Tag: Speeches

Theresa May – 2019 Commons Statement on Brexit

Below is the text of the statement made by Theresa May, the Prime Minister, in the House of Commons on 22 May 2019.

Before I make my statement, may I too recognise the work of Yvonne Marie Blenkinsop and others, and indeed all those who have campaigned over the years to ensure that those in the workplace can have the degree of safety and security that they need?

With permission, Mr Speaker, I would like to make a statement on the Government’s work to deliver Brexit by putting forward a new deal that Members of this House can stand behind.

We need to see Brexit through, to honour the result of the referendum and to deliver the change the British people so clearly demanded. I sincerely believe that most Members of this House feel the same—that, for all our division and disagreement, we believe in democracy, and that we want to make good on the promise we made to the British people when we asked them to decide on the future of our EU membership. As to how we make that happen, recent votes have shown that there is no majority in this House for leaving with no deal, and this House has voted against revoking article 50. It is clear that the only way forward is leaving with a deal, but it is equally clear that this will not happen without compromise on all sides of the debate. That starts with the Government, which is why we have just held six weeks of detailed talks with the Opposition—talks that the Leader of the Opposition chose to end before a formal agreement was reached, but which none the less revealed areas of common ground.

Having listened to the Opposition, to other party leaders, to the devolved Administrations and to business leaders, trade unionists and others, we are now making a 10-point offer to Members across the House—10 changes that address the concerns raised by right hon. and hon. Members; 10 binding commitments that will be enshrined in legislation so they cannot simply be ignored; and 10 steps that will bring us closer to the bright future that awaits our country once we end the political impasse and get Brexit done.

First, we will protect British jobs by seeking as close to frictionless trade in goods with the EU as possible while outside the single market and ending free movement. The Government will be placed under a legal duty to negotiate our future relationship on this basis.

Secondly, we will provide much-needed certainty for our vital manufacturing and agricultural sectors by keeping up to date with EU rules for goods and agri-food products that are relevant to checks at the border. Such a commitment, which will also be enshrined in legislation, will help protect thousands of skilled jobs that depend on just-in-time supply chains.

Thirdly, we will empower Parliament to break the deadlock over future customs arrangements. Both the Government and the Opposition agree that we must have as close to frictionless trade at the UK-EU border as possible, protecting the jobs and livelihoods that are sustained by our existing trade with the EU, but while we agree on the ends, we disagree on the means. The Government have already put forward a proposal that delivers the benefits of a customs union but with the ability for the UK to determine its own trade and development policy. The Opposition are sceptical of our ability to negotiate that and do not believe that an independent trade policy is in the national interest. They would prefer a comprehensive customs union with a UK say in EU trade policy, but with the EU negotiating on our behalf.

As part of the cross-party discussions, the Government offered a compromise option of a temporary customs union on goods only, including a UK say in relevant EU trade policy, so that the next Government can decide their preferred direction. We were not able to reach agreement, so instead we will commit in law to let Parliament decide this issue and to reflect the outcome of this process in legislation.

Fourthly, to address concerns that a future Government could roll back hard-won protections for employees, we will publish a new workers’ rights Bill. As I have told the House many times, successive British Administrations of all colours have granted rights and protections to British workers well above the standards demanded by Brussels. I know that people want guarantees, and I am happy to provide them. If passed by Parliament, this Bill will guarantee that the rights enjoyed by British workers can be no less favourable than those of their counterparts in the EU—both now and in the future—and we will discuss further amendments with trade unions and business.

Fifthly, the new Brexit deal will also guarantee that there will be no change in the level of environmental protection when we leave the EU. We will establish a new and wholly independent office of environmental protection, able to uphold standards and enforce compliance.

Sixthly, the withdrawal agreement Bill will place a legal duty on Government to seek changes to the political declaration that will be needed to reflect this new deal, and I am confident that we will be successful in doing so.

Seventhly, the Government will include in the withdrawal agreement Bill at its introduction a requirement to vote on whether to hold a second referendum. I have made my own view clear on this many times—I am against a second referendum. We should be implementing the result of the first referendum, not asking the British people to vote in a second one. What would it say about our democracy if the biggest vote in our history were to be rerun because this House did not like the outcome? What would it do to that democracy and what forces would it unleash? However, I recognise the genuine and sincere strength of feeling across the House on this important issue. To those MPs who want a second referendum to confirm the deal, I say that you need a deal and therefore a withdrawal agreement Bill to make it happen. Let it have its Second Reading and then those MPs can make their case to Parliament. If this House votes for a referendum, it would require the Government to make provisions for such a referendum, including legislation if it wanted to ratify the withdrawal agreement.

Eighthly, Parliament will be guaranteed a much greater role in the second part of the Brexit process: the negotiations over our future relationship with the EU. In line with the proposal put forward by the hon. Members for Wigan (Lisa Nandy) and for Stoke-on-Trent Central (Gareth Snell), the new Brexit deal will set out in law that the House of Commons will approve the UK’s objectives for the negotiations. MPs will also be asked to approve the treaty governing that relationship before the Government sign it.

Ninthly, the new Brexit deal will legally oblige the Government to seek to conclude the alternative arrangements process by December 2020, avoiding any need for the Northern Ireland backstop coming into force. This commitment is made in the spirit of the amendment tabled by my hon. Friend the Member for Altrincham and Sale West (Sir Graham Brady), passed by this House on 29 January. Although it is not possible to use alternative arrangements to replace the backstop in the withdrawal agreement, we will ensure that they are a viable alternative.

Finally, tenthly, we will ensure that, should the backstop come into force, Great Britain will stay aligned with Northern Ireland. We will prohibit the proposal that a future Government could split Northern Ireland off from the UK’s customs territory, and we will deliver on our commitments to Northern Ireland in the December 2017 joint report in full. We will implement paragraph 50 of the joint report in law. The Northern Ireland Assembly and Executive will have to give their consent on a cross-community basis for new regulations that are added to the backstop. We will work with our confidence and supply partners on how these commitments should be entrenched in law, so that Northern Ireland cannot be separated from the United Kingdom.

Following the end of EU election purdah, the withdrawal agreement Bill will be published on Friday so that the House has the maximum possible time to study its detail. If Parliament passes the Bill before the summer recess, the UK will leave the EU by the end of July. We will be out of the EU political structures and out of ever closer union. We will stop British laws being enforced by a European court. We will end free movement. We will stop making vast annual payments to the EU budget. By any definition, that alone is delivering Brexit. By leaving with a deal we can do so much more besides: we can protect jobs, guarantee workers’ rights, and maintain the close security partnerships that do so much to keep us all safe. We will ensure that there is no hard border between Northern Ireland and Ireland, and we can bring an end to the months—years—of increasingly bitter argument and division that have both polarised and paralysed our politics. We can move on, move forwards, and get on with the job that we were sent here to do and what we got into politics to do. That is what we can achieve if we support this new deal.

Reject the deal, and all we have before us is division and deadlock. We risk leaving with no deal, something that this House is clearly against. We risk stopping Brexit altogether, something that the British people would simply not tolerate. We risk creating further division at a time when we need to be acting together in the national interest. We also guarantee a future in which our politics becomes still more polarised and voters increasingly despair as they see us failing to do what they asked of us. None of us wants to see that happen. The opportunity of Brexit is too large and the consequences of failure too grave to risk further delay. In the weeks ahead, there will be opportunities for MPs from all parts of the House to have their say, to table amendments, and to shape the Brexit that they and their constituents want to see.

