Windsor Framework: Internal Market Guarantee
Rosena Allin-Khan Excerpts(1 week, 3 days ago)
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Dr Rosena Allin-Khan (in the Chair)
I will call Jim Allister to move the motion and then the Minister to respond. I remind other Members that they may make speeches only with prior permission from the Member in charge of the debate and the Minister. As is the convention for 30-minute debates, there will not be an opportunity for the Member in charge to wind up.
Jim Allister (North Antrim) (TUV)
I beg to move,
That this House has considered the Windsor Framework Internal Market Guarantee.
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Dr Allin-Khan. In bringing this matter to the House again, the intention is to retain a focus on the egregious and anti-business situation that continues to prevail in respect of internal trade to Northern Ireland within this United Kingdom.
However one dresses this matter up—the Government excel in their attempts in that regard—the fundamental reality is this: courtesy of the post-Brexit arrangements that were first enunciated in the protocol and then, by change of name, in the Windsor framework, we have the absurd situation whereby a part of this United Kingdom is governed by the trade laws of a foreign jurisdiction, namely the EU. The very essence of being part of the United Kingdom should surely be the unfettered nature of trade: the fact that people can trade as freely from Cardiff to Carlisle or from Gloucester to Glasgow as they should be able to trade from Birmingham to Belfast. That is the essence of being in a United Kingdom, where unfettered trade lies at the heart of that economic union. Of course, that is already specified in article 6 of our Act of Union.
The current arrangements are based on the fact that when Brexit occurred, Northern Ireland, instead of getting Brexit, was left behind under the EU’s customs code. That means that Northern Ireland is treated for these purposes as EU territory, and that GB is treated in that context as a third, or foreign, country. Hence, under the purview of the EU customs code, there is a need for the Irish sea border—an Irish sea border that is not established directly under United Kingdom law but that is provided for by various EU provisions.
We have the most astounding position that the regulation of goods moving from GB to Northern Ireland comes under EU legislation. EU regulations 2023/1128 and 2023/1231 specify the “customs formalities” for trade from GB to Northern Ireland and the
“rules relating to the entry into Northern Ireland from other parts of the United Kingdom of certain consignments of…goods”.
Even in the title of that EU legislation we see how wrong and absurd it is that trade within this United Kingdom, which is supposed to be a free internal market, is governed by laws that we do not make anywhere in this United Kingdom—laws that we cannot change anywhere within this United Kingdom, but that are made by 27 other countries. That is not just an economic outrage but a democratic outrage.
Ukraine
Rosena Allin-Khan Excerpts(6 months, 2 weeks ago)
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The Prime Minister
I thank the right hon. Gentleman for his unity, because that is really important. I think I speak for the whole House in saying that we are very proud of our armed forces in everything that they do. They are at the leading edge. They are playing a key part in Ukraine, and they will continue to play a key part in the security and defence of Europe.
Dr Rosena Allin-Khan (Tooting) (Lab)
I congratulate the Prime Minister on bringing European leaders together at the weekend and on setting the record straight with J. D. Vance on the issue of free speech. President Zelensky is resilient and brave, just like the nation that he represents. In the second week of the war, when I went to Ukraine with my medical team, we could see at first hand that there is absolutely nothing that the Russians will not do. Will the Prime Minister promise that our support will not waver, and that he will continue working closely with our European allies to make sure that we bring about peace in Ukraine?
The Prime Minister
I can give my hon. Friend that assurance. We will not waver. We will work with our allies.
Oral Answers to Questions
Rosena Allin-Khan Excerpts(6 months, 3 weeks ago)
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Dr Rosena Allin-Khan (Tooting) (Lab)
The Prime Minister
We certainly stand with Ukraine—I think I speak for the whole House when I say that. As I set out yesterday, NATO is the bedrock of our security. It has been our most important alliance for many, many years, and it is as important today as it has ever been. We build that alliance by working with the US. We have a special and deep relationship with the US—that is not just words, but to do with security, defence, and intelligence capability, which are vitally important for both sides—but we also work with our European allies. It is that ability to work with the US and our European partners that has held the peace for so many years, and needs to hold the peace for many years to come.