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Category: Brexit

  • Andrew Adonis – 2021 Comments Following Appointment as Chair of the European Movement

    Andrew Adonis – 2021 Comments Following Appointment as Chair of the European Movement

    The comments made by Andrew Adonis on 8 March 2021.

    It is an honour and a challenge to become chair of the European Movement at this time of crisis in Britain’s relations with Europe. Churchill founded the European Movement to bring Britain and continental Europe closer together – socially, economically and politically – after the horrors of the Second World War and the Holocaust. We have a duty to seek to do the same again after the experience of COVID19 and Brexit, faced with the twin emergencies of climate change and a global slump.

    We will campaign strongly to put right the immediate failings of Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal, including the lack of automatic EU work visas for artists, musicians, engineers and architects; the absence of EU market access for our huge financial and business services industries; and the end of our membership of the Erasmus scheme for student exchanges. Millions are affected and we need to change these damaging policies as soon as possible, which almost no one voted for as part of Brexit.

  • Michael Gove – 2021 Statement on Withdrawal Agreement Joint Committee Meeting

    Michael Gove – 2021 Statement on Withdrawal Agreement Joint Committee Meeting

    The statement made by Michael Gove, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, on 25 February 2021.

    The European Union and the United Kingdom held the first meeting of the Withdrawal Agreement Joint Committee following the end of the transition period on 24 February.

    The parties welcomed the progress made on citizens’ rights in recent weeks in implementing the rights of UK nationals in the EU and EU citizens in the UK under the withdrawal agreement, and reiterated the importance of communication and support to the most vulnerable.

    Further to the meeting of the Joint Committee co-chairs on 11 February 2021, the EU and the UK also took stock of the implementation of the protocol on Ireland and Northern Ireland and of work to find pragmatic solutions. The parties acknowledged the importance of joint action to make the protocol work for the benefit of everyone in Northern Ireland. In that spirit, the EU and UK reiterated their full commitment to the Good Friday/Belfast Agreement in all its dimensions, and to the proper implementation of the protocol. Building on the recent outreach by the Joint Committee co-chairs, there would be further joint engagement with business groups and other stakeholders in Northern Ireland. The UK and the EU underlined their shared commitment to giving effect to those solutions agreed through the Joint Committee on 17 December 2020, without delay. The UK noted that it would provide a new operational plan with respect to supermarkets and their suppliers, alongside additional investment in digital solutions for traders in accordance with the protocol.

    Noting the need for ongoing engagement and the shared desire to act at pace, the UK and EU agreed that a further Joint Committee would be held to provide further steers and where appropriate approvals, and would liaise on timings.

  • Pat McFadden – 2021 Comments on the Kalifa Review

    Pat McFadden – 2021 Comments on the Kalifa Review

    The comments made by Pat McFadden, the Shadow Economic Secretary to the Treasury, on 26 February 2021.

    It’s important that we support our world-leading fintech sector to grow, not least given the way the government completely ignored financial services in its trade negotiations with the EU.

    The Kalifa review is right to focus on making Whitehall more joined up in its approach to financial innovation and ensuring that opportunity is spread to every part of our country.

    It’s also essential that consumers and citizens are placed at the heart of any ‘Digital Finance Package’ so that they reap the benefits and are well protected from the risks.

  • Dominic Raab – 2021 Comments on Brexit and Trade Agreements

    Dominic Raab – 2021 Comments on Brexit and Trade Agreements

    The text of the comments made by Dominic Raab, the Foreign Secretary, on BBC’s Andrew Marr Show on 14 February 2021.

    ANDREW MARR:

    Now, I want to talk to you about the results so far of Brexit. There’s been a huge amount of rhetoric and argument on both sides all across the media. I’d like to just focus on a real life actual situation, and somebody called Tony Bowker. He runs a company in Sheffield which imports precision engineered goods from Japan and then exports them to the EU. And under your Brexit deal he says he has to pay duties because of rule of origins requirements. Many of his products now require export licences and every shipment to Europe has gone from costing him zero to costing hundreds of pounds. He has been advised that his best option now is to relocate the majority of his operations from Sheffield to the continent, and he wants to know from you is the government going to change the elements of the Brexit deal which make his business model unviable, or should he move out of the UK?