In time, another Prime Minister will be standing at this Dispatch Box, but while I am here, I have a duty to be clear with the House about the facts. If we are to deliver Brexit in this Parliament, we will have to pass a withdrawal agreement Bill. We will not do so without holding votes on the issues that have divided us the most. That includes votes on customs arrangements and on a second referendum. We can pretend otherwise and carry on arguing and getting nowhere, but in the end our job in this House is to take decisions, not to duck them. I will put those decisions to this House because that is my duty and because it is the only way that we can deliver Brexit. Let us demonstrate what this House can achieve. Let us come together, honour the referendum, deliver what we promised the British people, and build a successful future for our whole country. I commend this statement to the House.

May 23, 2019
John Glen – 2019 Speech at the Building Societies Association Annual Conference

Below is the text of the speech made by John Glen, the Economic Secretary to the Treasury, on 23 May 2019.

Thank you, Stephen [Stephen Mitcham, Chairman].

It’s a pleasure to be asked to speak at your Annual Conference, particularly in this 150th Anniversary year.

A century-and-a-half is quite an achievement for any organisation.

Throughout this time the Building Societies Association has been keeper of the flame, for the movement and its members.

Over the years you’ve weathered all sorts of economic storms and existential threats. In more recent times, you survived de-mutualisation in the 1990s and the Global Crash of 2008, and today you represent almost a quarter of the mortgage market.

And I think it’s worth taking a moment to consider why it is that the building society movement has endured.

In answering that question, it’s perhaps fitting if I start by quoting the man who was Prime Minister back at the time of your founding.

It was Benjamin Disraeli who said that “the secret of success is constancy of purpose.”

For all the changes we’ve seen in our society and our economy, the building society movement has remained true to its original values.

In 2019, as in 1869, building societies continue to put the interests of their members first.

They continue to be rooted in the communities they serve.

And they continue to ensure our financial service sector caters for everyone in our society.

This is borne out by the strength of the sector today, with more than 40 different organisations, serving 25 million members in 1,500 branches across the United Kingdom.

As I will explain in a moment, this diversity and competition in high street lending has never been more necessary than it is today.

But first I should also add a special word on credit unions.

It’s good to see so many represented here today, including BSA’s newest member, Scotwest.

I know how vital credit unions are to the people and communities you serve.

This was reflected in the Parliamentary debate I responded to on Tuesday this week, with many members from across the House speaking up for credit unions.

As some of you know, the government is developing a prize-linked savings scheme to encourage individual savers, and help raise awareness of credit unions more widely.

It’s a first step…because whether you can trace your pedigree back to 1869 or not, I want to see mutuals of all types prosper and grow.

I’d like to use my remarks to set out why I think it’s so vital that building societies and credit unions keep on innovating and adapting…

…so they can continue to apply their values and principles in a changing society.

Of course, given the changes we’ve seen over the past 150 years, who can predict with any certainty what the next 150 may bring?

Here in Westminster it’s difficult to see past next week…

And yet despite the short-term political uncertainty, I’m in no doubt of the forces that will shape the future of our financial sector.

I refer to the ‘three Ts’ – Trust, Technology and Talent.

Let’s take each of them in order, starting with Trust.

A decade on from the financial crash, I know how hard the sector has worked to rebuild public trust.

But the task of making our financial services work in a way that is sustainable and responsible is an unending one.

And we must never stop working to ensure our economy is sufficiently broad and inclusive to serve everyone in our society.

This challenge is particularly acute when you consider the demographic pressures we face as a country.

We have a generation of young people starting out in life, for whom the traditional expectations about job security, home ownership and pensions seem to be slipping further into the distance.

At the other end of the financial journey, we have more people living longer. One in 3 children born today will live to see their 100th Birthday, with all that entails in terms of financial security and social care.

Balancing the two is not easy – but balance them we must.

Because if we are to maintain people’s faith in our financial system, then it must evolve to serve their changing needs and expectations.

I know the building society movement is in the vanguard of these efforts.

Take housing.

In November, I was pleased to speak at the launch of BSA’s report on Intergenerational Mortgages.

I know that Saffron has launched a guarantor mortgage, while Marsden is the latest building society to offer a ‘joint borrower, sole proprietor’ mortgage.

These two schemes take into account the financial circumstances of family members in order to give first time buyers a leg up onto the property ladder.

I recently met the Ecology Building Society, which offers Green Mortgages for self-build properties and discounted borrowing for home improvements.

That’s another great example of how the mortgage market can respond to the needs of society, and of the generations to come.

As for retirement lending, it’s hugely encouraging to see regional building societies like Leeds, Nottingham and Loughborough offering retirement interest-only mortgages.

And we’re starting to see this on a national level, with Nationwide offering a retirement interest-only mortgage alongside traditional equity release and capital repayment products – all backed by a joined-up advice service.

These examples are proof that regulation and innovation are not mutually exclusive.

It is possible to be a responsible lender while remaining accessible to people at every stage of their financial lives.

And fresh thinking can transform even the most traditional areas of business.

The subject of fresh thinking naturally leads to the second ‘T’ – Technology.

You don’t need me to remind you of the extent to which technology is changing the market, particularly for high street lenders.

But the question is – Do we sit back and let technology do its work? Or do we seize the opportunity to meld and align this revolution in a way that works for society?

It probably won’t surprise you to hear me say I choose the second option.

Yes, technology can provide more sophisticated and more convenient services, to the benefit of customers and businesses alike.

But it’s true financial potential is to be found in being a catalyst for a smarter, more resilient and inclusive system.

And that requires us to come together, roll-up our sleeves and get to work.

First, to ensure that the benefits of technology can be harnessed across the sector, from the big national institutions to the smallest community cooperative.

And second, to ensure that the benefits are felt throughout society: not just the wealthy or comfortable, but those who struggle with complex financial circumstances.

I’m really pleased that you have Conference sessions planned for tomorrow under the theme of ‘Digital Mutual’.

Meanwhile, our Financial Inclusion Forum brings government, business and civil society together to help find new solutions.

Nationwide is one of the institutions that have picked up the baton.

It’s ‘Open Banking for Good’ Challenge offers £3 million to FinTech companies that can come up with new apps and services to help financially squeezed households in this country.

Fifty applications have been whittled down to 7 start-ups, which are now taking their ideas forward.

At a time when many see Open Banking solely through a commercial lens, this is a much-needed demonstration that it can offer a social purpose too.

The third and final ‘T’ is Talent.

The single most critical element in the future of financial services – and our wider economy – is the availability of skills in the sector.

We need people with the courage to think differently; the agility to move with the times; and the ambition to grasp the opportunities before us.

To find these people, we must look to society in all its breadth and diversity.

All the research shows that a more inclusive workforce is better for employees, better for businesses and better for customers.

But across the financial sector – including building societies – there are sadly too few women represented in senior leadership roles.

As some of you know, HM Treasury published the Women in Finance Charter three years ago.

It asked financial service companies to commit to greater representation of women in senior leadership roles in the near term, with the long-term goal of an equal gender balance.

BSA has shown real leadership by signing the charter.

It sends a signal to the rest of the sector that this is the right thing to do.

Twelve individual building societies have also signed up and I would encourage the 35 BSA members who haven’t yet done so to do likewise.

The next step for everyone is to turn that public commitment into tough, tangible, action.

I congratulate those who have met their first round of targets for increasing female representation in senior management this year –

…Capital Credit Union…and Leeds, Market Harborough, Nottingham, Progressive and West Bromwich Building Societies.

It’s good to see progress.

But we still have a long way to go.

And I do intend to hold your feet to the fire on this matter.

As a sector, you pride yourself on being locally-focused and community-minded.

