United Kingdom Internal Market Bill

Tobias Ellwood Excerpts

Monday 21st September 2020 Commons Chamber

With a parliamentary lock on these powers splitting the Bill into two parts and giving us the time to see if the EU really has broken faith with the deal before allowing the Government to act, the Prime Minister has at least moved towards the point of reason, and he could go one step further. The Government should restate what they have already agreed in public and in print—that Britain will abide by the arbitration proceedings set out in the withdrawal agreement. That would turn the Bill into what it has been described as today by Ministers—an interim measure in case of emergency. Although it would still set out a way for Britain to be free of unfair treaties, it would at least make it clear that this was to be used only in extremis. Perhaps that would go some way towards restoring Britain’s reputation, as a regrettable second best to the removal of these clauses altogether. I recognise why the Government want this in parallel, but without accepting that the arbitration is binding, it is simply a reversal of the treaty. We need our word to count; global Britain depends on it.

[Mr Tobias Ellwood (Bournemouth East) (Con)]

I was not expecting to participate in this debate, but I never thought I would hear a Minister in this Chamber say that we might be breaching international law. I am grateful to Lords Howard and Lamont for quashing the myth that somehow those who speak against part 5 of the Bill are part of a tactic to support the EU or promote a remain cause. We have left the EU already. I voted for it, it was part of our manifesto and I supported that.

This debate is being watched far and wide, and I spent last week speaking to counterparts from my Defence Committee in the United States and to Washington DC, explaining to Senators and Members of Congress—they were bewildered—that we will continue to honour the Good Friday agreement. It is so important that we recognise what we have done in the past and where we are today and that we do not damage our hard-fought reputation.

We do not need the integrated review to understand that the world is getting more dangerous. The threats are getting more complex and more diverse. We are approaching great geopolitical change—an era of danger that we have not seen since the cold war—and at the same time the west is becoming more risk-averse and less consolidated in what we believe in and what we actually stand for. As we fight hard to secure a deal, let us not forget who we are and what we fought for. We are the founding fathers of international democracy and of the rule of law as well, so I am very pleased that the Government have conceded to grant Parliament a vote, were the powers in this Bill ever to be considered, but I am sorry that we have taken a very damaging route to get here.

As we finally conclude Brexit, let us not lose sight of the international moral high ground. The world is once again getting more dangerous. British leading leadership is once again in demand. Let us secure Brexit with our reputation repaired.

[Antony Higginbotham (Burnley) (Con)]

In rising to support the Bill, I want to speak about clauses 40 to 45. I start by quoting from the manifesto that I proudly stood on. It brought not just me to the House, but so many of my colleagues. That manifesto said clearly:

“We will ensure that Northern Ireland’s businesses and producers enjoy unfettered access to the rest of the UK and that in the implementation of our Brexit deal, we maintain and strengthen the integrity and smooth operation of our internal market.”