpe, I think it is crucial that manufacturing does well out of this. In many ways, my constituents are on the frontline of Brexit. Our largest private sector employer is in its fourth month of liquidation due to the risk of a no-deal exit. My constituents desperately want certainty, which is why I am pleased that we have got to this point in the process. It is a step towards certainty, but my constituents and the manufacturing and steel sectors do not want an outcome that is not good for industry. We do not want an outcome that leads to 25% tariffs on steel being sold into Europe, which would be disastrous for steel communities.

[Angus Brendan MacNeil]

It is a fact that the outcome most of them would want is to remain in the European Union. The current deal is the best deal, and there is no country in the EU that would accept the tawdry deal that the Prime Minister has negotiated.

[Nic Dakin]

In the end, we have to try to make this work. There is an obligation for us to work through it and, as my hon. Friend the Member for Ashfield (Gloria De Piero) said earlier, there will be an opportunity to do so if the Bill goes into Committee and if we have a decent programme motion.

Frankly, what has been said about the programme motion is outrageous. As the right hon. and learned Member for Beaconsfield (Mr Grieve) said, bully-boy tactics have been used to try to thrust the programme motion down the House’s throat when we should have civilised, British behaviour. Members should sit down to agree a sensible programme motion. That is what the Labour Chief Whip wants, so the Government Chief Whip should sit down and do it so that we can work through the Bill properly and see whether we can improve it to make sure it is a good Bill for the people of this country.

Yes, people voted to come out, but they did not vote to lose out. It is our duty to square that circle, and that is what we should do.

Preparations for Leaving the EU

Nic Dakin Excerpts

Tuesday 8th October 2019 Commons Chamber

[Michael Gove]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. I know that there were good people who voted for the right hon. Gentleman’s Act thinking that it would help the country, and I do not cast any aspersions on their motivation, but let us look at the consequences. The consequences are that it is more difficult to secure a deal, and as a result I hope that all those who voted for the Act—and I respect their motivation—reflect on the position in which we now find ourselves.

[Nic Dakin (Scunthorpe) (Lab)]

As 31 October approaches, may I ask when the Government will deliver on their promise to put in place a UK version of the current EU steel safeguards?

[Michael Gove]

Shortly.

Tata Steelworks: Newport

Nic Dakin Excerpts

Tuesday 8th October 2019 Westminster Hall

[Jessica Morden]

I absolutely agree, and I will make that point later.

Tata announced that it would be closing Cogent Orb steelworks on 2 September, with the loss of 380 jobs. This has come as devastating news for a dedicated, highly skilled workforce and their families, and for the city of Newport as a whole, where Orb has been part of the landscape since 1898. I pay tribute to Community, Unite and other unions for the support they have given and continue to give to the workforce, and for their general fight to save our steel industry.

[Nic Dakin (Scunthorpe) (Lab)]

I congratulate my hon. Friend on securing this very timely debate. I represent a steel community in Scunthorpe, and we know exactly what it is like as a steel community to have these things happen. We stand side by side with the steel community in Newport. Does she think that the work the Community union and others have done through the Syndex report gives a possible way forward for the plant?

[Jessica Morden]

My hon. Friend is indeed a doughty and fantastic champion of his steel community, and the thoughts of our steel community are very much with his community and the difficulties it has had recently. I will talk about the Syndex report, because it is very important.

The attendance of my hon. Friends from Wales and fellow members of the all-party parliamentary group on steel and metal related industries represents the importance of the steel industry to us all. As my hon. Friend the Member for Torfaen (Nick Thomas-Symonds) said, many of us have a constituency interest but also a very personal interest. My parents met in the steel industry in Ebbw Vale, and my hon. Friends have close family who have worked in the industry, including my hon. Friend the Member for Cardiff West (Kevin Brennan).

Fewer work places are more ingrained into the life of Newport than Orb. Our iconic transporter bridge was originally built to carry Orb workers over the River Usk. There are street names in Newport such as Dudley, Walsall, Bilston, and Handsworth, and even the Wolverhampton Wanderers-based colours chosen for Newport County AFC commemorate the west midlands migration to Gwent initiated by the Lysaghts family moving their sheet steel production to Newport at the end of the 19th century. Orb played an important role in Newport in both world wars and, from the late 1960s onwards, its activities moved towards cold rolled and electrical steels, a field that became the site’s speciality, as it remains today.

Losing Orb would mean losing the electrical steels skills base that has been built up since the era of Harold Wilson’s “white heat” of technology, and at a time when electrical steels will be more in demand that ever before. Tata’s decision to close Orb, citing losses and wider challenges in the sector, will hit many people in our communities extremely hard. They include recent recruits such as an electrician who joined the company two days before the announcement and is one of 70 new starters over the last two years, and a long-time worker who says, “Orb works has been a part of my family for nearly 60 years. Between my father and brothers we have over 100 years’ combined service. The Orb paid for everything when I was a child and is now supporting my three children.”