In so many areas, your ethos is in line with public frustration and sentiment.

So, frankly, I find it difficult to understand why this matter should be any different.

Gender balance is a business imperative as well as a moral one.

It’s not about displacing current leaders – it’s about creating a talent pipeline by thinking about who you recruit and how you nurture them over the course of a career.

Because in a world that is increasingly global, increasingly competitive and increasingly digital, we simply cannot afford for people with the talent and skills we need to pass the sector by.

Nor can we afford for experienced and capable individuals to be prevented from rising to the top.

Let me begin to draw this together.

I’ve highlighted some of the ways the Building Societies Association is leading the sector to innovate and adapt.

Of course, there are plenty of other examples I could have chosen.

Like Yorkshire Building Society’s workplace saving scheme.

Or Nationwide’s not-for-profit house building programme.

Or Newcastle’s leadership in signing up to the alternative dormant assets scheme for smaller building societies and banks.

All of which represent the innovation that is found across the sector.

So my closing message to you today is to keep on doing all the things you do.

Keep on serving local communities.

Keep on bringing forward new ideas for greater collaboration – building trust, harnessing technology and sharpening talent.

And, most importantly, keep on putting people first.

Because like Disraeli said, constancy of purpose is the key to success.

So, to end, I’d like to congratulate the Building Societies Association for all that you have achieved, and all that you will achieve.

Because I have confidence that you have as much to contribute to our country in your next 150 years as you have in your first.

May 23, 2019
Andrea Leadsom – 2019 Resignation Letter

Andrea Leadsom

Below is the text of the resignation letter sent by Andrea Leadsom, the Leader of the House of Commons, to Theresa May, the Prime Minister.

Dear Prime Minister

I am proud to have served in your government since 2016, first as your environment secretary and for the last two years as leader of the House of Commons, and pay tribute to the excellent work of my civil servants in both roles. More recently, setting up the new complaints procedure, putting in train the restoration of the Palace of Westminster, introducing proxy voting for MPs, proposing a new strategy to support early years, and ensuring the timely delivery of our legislative programme, my role as leader of the Commons has been highly rewarding, and I am grateful to have had these opportunities.

I stayed in cabinet to shape and fight for Brexit. There have been some uncomfortable compromises along the way, but you have had my determined support and loyalty in your efforts to deliver Brexit as our shared goal.

I no longer believe that our approach will deliver on the referendum result, for the following reasons:

1. I do not believe that we will be a truly sovereign United Kingdom through the deal that is now proposed;

2. I have always maintained that a second referendum would be dangerously divisive, and I do not support the government willingly facilitating such a concession. It would also risk undermining our union which is something I passionately want to see strengthened;

3. There has been such a breakdown of government processes that recent Brexit-related legislative proposals have not been properly scrutinised or approved by cabinet members;

4. The tolerance to those in cabinet who have advocated policies contrary to the government’s position has led to a complete breakdown of collective responsibility.

I know there are important elections tomorrow, and many Conservatives have worked hard to support our excellent candidates. I considered carefully the timing of this decision, but I cannot fulfil my duty as Leader of the House tomorrow, to announce a bill with new elements that I fundamentally oppose.

I fully respect the integrity, resolution and determination that you have shown during your time as prime minister. No-one has wanted you to succeed more than I have, but I do now urge you to make the right decisions In the interests of the country, this government and our party.

It is therefore with great regret and with a heavy heart that I resign from the government.

Andrea Leadsom.

May 23, 2019
Tom Watson – 2019 Speech on the WhatsApp Data Breach

Below is the text of the speech made by Tom Watson, the Deputy Leader of the Labour Party, in the House of Commons on 15 May 2019.

Here we are again: another day, another major data breach from a Mark Zuckerberg company. I am glad that the Secretary of State is with Facebook today, because we can suggest a number of questions for him to put to Facebook.

First, what has happened? Spyware called Pegasus, created by the Israeli security company NSO Group, has been used to hack the phones of lawyers and human rights activists. The news reports read like a nightmare: a dystopian world of tech-enabled total surveillance. The spyware transits malicious code via a WhatsApp call. The target does not even need to answer the call for the phone to be infected. According to The New York Times, once the spyware is installed, it can extract everything: messages, contacts, GPS location, email and browser history. It can even use the phone’s camera and microphone to record the user’s surroundings. That is terrifying.

About 1.5 billion people worldwide use WhatsApp and millions are here in the UK. Many of them will have been drawn to the service for its unique selling point: end-to-end encryption that ensures user privacy. Now we find that a gap in WhatsApp’s defences has enabled complete violation of that privacy. What is the Minister doing to work with GCHQ, the National Cyber Security Centre and tech industry players to protect the UK’s digital communications and privacy?

Media reports say that WhatsApp contacted the US Department of Justice earlier this month when it found out about the hack, but when was the Minister notified about it? When was the Information Commissioner informed? How many users in the UK are affected? Have those affected been notified? If the Minister does not know the answers, will she commit to updating the House when she does?

The spyware was licensed for export by the Israeli Government. What assurances can the Minister provide to social media companies that any digital surveillance products that the UK exports will not be misused to track and monitor human rights defenders? The particular vulnerability of WhatsApp was the voice over internet protocol—the process for receiving calls over the internet. As telecoms companies modernise, they are all moving away from calls over copper lines and phasing in calling via the internet. What is the Minister doing to ensure that those companies do not have vulnerabilities such as those we are discussing today?

The attack looks as if it was carried out by malicious actors, possibly other state actors, trying to close down journalists, dissidents, human rights activists and lawyers seeking justice, but exactly that kind of surveillance was given legal basis in the Investigatory Powers Act 2016, which the right hon. Member for Haltemprice and Howden (Mr Davis) and I fought in the courts and won concessions on. The Government want tech companies to build back doors into their services, but this is an example of what happens if malicious actors find those doors: those who are fighting for justice and what is right come under attack. The Government must not allow that to happen.

May 22, 2019
Philip Hammond – 2019 Speech at CBI Annual Dinner

Below is the text of the speech made by Philip Hammond, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, at the CBI Annual Dinner on 21 May 2019.

Thank you, John, for that introduction.

It is a pleasure to be here once again in the old Whitbread building.

And if the CBI is trying to make a cheap point by literally organising your annual piss up in a brewery, I am going to pretend I haven’t noticed it!

Actually, this building has a fascinating history.

For more than a hundred years, the Speaker of the House of Commons’ carriage was kept here.

If you haven’t seen it, it is a spectacularly grand, gilded and polished affair – I am talking about the coach, not the Speaker.

This was a working brewery until 1976. The year before I started my first job, and a time when the UK economy was fast-approaching its post-industrial revolution nadir…

… dominated by state-owned industries; crippled by unbridled Union power and incessant politically-motivated strikes and protected by rigid exchange controls and managed exchange rates…

…where credit was rationed by the government, and the top marginal tax rate on investment income was 98%.

Visibly falling behind the other Members of the EEC, which we had just joined.

And with our politics polarising to reflect the radically different solutions of left and right to the nation’s challenges.

We have come a long way since then.

Our economy is transformed. Our manufacturing sector once again boasts global champions;

British design and innovation, derided back then, is now respected throughout the world;

Our services sector has been liberated from stifling regulation and short-sighted protectionism to soar ahead as a powerhouse of the new economy;

And the UK has become a magnet for investment, for entrepreneurship and for talent from across the globe.

Our recovery from the fiscal consequences of the financial crisis a decade ago has reached a turning point: our deficit is now lower than it was before the crisis and our national debt is falling sustainably for the first time in a generation.