    DOMINIC RAAB:

    We certainly want all businesses to stay here. We want to manage the risks regarding exports that you describe. We’ve put a huge amount of money into supporting those businesses. The BBC itself was reporting that in terms of freight the flows of freight, both into the UK and out of the UK, are now back to 99 per cent of the pre-end of transitional period level. So that’s good news.

    We talked last time I was on the show about some of the teething problems, and I think on the BBC’s own reporting, based on the data, that’s been to a large extent resolved and we’ll continue to keep a very close eye on that. And of course there are all the wider export opportunities with the rest of the world with the new free trade deals we’re doing. But we have also been clear that there are changes that come with exiting the transition period and what we’re trying to do is support businesses as best we can to manage those.

    ANDREW MARR:

    50% of the lorries that you’re talking about were empty. We know that too. And in terms of teething trouble, Mr Bowker, like many other businesses, is actually facing an existential challenge. Stay in Sheffield or move to the continent. And unless things change he’s going to have to move, and it’s not just smaller businesses like him. Peter Cowgill, who’s the chairman of JD Sports, a huge business, says: ‘when we had a free trade agreement – we were told we were going to get a free trade agreement, that is really not the case. If you source from the Far
    East and bring it into the UK and ship to stores in every country in Europe where tariffs apply, then your business needs to relocate
    and find a distribution centre in Europe.’ And if that doesn’t happen, then the employment is going to go from the UK. There are lots of businesses facing real practical, day to day problems right now. What are you going to do for them?

    DOMINIC RAAB:

    We’re already doing, as I said, a huge amount to support them with advice, with guidance, particularly into mediating things like customs declarations, and we’ve been clear all along that come the end of the transition period there would be changes, and we’ve put a significant amount of money into supporting those businesses. I think it’s also fair to say, for the sake of balance and context, there have also been lots of other businesses investing in the UK because they see the certainty that a free trade deal provides, and/or because they think that the UK is a great source for business because of its own merits. There are also the new opportunities for export that come with breaking down barriers to trade. For example, if you look at the Japanese free trade agreement that we’ve got and its extension into areas like digital and data, a really important area of comparative advantage for the UK. So yes, there’s some change, but we can manage the risks, grasp the opportunities, and I’m very confident overall. We can always take individual cases and I know they all matter, for the businesses and the employers, but overall we’re in an excellent position now to grasp the opportunities of a global Britain out there, particularly investing in the areas of the IndoPacific region, but also maintaining our key trading relations with Europe.

    ANDREW MARR:

    Well, let’s try and move away from individual businesses to the wider picture. And I don’t deny at all that there will new opportunities for all sorts of businesses going ahead, but the truth is that Boris Johnson promised a deal that you signed would – and I quote – ‘if anything, allow our companies and our exporters to do even more business with our European friends.’ And the truth is that because of all sorts of new paperwork, there are now twenty page export health certificates for vets, there’s the 27-page catch certificate for exporting fish, there’s duties for goods of all kinds which don’t meet rules of origin requirements, and if that is going to make trading with business – with Europe harder and harder and harder, then the common sense conclusion is that people will do less of it.

    DOMINIC RAAB:

    Well, no. First of all, of course you’re right to say that the EU regulatory requirements, the red tape of the paperwork that they will apply to the UK, the same as they apply to other businesses from other countries around the world, if they ramp that up and they don’t take a sensible smart approach to that of course it will have an impact. It will also have an impact on them. I think if you take a 10-year view as well as looking at the short term risk, which it’s right to do, actually the growth opportunities of the future are going to come from emerging and developing economies around the world, in particular the Indo-Pacific, and having the freedom, the latitude to trade, bespoke Britain-friendly terms and conditions with those growth markets in the future is a huge opportunity, when it comes to jobs, when it comes to
    livelihoods, when it comes to startup and to scale up. So you’ve got to look at this in the round, but of course we will want to also manage those short term challenges, and reduce them, mitigate as far as we can the bureaucratic obstacles that the EU is imposing.