Another man’s family came from Tipton; his great-grandfather, grandfather and father all worked there, and their names are on the works’ cenotaph. Mickey, who started work as a 16-year-old messenger boy and ended up as section manager, said, “To allow over 100 years of electrical steelmaking skills simply to disappear is a crime against everyone who contributed to Orb’s history, and the knock-on effect on the Newport community’s economy will be devastating, as these jobs are of high value.”

--- Later in debate ---

[Kevin Foster]

The Government are clear that if a sustainable, long-term business plan can be produced, we will consider support packages, but the key part is that it must be sustainable for the long term, and it must be based on a clear business plan.

[Nic Dakin]

We have heard today about the Syndex report, which places a way forward on the table. Will the Government meet the unions, Syndex and Tata to see how that could be turned into the sort of plan that would deliver not only for this workforce and industry, but for UK plc?

[Kevin Foster]

We are more than happy to meet. Obviously we cannot guarantee that a third party would wish to be involved in those meetings, but certainly from the perspective of the Government and the Wales Office, we would be more than happy to arrange a meeting with the unions and Syndex to see how their plan could be taken further. The key part has to be whether it can provide a long-term sustainable future, and we note that the plant has been for sale for two years with no purchaser having come forward. Certainly, UK Government Ministers are more than happy to meet interested parties to discuss what we could do.

In the context of the wider steel industry, the Government have made up to £800 million of funding available to support decarbonisation and innovation in the industry. We remain committed to supporting the Welsh steel sector in accessing this funding and ensuring that it is able to compete with the best in the world. Recent and ongoing work to support the steel sector includes establishing the £250 million clean steel fund, which was announced in August and will support the sector’s transition to lower-carbon iron and steel production through new technologies and processes. It will also maximise longevity and resilience in the UK steel sector by building on longstanding expertise and skills and harnessing clean growth opportunities.

Our industrial energy transformation fund is a £315 million fund supporting short-term projects in both energy efficiency and decarbonisation for businesses with high energy use. The fund will help businesses with high energy use, including steel companies, to cut their bills and transition UK industry to a low carbon future.

The industrial decarbonisation challenge is a £170 million fund aimed at the UK’s industrial carbon emissions clusters. South Wales has been identified as one of six clusters in the UK that will benefit from that fund, which supports our grand challenge mission to develop a net zero emissions cluster by 2040 through the development of innovative low- carbon solutions. It will provide long-term support to the industry, ensuring Britain’s long term sustainable future.

Prime Minister's Update

Nic Dakin Excerpts

Wednesday 25th September 2019 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

With the greatest respect to the hon. Gentleman, I think I did set out in some detail the areas in which we are now making progress. But I must say, to repeat the point that I made earlier, that we have now had almost three hours of conversation in this Chamber about an issue that really affects our constituents, and I do not think I have heard a single original or helpful idea from the Labour party—not a single suggestion about how they think this country could leave the European Union and deliver on the mandate of the people. Absolutely nothing—zilch, nada.

[Nic Dakin (Scunthorpe) (Lab)]

That is not true, is it, because we have heard, and the Prime Minister has welcomed, the comments by my hon. Friend the Member for Ashfield (Gloria De Piero) and my right hon. Friend the Member for Don Valley (Caroline Flint)? So it would be really good if he could remain consistent with what he said a little bit earlier in what he says later; that would be a really positive thing. However, I was going to say that I agree with my hon. Friend the Member for Gedling (Vernon Coaker) that this Prime Minister believes that the normal rules do not apply to him. That must be the reason why we see no humility this evening in relation to his being judged by the Supreme Court of this land to have given unlawful advice to Her Majesty the Queen. A bit of humility would be very nice.

[The Prime Minister]

I think actually the Government as a whole have shown maximum humility in the face of the judgment and we respect the court. Alas, it is not possible for us to agree with it without great intellectual inconsistency, but we respect what it has had to say. On the hon. Gentleman’s point about ideas, perhaps I should make a distinction. Some Members have certainly been very positive about the possibilities of doing a deal, and I much welcome that. What I was trying to say—forgive me—was that, in the face of the difficulties that this country has in bringing us together, I have not heard much by way of original thinking on some of the problems.

Oral Answers to Questions

Nic Dakin Excerpts

Wednesday 22nd May 2019 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I would hope that it is absolutely clear from everything that I have said at this Dispatch Box that I value the sacrifice, bravery and commitment of our armed forces, whose work in Northern Ireland—alongside the police in Northern Ireland and others—enabled us to get to the stage at which we are at today, whereby we have the Belfast/Good Friday agreement and have had peace in Northern Ireland for many years now, and long may that continue. There is no question of equating that bravery and sacrifice with the acts of terrorists. I think the implication of my hon. Friend’s question is that he is urging me to put in place a system that would equate terrorists with members of the armed forces. Any statute of limitations and any amnesty that is put in place would, as a matter of law, have to apply across the board. I do not want to see—and I will not see—an amnesty for the terrorists.