Meanwhile, the UK has grown continuously for nine straight years, and despite domestic uncertainty and a slowing world economy, the OBR is forecasting growth for the next five as well.

Judged against our peers, the UK economy is robust: Since 2010, we have grown as fast as Germany, and faster than France, Italy and Japan.

On jobs, we have a remarkable story to tell,with the employment rate at a record high and unemployment at its lowest rate since 1975.

Over 3 ½ million net new jobs since 2010. And of the nearly half a million net additional people in work over the last year, virtually all are in full time jobs.

And there’s good news on pay, too – with the OBR forecasting wages to rise by 3% or more in each of the next five years…

…while inflation is forecast to remain at, or very close to, the target of 2% throughout the forecast period.

This robust economic and fiscal performance is the result of nearly a decade of hard work by the British people, and of a clear economic strategy by the government.

My predecessor’s number one focus was, quite rightly, on fixing the public finances, inheriting, as he did, a record peacetime fiscal deficit.

But when I became Chancellor in 2016 I recognised that, as well as getting Britain’s debt down, our continued success as a nation depends on investing in our future, supporting our public services, and keeping taxes low to attract talent and investment.

This ‘balanced approach’ is now delivering, with the highest sustained levels of public capital investment in 40 years…

…a Modern Industrial Strategy to respond to the long-term challenge of low productivity;

Income tax cuts for more than 30 million people;

…and over £150 billion of new spending commitments since 2016, including a £34bn a year increase for the NHS…

…the single largest cash commitment ever made by a peacetime British Government…

…but all of it anchored in a framework of fiscal responsibility, with our deficit now just1.2% and our national debt falling sustainably for the first time in a generation.

Fiscal responsibility is a proud boast of Conservative Governments, and I know that, over the coming months, my colleagues will want to protect that reputation – and so will resist the ever-present temptation to write cheques the country cannot afford.

Because we must not undo a decade of hard work by the British people by making unfunded commitments that would send our national debt soaring; leave the economy vulnerable to future shocks; burden future generations; and waste billions on interest payments.

People must know they can trust Conservatives with the public finances.

So our economy and our public finances are in far better shape than they were 40 years ago.

Wages and living standards are dramatically improved since then.

And yet, there are worrying echoes of the 1970’s in the re-polarisation of the political debate today.

Populism is on the rise.

Globalisation – which has transformed the lives of hundreds of millions across the planet, and driven rising living standards here in the UK, has become something of a dirty word;

Free trade is under attack from all sides and the multilateral institutions which have upheld the post-war international system are challenged as never before;

Trade tensions and the rise of protectionism are now a real threat to world trade and economic growth.

On the left and right of politics, at home and abroad, the allure of superficially easy answers to complex problems – the political equivalent of the “free lunch” – fills the vacuum created by frustration with the politics of the centre ground.

And Brexit continues to wrap our economy in a cloud of uncertainty – with the continued possibility of a “No Deal” exit remaining a real threat to our future prosperity.

So I want to say a few words tonight about how we can meet this growing challenge.

But it is worth noting that doing so today will be more complicated than it was in the 1970s.

Because underpinning, and to some extent driving, the political malaise in Britain – and in many other developed economies, are four major, unavoidable, structural changes that are shaping the context for this debate:

1) The inexorable shift of economic power from the West towards the Emerging Economies of Asia, and its inevitable long-term consequence for the balance of strategic power as well.

2) The need for rapid de-carbonisation of our economy, with huge implications for the allocation of capital and the sustainability of current business models;

3) The ageing of our populations and the implications for our economies, for migration policy and for intergenerational equity;

4) And finally, the unparalleled scale of the technological revolution on which we are embarked – a revolution that will profoundly change our lives, our jobs, our economy and our politics.

And all of these will be happening at once; all imposing huge demands for resources and attention – both in terms of political bandwidth and in terms of business management-time.

So the background is challenging, to put it mildly. And against that background, we face real and present dangers to our economic well-being from populists of left and right.

On the populist right, there are those who now claim that the only outcome that counts as a truly legitimate Brexit is to leave with No Deal.

Let me remind them: the 2016 Leave campaign was clear that we would leave with a Deal.

So to advocate No Deal is to hijack the result of the referendum, and in doing so, knowingly to inflict damage on our economy and our living standards.

Because all the preparation in the world will not avoid the consequences of No Deal.

So I will continue to fight, in the face of this polarisation, for a negotiated Brexit…

…an outcome that respects the British people’s decision to leave, while recognising that there is no mandate for a “No Deal” exit; and that we have an absolute obligation to protect Britain’s jobs, businesses and future prosperity.

But we need to be clear, that if we do not resolve this issue in the next few weeks, there is a real risk of a new Prime Minister abandoning the search for a deal, and shifting towards seeking a damaging No-Deal exit as a matter of policy…

…in order to protect an ideological position which ignores the reality of Britain’s economic interests and the value of our precious Union.

And we need to be clear, too, that lurking ever larger behind this immediate challenge of right-wing populism, is the even greater danger of left-wing populism…

…manifest in John McDonnell’s increasingly brazen policy assault on the fundamental fabric of our modern, open, economy…

…with proposals for nationalisation of businesses without compensation; appropriation of equity shares; direction of investment; and ruinous levels of taxation and borrowing to finance yet another experiment in market manipulation and social engineering that is doomed to fail, as it predecessors, at home and abroad, have always done…

…and which must surely lead to capital flight and, ultimately, exchange controls.

Both approaches offer a disaffected electorate temptingly simple solutions to the complex problems that drive their discontent.

Neither will deliver.

Those who believe that they can make Britain better off by increasing barriers to trade and those who think that greater prosperity and a better society can be delivered by subverting the market rather than harnessing it, are both wrong – as history will confirm.

But the truth is that a gap has opened up – in Britain and in other developed countries – between the theory of how a market economy and free trade creates and distributes wealth, and the reality experienced by many ordinary people…

…creating a dissatisfaction that is fertile ground for populism to grow in.

And since populism cannot be defeated by confronting one set of simplistic, undeliverable solutions with another…

…we have to be prepared to eschew simple answers…

….and make again the complex, and to some, counter-intuitive, case for well-regulated open markets, free and fair trade, fiscal discipline and market economics;

Explaining how, as we tackle the great challenges of our economy in the 21st century – ageing, technology, climate change and productivity…

…the mechanisms of the market and the benefits of openness will allow us to create enduring, sustainable solutions.

Solutions that deliver real results, not empty promises.

But defending the market economy means demonstrating how, specifically, it can meet the challenges that matter most to a generation who may be pre-disposed to believe that it cannot.

And it means showing by doing, not by telling.

It means delivering rising real wages and living standards year after year;

Building the homes that the next generation needs – at prices they can afford;

Supporting people of all ages to embrace technology change through retraining and re-skilling, so that technology means higher living standards, not higher unemployment;

It means closing the gap between our regions through sustained investment in infrastructure, including strategic projects like HS2;

Demonstrating that higher productivity can provide the answer to the challenge of an ageing population;

And harnessing market-based solutions to show that de-carbonisation and rising living standards can go hand-in-hand.

In short, it means validating the open, free-trading market economy system as “fit-for-purpose” for the challenges that we face in the 21st Century

That’s necessary to re-build confidence in the politics of the Centre ground…

…and it’s necessary to “re-licence” business to play the vital role that it must in our society.

And it can only be done by Government and Business working together to deliver prosperity and opportunity in every part of Britain.

The immediate priority must, of course, be delivering a solution to the Brexit impasse.And we made a great step forward today.