    ANDREW MARR:

    So are you saying in effect we should stop thinking quite so much about Europe and think more about the Far East?

    DOMINIC RAAB:

    I wouldn’t put it quite in those terms, but it’s certainly right to say we want to bank, if you like, the baseline of our European trade, it’s very important to us and also our neighbours. But if you look at the opportunities and the growth for the future for UK companies, bearing in mind the comparative advantage of our businesses, I think the growth markets and the growth economies are going to come from the Indo-Pacific region and actually if you look at what the EU says, they agree with that analysis, which is why it’s so important we’ve got the latitude to strike the best deals with those economies, which Liz Truss is already now doing, to really maximise the opportunities and that’s the long term sustainable approach.

    ANDREW MARR:

    Let me turn to one of the most important industries in terms of tax revenue coming in and Britain’s traditional strength which is the City. Now in the week just passed Amsterdam took over London’s leading role in terms of the centre for European equities being dealt with and there are lots of pieces of evidence now, again hard evidence of actual companies moving hundreds of people out of the City and onto the Continent of Europe. And a certain sense that something may have been changing. This may be a fulcrum moment for what has been one of Britain’s great industries and we may be beginning to see the City being eclipsed by the EU. And my point I suppose to you is that really that given that the EU wants to take that business into its own territory we don’t have many levers to, as it were, use against them.

    DOMINIC RAAB:

    Well I certainly don’t accept the sort of binary zero sum sort of attrition with the EU … What matters to the UK and to the City is the comparative advantage we have in the fundamentals. So for example you were citing Equities, but actually the boss of Barclays has been saying recently how the long term future of the UK and its leadership role is unparalleled, unrivalled. And the crucial question for the EU, it may be able to, if you like, nick a bit of business here or there from the City, but the problem is the measures that they will take to achieve that will undermine their own competitiveness. If I’m really – I think to be really honest about it the challenge to London as the global financial centre around the world will come from Tokyo, New York and other areas rather from those European hubs, particularly if they start to erect barriers to trade and investment.

  • Stephanie Peacock – 2021 Speech on UK Shellfish Exports

    Stephanie Peacock – 2021 Speech on UK Shellfish Exports

    The speech made by Stephanie Peacock, the Shadow Minister for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, in the House of Commons on 8 February 2021.

    Whoever is to blame, the fact is that shellfish farmers and fishermen are not able to export their most valuable product to their most important market. The rule banning imports from third-party countries of untreated shellfish from class B waters has been in place for decades. The Secretary of State claimed in front of the House of Lords EU Environment Sub-Committee last week that the EU had changed its position on how the rules would affect the UK. He had originally told the industry that the ban would be lifted in April, but we now hear it will not. On that basis, will he publish and put in the Library all the correspondence between his Department and the EU that demonstrates why he believed a change would occur? Can he explain to the House today what mechanism he expected the EU to use to make that change?

    The letter that the Secretary of State has published today is welcome, but it does not answer those questions. It refers to contact in September 2019, when the UK’s future trading agreement still was not clear. Many fleets are unable to sell their catches and exporters unable to ship and trade. What assessment has his Department made of how many businesses and employees are affected by the situation? What provision has his Department made to use some of the £23 million compensation fund that the Government recently announced to support the businesses who are unable to trade and how long will that support last? A multimillion pound industry has ground to a halt overnight. Jobs and communities are at risk. Unless this situation is resolved, the UK shellfish industry will not survive.

  • George Eustice – 2021 Statement on UK Shellfish Exports

    George Eustice – 2021 Statement on UK Shellfish Exports

    The statement made by George Eustice, the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, on 8 February 2021.

    We have a long-standing trade in live bivalve molluscs to the EU from UK waters. This has benefited both our own shellfish industry and EU restaurants and retailers, which rely on these premium products from the UK.