[Nic Dakin (Scunthorpe) (Lab)]

I thank the Prime Minister for recognising the impact on steelworkers and their families of the devastating news that British Steel has gone into liquidation and for recognising the high quality of work that they do on Teesside, at Skinningrove and in my constituency of Scunthorpe. Will she meet cross-party MPs whose constituencies are affected by this news, so that we can look together at how best to ensure that this great industry moves forward to serve this country into the future?

[The Prime Minister]

As I said earlier, I recognise that this is a worrying time for the hon. Gentleman’s constituents and others. The Government have been actively looking at what we can do. We have given support through the ETS agreement, but have not lawfully been able to give the further support that was requested. I will certainly meet the hon. Gentleman and a group of MPs to consider the issue. This is about one company, owned by Greybull Capital. However, we have taken steps in the past to ensure that the United Kingdom continues to have a steel industry, and we will want to look at the wider issue.

European Council

Nic Dakin Excerpts

Monday 25th March 2019 Commons Chamber

[Nic Dakin (Scunthorpe) (Lab)]

Does the Prime Minister have a plan B, and if so, what is it?

[The Prime Minister]

Let me say to the hon. Gentleman, and to many other Members of this House, that on the one hand people are asking me to listen to the House of Commons and to abide by its decision, but on the other hand they are asking me to have a plan B, which could very well be different from that decision of the House of Commons. You cannot have it both ways.

Exiting the European Union

Nic Dakin Excerpts

Monday 11th March 2019 Commons Chamber

[Mr Lidington]

I am advised that the motion has been tabled. It is of course a matter for you, Mr Speaker, to determine which amendments are selected for debate tomorrow.

[Nic Dakin (Scunthorpe) (Lab)]

Will the ECJ have a role in the independent arbitration referred to in the right hon. Gentleman’s statement?

[Mr Lidington]

The arbitration panel will have people appointed by each side—the European Union and the United Kingdom—with an independent chair.

European Council

Nic Dakin Excerpts

Monday 17th December 2018 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

We are making preparations for no deal. These preparations are being stepped up. We are continuing to step up those preparations. We have already published a number of issues in relation to no-deal planning, through the technical notices that have been issued, and we will be continuing to make sure that the information that is provided externally is that which is necessary to ensure that people are prepared for the possibility of a no-deal scenario.

[Nic Dakin (Scunthorpe) (Lab)]

I thank the Prime Minister for making it very clear in her statement, in her words, that no deal risks jobs, services and security. Can I ask her to act as the leader of this great country and rule out no deal now?

[The Prime Minister]

The only way to rule out no deal is to ensure that there is a deal that enables us to leave the European Union.

Exiting the European Union

Nic Dakin Excerpts

Monday 10th December 2018 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

I refer the hon. Lady to the answer I have given earlier. I also point out to her that if she wants the Government to be able to get on and focus on the issues that she is talking about—we have representation in Katowice, and we are still working on the issues of climate change and other things—going back for a second referendum will not help that process.

[Nic Dakin (Scunthorpe) (Lab)]

The Prime Minister admits that if she put the deal to this House tomorrow, it would be rejected, in her words, by “a significant margin”, so why is she behaving like the shopkeeper in the dead parrot sketch and insisting that this dead deal is not yet deceased?

[The Prime Minister]

Because, as I have pointed out, there is a specific reason why people have raised concerns about the negotiation. It is about the issue of the temporary nature or otherwise of the backstop, and that is what we are going back to the European Union to discuss.

Leaving the EU

Nic Dakin Excerpts

Monday 26th November 2018 Commons Chamber

[The Prime Minister]

My hon. Friend brings a degree of realism. Of course, as we go into these negotiations, others will have interests that they wish to put forward and press. The whole point of negotiation is that it is the process by which we come to a result. We have resisted many of the pressures that have been put forward by member states and the European Commission in these negotiations so far, and we will continue to resist on the key issues to which my hon. Friend has referred in relation to fisheries and Gibraltar.

[Nic Dakin (Scunthorpe) (Lab)]

Many constituents have contacted me about this issue over the past week. Why does the Prime Minister think that the overwhelming majority, whether they voted to leave or remain, are urging me to vote against her deal?

[The Prime Minister]

I will continue to set out why I believe this is a good deal for the United Kingdom. I have set that out in answer to a number of questions in the Chamber this afternoon, and I will continue to do so.