Because the Government’s, and Parliament’s seeming inability to do so is undermining confidence in our political system…

…and because continued uncertainty is now having a real and damaging impact on our economy.

When I accepted this invitation to speak, back in January, I planned to speak about Britain’s future in the context of a Brexit deal that had been done!

And I didn’t even focus on the juxtaposition with the European Elections later this week!

The threat of “No Deal as Policy” should unite all those who reject it as reckless and dangerous.

I was an early advocate of seeking to reach a compromise agreement with other parties and factions to break the impasse in the House of Commons.

So, I was disappointed, but not surprised, when the Leader of the Opposition ended the formal discussions last week.

The truth is, the incentives in our political system discourage such initiatives.

But both of us have learned a great deal about each other’s positions from those talks…

…and I believe that the case for compromise remains as strong as ever.

If we are to have any hope of re-uniting our country and repairing our politics after the divisions of the last three years, we cannot have half the country feeling they have completely won and the other half, that they have completely lost.

Britain needs a Brexit that feels like a compromise; a Brexit that delights no-one, but one that everyone, or nearly everyone, can live with.

And in a Parliamentary democracy, which this country is, the only sustainable Brexit solution is one that can command a majority in the Parliament.

So the right way forward is to build on what we have learned of the concerns and aspirations on the Labour side…

…and add it to what we already know of the concerns and aspirations of our colleagues on the Government side, and others across the House who are open to a negotiated exit…

…to craft a compromise that can deliver Brexit and settle this question, once and for all,in a Withdrawal Agreement Bill that will represent a bold, new proposal addressed to MPs on all sides of the House of Commons.

But let me be clear on one thing: that is where the attempt at consensus with the Opposition ends.

Because beyond Brexit, we can and must challenge head-on the anti-market, anti-business ideology of the left…

…with its false promises and easy answers…

…and promote instead a clear plan to build on the strengths of the British economy as we tackle the challenges and harness the opportunities of the future…

…working in a partnership with business…

…using the authority of Government to set the direction of travel…

…but with the private sector as the front-line agent of change – mobilising private capital and harnessing the power of the market to ensure effective delivery.

Working together to raise productivity as the only sustainable path – not only to higher wages and rising personal living standards…

…but also to delivering our social objectives, and our strategic goals, such as decarbonisation.

That means capital investment, both public and private, in infrastructure and technology…

…and it also means a partnership to deliver the home-grown skills and training that Britain needs to prosper…

…and a genuine collaboration to ensure a future immigration regime that supports the needs of business and the economy without unnecessary bureaucracy.

That’s why we embarked on an unprecedented year-long consultation on the post-Brexit migration regime: we said we want to hear the views of business, and I am sure you are not going to disappoint us!

There is no doubt that we are facing an unprecedented period of challenge in our public life.

Uncertainty over Brexit.

Anxiety over our economic model.

Anger about our politics.

All set against the backdrop of a long, and sometimes apparently conflicting list of urgent imperatives:

Decarbonising our economy; rescuing our environment; housing our population; adopting new technology; increasing our productivity, and adapting to demographic change.

No wonder the British people are concerned,and it would be an insult to ignore them.

The populists do not have the answers – but they are pretty good at identifying the grievances.

To trump them, we need an optimistic vision for the future – but one that is grounded in reality…

…with solutions that work with the grain of our society and harness the power of markets, the energy of business and the resource of private capital…

…to deliver answers to these multiple,simultaneous, challenges.

And to allow us to harvest the tremendous opportunities that lie within them.

Solutions that address the future…

…not hark back to the past;

That promote unity, not further division;

That deliver real change, not simply rhetorical shift;

And that speak to our ambition for a country whose best years, we firmly believe, lie ahead of it.

Thank you.

May 22, 2019
Margot James – 2019 Statement on WhatsApp Data Breach

Below is the text of the statement made by Margot James, the Minister for Digital and the Creative Industries, in the House of Commons on 15 May 2019.

I am responding to this question from the shadow Secretary of State because the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport is in Paris for the G7 Digital Ministers meeting. He is meeting political and digital leaders from across the world, including senior representatives of Facebook, which owns Whatsapp, to ensure that the technology that is an increasing part of our daily lives is developed and managed in a safe and ethical manner.

I share the concern of all Members of the House about WhatsApp’s announcement of this vulnerability and the steps that it is taking to address it. In this instance, the National Cyber Security Centre has acted quickly to assess the risk to UK users and to publish guidance for our user base here in the UK. The NCSC has recommended that users protect their devices by installing updates as soon as they become available, and I would encourage any users with concerns to check the NCSC website. It is right that people should have confidence that their personal data will be protected and used fairly and lawfully.

The Data Protection Act 2018, which the Government passed last year, imposes strict obligations on organisations to ensure that UK citizens’ data is processed safely, securely and transparently. Organisations that fail to comply with the legislation may be investigated by the Information Commissioner’s Office, which received extra resources and more powers last year during the passage of that Bill. WhatsApp has designated the Irish Data Protection Commission as its European national regulator, and the ICO will work with and support its Irish counterpart so that the data of UK citizens is protected.

Cyber-security is of paramount importance to this Government, and our cyber-security strategy, which is supported by £1.9 billion of investment, sets out ambitious policies to protect UK citizens and businesses in cyber-space. Trust is the foundation of our digital economy. Cyber-security is absolutely vital in providing the stability and certainty that businesses need to thrive, and the public must have confidence in it.

May 22, 2019
Liam Fox – 2019 Speech to CityWeek

Below is the text of the speech made by Liam Fox, the Secretary of State for International Trade, on 20 May 2019.

1. Introduction – the prophets of doom were wrong

If there is one sector in our economy that represents a combination of old-fashioned British grit and determination alongside global innovation and leadership, it must surely be financial services. Time and again doom-mongers have predicted the demise of the City. And time and again they have been proved wrong.

From the Big Bang deregulation of financial markets in 1986, when some predicted London would struggle to continue to compete as a global financial centre. To cries that the end was nigh for the City of London when the United Kingdom decided against joining the Euro – a decision that I believe has stood the test of time. To the 2008 financial crisis, which brought the sector to the brink. All wrong. But the City of London has not just survived the onslaught, it has positively thrived in the face of some formidable threats.

And as we prepare to leave the European Union, once again the death-knell has been sounded on the future of the UK’s financial sector. Now I understand people’s concerns – we are in the middle of a fundamental change of direction, and the unwillingness of Parliament I have to say to give certainty exacerbates the situation. But I am convinced that when the dust settles the City of London will do what it always does, which is to emerge fitter, stronger and more dynamic than ever.

2. The strength of UK financial services

Since the referendum in 2016, the United Kingdom has maintained – and even strengthened – its position as a global financial centre: I would argue as the leading financial centre. Just today, Deloitte’s Crane Survey shows that construction of new offices in London has hit its highest level since the referendum.

Office space under construction between October 2018 and March 2019 amounted to 13.2 million square feet: the equivalent of more than 22 Shards, up 12% compared to the previous survey, while volume of new office construction activity was 3.5 million square feet: some 38% higher than the previous survey. Office space under construction between October 2018 and March 2019 amounted to 13.2 million square feet: the equivalent of more than 22 Shards worth of office space – and a 12% increase compared to the previous survey.

It’s a far cry from the doom and gloom predicted when the UK voted to leave the European Union in 2016, and reinforces the City’s global pre-eminence as an investment destination. And this follows on from recent OECD figures which show the total value of foreign investment stock into the UK increased by a further 5% to £1.46 trillion in 2018, making the UK now home to more foreign investment than Germany, Spain and Poland all put together.