    Recently, concerns have emerged for our trade in live bivalve molluscs to the EU coming from UK class B production waters that have not been through purification or have not cleared testing. The European Commission has changed its position in recent weeks. It advised us in writing in September 2019 that the trade could continue. We shared the Commission’s view and worked with the industry on that basis, and that included explaining that for one small part of the industry—wild harvested molluscs from class B waters—there would need to be a pause while we awaited new export health certificates to become available in April, but that, in line with the guidance from the EU, trade in the molluscs from farms could continue uninterrupted.

    We continue to believe that our interpretation of the law and the EU’s original interpretation is correct, that the trade should be able to continue for all relevant molluscs from April, and that there is no reason for a gap at all for molluscs from aquaculture. However, last week the Commission gave us sight of instructions that it sent to all member states on 3 February, stating that any imports into the EU from the UK of live bivalve molluscs for purification from class B waters, such as the sea around Wales and the south-west of England, are not permitted. Exports from class A waters, such as we find around parts of Scotland, may continue.

    Bringing an end to this traditional and valuable trade is unacceptable, and I recognise that it is a devastating blow to the businesses that are reliant on the trade. While we do not agree at all with the Commission’s interpretation of the law, we have had to advise traders that their consignments may very well not be accepted at EU ports for now. I am seeking urgent resolution to this problem and have written to Commissioner Kyriakides today. I have emphasised our high shellfish health status and our systems of control. I have also said that if it would assist the trade, we could provide reasonable additional assurances to demonstrate shellfish health, but that this must also recognise the existing high standards and history of trade between us. It is in the EU’s interests to restore this trade. Many businesses in the EU had invested in depuration equipment and are configured around managing the export of molluscs from class B waters.

    We have met the industry several times, and it is of course extremely concerned. We are working well with the Shellfish Association of Great Britain, which is taking up the issue in meetings with European counterparts. The molluscs affected include mussels, oysters, clams and cockles. In general, the scallop trade is less affected. Scallop exports may instead undergo pre-export testing, as was the case before exit. However, we know some businesses have not traditionally been working in that way, and we are discussing with them how we may help. The issue does not affect molluscs landed in Northern Ireland. It does, however, affect movements from GB to Northern Ireland.

    I know that this issue will be of great concern to many exporters around the country. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs will continue the technical discussions with the European Commission, and I will update the House with any developments in due course.

  • Pat McFadden – 2021 Comments on Increased Mastercard Fees Following Brexit

    Pat McFadden – 2021 Comments on Increased Mastercard Fees Following Brexit

    The comments made by Pat McFadden, the Shadow Economic Secretary to the Treasury, on 25 January 2021.

    The Government badly fumbled its preparations for the end of the transition period. Thanks to their last-minute approach we’ve already seen disruption at our ports and British businesses hit by new costs and taxes affecting their orders. These businesses should be at the heart of our recovery, not tied up in red tape.

    Now more unexpected costs have been revealed as online shoppers from the UK face being hit with extra charges when buying from the EU. Ministers have got to get a grip on the situation, and urge MasterCard to scrap these unfair changes – to stop British shoppers from losing out.

    This is the latest addition to a growing pile of costs and red tape for UK consumers. We’ve already seen delays at ports and a forest of extra form filling for exporters. This is a long way from what the Government promised.

  • David Duguid – 2021 Comments on the Scottish Fishing Industry

    David Duguid – 2021 Comments on the Scottish Fishing Industry

    The comments made by David Duguid, the UK Government Minister for Scotland, on 22 January 2021.

    It is essential that we know precisely what difficulties are arising so we can tailor solutions. The excellent feedback from DFDS is massively helpful. We are working to streamline systems, while supporting exporters and partners such as DFDS, and the commitment to making the system work is clear across the board.

    The UK Government has acknowledged there have been difficulties and we want to work together to provide solutions and restore confidence within this crucial sector so that world-class Scottish seafood can be harvested at sea and sped from port to plate for customers here and abroad.