And the financial sector stands at the heart of that success. Our deep and liquid global capital pool, a pioneering regulatory framework, and world-class advisory, legal and related professional services have helped us run one of the greatest trade surpluses in our history: at around £43 billion a year. Some 4.2% of the UK’s working population, nearly 1.4 million people, are employed in finance and insurance. And, with two-thirds of these employed outside London, it’s important to remember that the City’s influence is not confined to the square mile; it stretches right the way across the UK with new jobs and opportunities being created all the time. The depth of our professional infrastructure runs from London to Edinburgh, to Bristol to Belfast. Goldman Sachs, for example, is opening a new office in Milton Keynes, creating up to 250 jobs. The new UK challenger bank OakNorth investment is bolstering its ranks, taking on new staff in Manchester, the Midlands and the South West to keep up with demand for its demand for business loans.

KPMG has announced plans to create up to 400 jobs over the next three years in Glasgow. This is truly a sector which benefits every part of the United Kingdom.

And it is of fundamental importance to the overall strength of our economy. According to the industry body TheCityUK, our banking sector is the largest in Europe. London alone hosts over 250 foreign banks, more than New York, or Paris or Frankfurt combined. It is our largest tax payer, contributing around 11% of total UK tax receipts – or £72 billion on the latest figures – paying for the schools, hospitals, security and the other public services on which we all rely. Those who threaten its viability or stoke up resentment against the sector should remember how much it pays the bills. It is the ability to innovate, to adapt and to change that keeps us on top. The UK was the first Western centre to embrace Islamic finance: the first to offer a Sharia-compliant bond, for example – and remains its leading western centre.

We also host the second largest offshore centre for Chinese renminbi clearing. Twice as many dollars are traded in the UK as in the US, and twice as many euros are traded in the UK as in the Eurozone.

The UK has more than 40% of the global market in Fixed Income, Currencies and Commodity trading. We have the second largest centre for debt financing globally after the United States. And we are – by far – the largest capital market in Europe, accounting for 20% of the bond and loan market, and 33% of all Initial Public Offerings and private equity activity in Europe. And of course the United Kingdom is the home of the FinTech revolution, making sweeping changes, delivering more control, access and increased competition.

It has been estimated that we have more software developers than Berlin, Dublin and Stockholm all combined. And of course we have Level 39, Europe’s largest fintech accelerator. And last year the UK attracted more venture capital investment than anywhere else in Europe, with £6.3 billion. And these advantages are showcased in our Fin Tech sector, with around 1,600 firms contributing approximately £7 billion to our economy and supporting over 75,000 jobs. Furthermore, the UK is now the number one investment destination in the world for mergers and acquisitions, ahead of the US, ahead of Germany and ahead of China, according to a report by EY. And these are just some of the achievements, I could go on and for a little bit of encouragement I might! But the point I want to make really is this: that this Government believes in the City and is behind you every step of the way in your success.

Our financial services are of huge value to this country’s overall prosperity and I am convinced that you will remain at the heart of the global financial system whatever the outcome of the Brexit process.

3. Facing the challenges ahead

Of course, there’s no room for complacency and we must face up to the fact that there will be significant challenges as well as opportunities ahead, not least because a number of new players will become apparent. I recognise that, for many firms in this room, the period since the Referendum has been one of uncertainty. So please be assured that we firmly believe the best approach is to leave the EU with a deal and we are continuing to work hard, including with parties across Parliament, to find a way forward. But whatever the outcome, I want you to know that this Government will remain your champion. We will never jeopardise the City’s success. We recognise your difficulties, we recognise your importance, and we want to work with you to give certainty and stability wherever possible as we move towards our new deep and special partnership with the European Union. But it is also worth stressing, and I think it does not happen enough, that there is a world beyond Europe and there will be a time beyond Brexit.

Britain stands on the brink of a new era in our trading history, continuing our close cooperation with our partners in European Union who still represent 44% of our exports, while reaching out as an independent trading nation for the first time in 40 years to friends old and new in the wider world. While our established partners such as the EU will continue to be of great importance, the locus of economic power is shifting rapidly, with an estimated 90% of global economic growth projected to occur outside the European Union over the next five years. That is where the markets are going to be, and that is where we need to be.

The world is becoming increasingly well educated, wealthier, and more urbanised. And it is predicted that the share of global GDP of the seven largest emerging economies – including China, India and Turkey – could increase from around 35% to nearly 50% of global GDP by 2050, which would mean that they overtake the current G7. It is a seismic shift in global economic power. When I try to explain it to people, I point out them that by 2030, China will have more than 220 cities with a population of more than 1 million people. The whole of continental Europe will have 35. It is worth understanding the scale of the change. This historic shift in global economic and demographic power will reshape the opportunities of international trade in the years to come.

The mission of my Department is to build a future for the UK’s international trade in this emerging environment: to open new markets, build new export and investment opportunities, investment into the United Kingdom and investment out from the United Kingdom, and, perhaps most importantly, champion the cause of free trade and trade liberalisation, especially in services in an era where protectionism is increasingly lifting its ugly head. In 2017-18 alone, my Department supported a total of 332 financial and related professional services projects, securing or safeguarding over 15,000 jobs in this country.

We have launched four public consultations, to seek new Free Trade Agreements when we leave the European Union, with the United States, with Australia to New Zealand, as well as the potential to seek accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, CPTPP – which is always easier to say now than it is later in the day. Our new Export Strategy will help the UK climb the ranks of the 21st century’s great trading nations by encouraging, informing, connecting and facilitating finance for firms to realise their full exporting potential, and that is particularly true for SMEs where we need to find new exporters.

In addition to this, we continue to work with key economic partners around the world. For example, I was recently delighted to address Qatar Day, which highlighted the mutual opportunities for business across asset management, cyber security, capital markets, sustainable finance and FinTech, for UK and Qatari companies. Qatar incidentally has over £35 billion of investment in the UK, much of which is here in London. And FinTech is at the heart of our global technology and innovation strategy and our growth agenda. That’s why we are continuing to roll out our FinTech Bridges – links between Governments, regulators and private sectors – in priority global markets, from Singapore to China, from Hong Kong to Australia, where we launched our FinTech Bridge Pilot Programme last month. And these Bridges will promote regulatory cooperation to reduce barriers to entry in one another’s markets. We are also working to leverage the UK’s unique expertise and capacities to assist development in emerging economies. For example, in January my team visited Latin America to discuss how the UK’s insurance and risk modelling knowhow might help these emerging economies adapt and mitigate against the effects of climate change.

And both the UK Government and industry are developing an international road map for greening the financial system.

And my Department will be key to helping leverage UK expertise to combat climate change through Green Finance, in which the UK is – yet again – a world leader. The Government is also working with the London Stock Exchange and the wider capital markets community to target local currency bond issuances.
Just last Friday, the Indian state of Kerala issued the first sub-sovereign level bond for developing infrastructure in the UK, following in the steps of countries like Indonesia who did the same last year, showcasing once again the contribution the City is making to finance infrastructure worldwide and contributing to our international development agenda, a fact that is not nearly widely enough understood.

4. Conclusion

I know there are many people who are concerned that Brexit means Britain turning in on itself and becoming more introspective. Nothing could be further from the truth.

As we leave the European Union we will become more open to the world, not less, and more open to the great opportunities that lie beyond European shores. The financial sector and its related professional services will be at the centre of these new opportunities. Never before have prospects globally been so great. Yes of course there are challenges, as there always have been.

But I can assure you that the British Government stands ready to help you seize these opportunities, to make our financial sector’s future even brighter than the past has been.

… accelerating financial inclusion by giving people better tools to save, to manage, to borrow and invest their money … supporting the financial products, technical expertise and experience needed to grow developing economies, which will be in all our interests… … and building a more stable, secure and prosperous future, both for the United Kingdom and our partners around the world.

We have a great opportunity to shape the world around us. In fact, we always have a binary choice: to shape the world around us, or be shaped by the world around us. We must have the confidence and courage to do that shaping. The City has led the charge before. It will do so again. Thank you.

May 22, 2019
Theresa May – 2019 Speech on Brexit

Below is the text of the speech made by Theresa May, the Prime Minister, on 21 May 2019.

I became Prime Minister almost three years ago – immediately after the British people voted to leave the European Union.

My aim was – and is – to deliver Brexit and help our country move beyond the division of the referendum and into a better future.

A country that works for everyone.

Where everyone has the chance to get on in life and to go as far as their own talent and hard work can take them.

That is a goal that I believe can still unite our country.

I knew that delivering Brexit was not going to be simple or straightforward.

The result in 2016 was decisive, but it was close.

The challenge of taking Brexit from the simplicity of the choice on the ballot paper to the complexity of resetting the country’s relationship with 27 of its nearest neighbours was always going to be huge.

While it has proved even harder than I anticipated, I continue to believe that the best way to make a success of Brexit is to negotiate a good exit deal with the EU as the basis of a new deep and special partnership for the future.

That was my pitch to be leader of the Conservative Party and Prime Minister.

That is what I set out in my Lancaster House speech and that was what my Party’s election manifesto said in 2017.

That is in essence what the Labour Party’s election manifesto stated too.

And over 80% of the electorate backed parties which stood to deliver Brexit by leaving with a deal.

We have worked hard to deliver that – but we have not yet managed it.

I have tried everything I possibly can to find a way through. It is true that initially I wanted to achieve this predominantly on the back of Conservative and DUP votes.

In our Parliamentary system, that is simply how you normally get things done.

I sought the changes MPs demanded.

I offered to give up the job I love earlier than I would like.

And on 29th March – the day we were meant to leave the EU – if just 30 MPs had voted differently we would have passed the Withdrawal Agreement. And we would be leaving the EU.

But it was not enough.

So I took the difficult decision to try to reach a cross-party deal on Brexit.

Many MPs on both sides were unsettled by this. But I believe it was the right thing to do. We engaged in six weeks of serious talks with the Opposition, offering to compromise.

But in the end those talks were not enough for Labour to reach an agreement with us.

But I do not think that means we should give up.

The House of Commons voted to trigger Article 50.

And the majority of MPs say they want to deliver the result of the referendum.

So I think we need to help them find a way.

And I believe there is now one last chance to do that.

I have listened to concerns from across the political spectrum.

I have done all I can to address them.

And today I am making a serious offer to MPs across Parliament.

A new Brexit deal.

As part of that deal I will continue to make the case for the Conservative Party to be united behind a policy that can deliver Brexit.

9 out of 10 Conservative MPs have already given the Withdrawal Agreement their backing and I want to reach out to every single one of my colleagues to make the very best offer I can to them.

We came together around an amendment from Sir Graham Brady – and this gave rise to the work on Alternative Arrangements to the backstop.

Although it is not possible for those to replace the backstop in the Withdrawal Agreement, we can start the work now to ensure they are a viable alternative.

So as part of the new Brexit deal we will place the government under a legal obligation to seek to conclude Alternative Arrangements by December 2020 so that we can avoid any need for the backstop coming into force.

I have also listened to Unionist concerns about the backstop.

So the new Brexit deal goes further to address these.

It will commit that, should the backstop come into force, the Government will ensure that Great Britain will stay aligned with Northern Ireland.

We will prohibit the proposal that a future Government could split Northern Ireland off from the UK’s customs territory.

And we will deliver on our commitments to Northern Ireland in the December 2017 Joint Report in full.

We will implement paragraph 50 of the Joint Report in law.

The Northern Ireland Assembly and Executive will have to give their consent on a cross-community basis for new regulations which are added to the backstop.

And we will work with our Confidence and Supply Partners on how these commitments should be entrenched in law.

This new Brexit deal contains significant further changes to protect the economic and constitutional integrity of the United Kingdom and deliver Brexit.

It is a bespoke solution that answers the unique concerns of all parts of the community in Northern Ireland.

But the reality is that after three attempts to secure Parliamentary agreement, we will not leave the European Union unless we have a deal that can command wider cross-party support.

That’s why I sat down with the Opposition.

I have been serious about listening to views across the House throughout this process.

That is why when two Labour MPs, Lisa Nandy and Gareth Snell, put forward their proposals to give Parliament a bigger say in the next phase of the negotiations I listened to them.

So the new Brexit deal will set out in law that the House of Commons will approve the UK’s objectives for the negotiations on our future relationship with the EU and they will approve the treaties governing that relationship before the Government signs them.

And while the talks with the opposition did not reach a comprehensive agreement, we did make significant progress in a number of areas.

Like on workers’ rights. I am absolutely committed to the UK continuing to lead the way on this issue.

But I understand people want guarantees. And I am happy to give them.

So the new Brexit deal will offer new safeguards to ensure these standards are always met.

We will introduce a new Workers’ Rights Bill to ensure UK workers enjoy rights that are every bit as good as, or better than, those provided for by EU rules.

And we will discuss further amendments with trade unions and business.

The new Brexit deal will also guarantee there will be no change in the level of environmental protection when we leave the EU.

And we will establish a new independent Office of Environmental Protection to uphold the highest environmental standards and enforce compliance. The new Brexit deal will also place a legal duty on the Government to seek as close to frictionless trade with the EU in goods as possible, subject to being outside the Single Market and ending freedom of movement.

In order to deliver this, the UK will maintain common rules with the EU for goods and agri-food products that are relevant to checks at the border. This will be particularly important for our manufacturing firms and trade unions, protecting thousands of jobs that depend on just-in-time supply chains.

The most difficult area is the question of customs.

At the heart of delivering Brexit lies a tension between the strength of our ambition to seize the new opportunities that Brexit presents – and the need to protect the jobs and prosperity that are built on an interconnected relationship with other European economies.

This ambition should not be divisive. There are many people who voted to Leave who also want to retain close trading links with Europe. Just as there are many people – like myself – who voted to Remain and yet are excited by the new opportunities that Brexit presents.

Indeed I believe that one of the great opportunities of leaving the European Union is the ability to have an independent trade policy and to benefit from the new jobs and industries that can result from deepening our trade ties with partners across every continent of the world.

But I have never believed that this should come at the expense of the jobs and livelihoods that are sustained by our existing trade with the EU.

And to protect these, both the Government and the Opposition agree that we must have as close as possible to frictionless trade at the UK-EU border.

Now the Government has already put a proposal which delivers the benefits of a customs union but with the ability for the UK to determine its own trade and development policy.

Labour are both sceptical of our ability to negotiate that and don’t believe an independent trade policy is in the national interest. They would prefer a comprehensive customs union – with a UK say in EU trade policy but with the EU negotiating on our behalf.

If we are going to pass the Withdrawal Agreement Bill and deliver Brexit, we must resolve this difference.

As part of the cross-party discussions the government offered a compromise option of a temporary customs union on goods only, including a UK say in relevant EU trade policy and an ability to change the arrangement, so a future government could move it in its preferred direction.