    A £23m additional support scheme for the seafood sector has been announced and the UK Government knows the urgency of rapid delivery. Meetings such as today’s allow us to take on board the industry’s concerns about the eligibility for that support fund, about making it swift and readily accessible.

    There are still issues with the supply chain and we are doing all we can to ease them. I have today written to Scottish Government’s Cabinet Secretary for the Rural Economy, Fergus Ewing, encouraging take-up of our offer of additional support for Food Standards Scotland at Larkhall and providing further detail of our direct support for businesses with the embedding of experts to help firms with paperwork required by the EU.

    We want a workable, sure-footed system so the industry can maximise the benefits of Britain’s new status as an independent coastal state, outside the Common Fisheries Policy.

  • Pete Wishart – 2021 Speech on UK Musicians and EU Visas

    Pete Wishart – 2021 Speech on UK Musicians and EU Visas

    The speech made by Pete Wishart, the SNP MP for Perth and North Perthshire, in the House of Commons on 19 January 2021.

    That is an immensely disappointing response from the Minister. Touring Europe means everything to our artists and musicians: the thrill of that first tour, crammed into the Transit van with all your gear; four to a room in a cheap hotel in Paris, Rotterdam or Hamburg; using what is left of the fee for a post-gig beer; the dream of coming back on a lavish tour bus, staying at five-star hotels—gone, all gone. Musicians and artists are mere collateral in this Government’s obsession with ending freedom of movement.

    Does the Minister acknowledge that visas and carnets will render such tours beyond the financial reach of future generations of new musicians? Does she appreciate that is not just our new musicians but the whole creative sector that will have increased costs and red tape? What will she say to the crews, the technicians, the set designers, the transport? We were promised by her predecessor that arrangements would not change. What has happened to that commitment? The EU said it was prepared to offer a 90-day deal. Why was that turned down? The Government said they were holding out for a better deal, but we have ended up with nothing. How could that happen? Given that the Minister’s approach is totally contradicted by the EU, will she provide complete transparency in all these negotiations?

    Our constituents really care about this; 263,000 have now signed the petition organised by our artists, calling for this to get sorted. We do not want any more of the EU-blaming—we have had quite enough of that in the past few years; we just want the Government to fix this. The Secretary of State has said that the door is still open, so will she walk through and fix it out? Will she restart talks with the EU immediately, to get our artists the arrangements that they need? Will she let the music tour freely once again?

  • Caroline Dinenage – 2021 Statement on UK Musicians and EU Visas

    Caroline Dinenage – 2021 Statement on UK Musicians and EU Visas

    The statement made by Caroline Dinenage, the Minister for Digital and Culture, in the House of Commons on 19 January 2021.

    This Government recognise the importance of the UK’s world-leading cultural and creative industries. We recently demonstrated that commitment by providing an unprecedented £1.57 billion package of support to help them through the covid-19 pandemic. It is therefore entirely consistent that, during the negotiations with the EU, we pushed for ambitious arrangements allowing performers and artists to work across Europe.

    Our proposals, which were informed by our extensive consultation and engagement with the UK’s cultural and creative industries, would have allowed UK musicians and other cultural touring professionals to travel and perform in the UK and the EU more easily, without the need for work permits. Regrettably, those mutually beneficial proposals were rejected by the EU. As a result, UK cultural professionals seeking to tour in the EU will be required to check domestic immigration and visitor rules for each member state in which they intend to tour. Although some member states allow touring without a permit, others will require a pre-approved visa and/or a work permit.

    It is absolutely vital that we now support our touring sectors to understand the new rules associated with working and travelling in the EU. We are delivering an extensive programme of engagement with the sector to help them understand any new requirements. That includes working with Arts Council England and various other sector bodies, to help distil and clarify the new rules.

    As my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport has already made very clear, we will also look at whether we can work with our partners in EU member states to find ways to make life easier for those working in the creative industries in our respective countries. In the meantime, we will continue close dialogue with the creative and cultural sectors, to understand the ongoing impacts and ensure that that they have the right support at the right time to continue to thrive.