We were not able to agree this as part of our cross-party talks – so it is right that Parliament should have the opportunity to resolve this during the passage of the Bill and decide between the government’s proposal and a compromise option.

And so the Government will commit in law to let Parliament decide this issue, and to reflect the outcome of this process in legislation.

I have also listened carefully to those who have been arguing for a Second Referendum.

I have made my own view clear on this many times. I do not believe this is a route that we should take, because I think we should be implementing the result of the first referendum, not asking the British people to vote in a second one.

But I recognise the genuine and sincere strength of feeling across the House on this important issue.

The Government will therefore include in the Withdrawal Agreement Bill at introduction a requirement to vote on whether to hold a second referendum.

This must take place before the Withdrawal Agreement can be ratified.

And if the House of Commons were to vote for a referendum, it would be requiring the Government to make provisions for such a referendum – including legislation if it wanted to ratify the Withdrawal Agreement.

So to those MPs who want a second referendum to confirm the deal: you need a deal and therefore a Withdrawal Agreement Bill to make it happen.

So let it have its Second Reading and then make your case to Parliament.

Finally, we cannot expect MPs to vote on the same two documents they previously rejected. So we will seek changes to the political declaration to reflect this new deal.

So our New Brexit Deal makes a ten-point offer to everyone in Parliament who wants to deliver the result of the referendum.

One – the Government will seek to conclude Alternative Arrangements to replace the backstop by December 2020, so that it never needs to be used.

Two – a commitment that, should the backstop come into force, the Government will ensure that Great Britain will stay aligned with Northern Ireland.

Three – the negotiating objectives and final treaties for our future relationship with the EU will have to be approved by MPs.

Four – a new Workers’ Rights Bill that guarantees workers’ rights will be no less favourable than in the EU.

Five – there will be no change in the level of environmental protection when we leave the EU.

Six – the UK will seek as close to frictionless trade in goods with the EU as possible while outside the single market and ending free movement.

Seven – we will keep up to date with EU rules for goods and agri-food products that are relevant to checks at the border protecting the thousands of jobs that depend on just-in-time supply chains.

Eight – the Government will bring forward a customs compromise for MPs to decide on to break the deadlock.

Nine – there will be a vote for MPs on whether the deal should be subject to a referendum.

And ten – there will be a legal duty to secure changes to the political declaration to reflect this new deal.

All of these commitments will be guaranteed in law – so they will endure at least for this Parliament.

The revised deal will deliver on the result of the referendum.

And only by voting for the Withdrawal Agreement Bill at Second Reading, can MPs provide the vehicle Parliament needs to determine how we leave the EU.

So if MPs vote against the Second Reading of this Bill – they are voting to stop Brexit.

If they do so, the consequences could hardly be greater.

Reject this deal and leaving the EU with a negotiated deal any time soon will be dead in the water.

And what would we do then?

Some suggest leaving without a deal.

But whatever you think of that outcome – Parliament has been clear it will do all it can to stop it.

If not no deal, then it would have to be a General Election or a second referendum that could lead to revocation – and no Brexit at all.

Who believes that a General Election at this moment – when we have still not yet delivered on what people instructed us to do – is in the national interest?

I do not.

And my views on second referendum are well known.

Look at what this debate is doing to our politics.

Extending it for months more – perhaps indefinitely – risks opening the door to a nightmare future of permanently polarised politics.

Look around the world and consider the health of liberal democratic politics.

And look across the United Kingdom and consider the impact of failing to deliver on the clear instruction of the British people in a lawful referendum.

We do not have to take that path. Instead, we can deliver Brexit.

All the changes I have set out today have the simple aim of building support in Parliament to do that.

I believe there is a majority to be won for a Brexit deal in the House of Commons. And by passing a deal we can actually get Brexit done – and move our country forwards.

If we can do so, I passionately believe that we can seize the opportunities that I know lie ahead.

The world is changing fast. Our young people will enjoy opportunities in the future that my generation could have never dreamed of.

This is a great time to be alive. A great future awaits the United Kingdom.

And we have all we need as a nation to make a success of the 2020s and the 2030s. But we will not do so as long as our politics remains stuck in an endless debate on Brexit.

We all have to take some responsibility for the fact that we are in this impasse – and we all have a responsibility to do what we can to get out of it.

The biggest problem with Britain today is its politics.

And we can fix that.

With the right Brexit deal, we can end this corrosive debate.

We can get out of the EU political structures – the Parliament, the Commission, the Council of Ministers that are remote from our lives – and put our own Parliament back in sovereign control of our destiny.

We can stop British laws being enforced by a European court and instead make our own Supreme Court is genuinely supreme.

We can end free movement and design an immigration system based around skills that work for our economy and society.

We can stop making vast annual payments to the EU budget and instead spend our own money on our own priorities like the NHS.

We can get out of the Common Fisheries Policy and the Common Agricultural Policy, and design our own systems around our own needs and resources.

We can do all of these things.

And by leaving with a deal we can do so much more besides.

By reaching an agreement with our EU trading partners we can keep tariff barriers down and goods flowing friction-free across borders.

Protecting jobs, and setting our firms up for future success.

We can guarantee workers’ rights and environmental protections.

With a deal we can keep our close security partnerships – and keep working together to keep people safe.

We can ensure that the challenge of the land border between Northern Ireland and Ireland is met in a way that works for people on both sides.

This is a huge opportunity for the United Kingdom.

Out of the EU, out of ever closer union, free to do things differently.

And doing so in a way that protects jobs, protects our security, maintains a close relationship with our friends and works for the whole United Kingdom.

It is practical. It is responsible. It is deliverable.

And right now, it is slipping away from us.

We risk losing a great opportunity.

This deal is not the final word on our future relationship with the EU – it is a stepping stone to reach that future.

A future where the people of the UK determine the road ahead for the country we all love.

This deal lays the groundwork – and settles many of the core issues.

But in the years ahead, Parliament will be able to debate, decide and refine the exact nature of our relationship with the EU.

Some will want us to draw closer, others will want us to become more distant.

Both sides can make their case in the months and years ahead.

The key thing is, decisions will be made not by MEPs or Commissioners or the EU Council – but by the United Kingdom Parliament, elected by the British people.

That is what being an independent nation state is all about.

Those debates, those decisions, are for the future.

What matters now is honouring the result of the referendum and seizing the opportunity that is right before us.

So we are making a new offer to find common ground in Parliament.

That is now the only way to deliver Brexit.

Over the next two weeks the government will be making the case for this deal in Parliament, in the media and in the country.

On what is best and right for our country now and in the future. And on what the majority of British people of all political persuasions want to see happen.

Tomorrow I will make a statement to the House of Commons.

And there will opportunities throughout the Bill for MPs on all sides to have their say.

But I say with conviction to every MP of every party – I have compromised. Now I ask you to compromise too.

We have been given a clear instruction by the people we are supposed to represent.

So help me find a way to honour that instruction, move our country and our politics forward, and build the better future that all of us want to see.

May 22, 2019
Sajid Javid – 2019 Statement on Recovery Champion

Below is the text of the statement made by Sajid Javid, the Home Secretary, in the House of Commons on 15 May 2019.

In the 2017 drug strategy the Government committed to appointing a national recovery champion. The recovery champion will play a key role in delivering the Government’s ambitions by helping improve the prospects of individuals seeking to recover from substance misuse.

I am pleased to announce today that I have appointed Dr Edward Day to the role of recovery champion. This appointment is for three years, with Dr Day’s appointment commencing on 15 May 2019 and ending on 14 May 2022. The recovery champion role will extend to England only.

Dr Day has a wealth of experience in the substance misuse field, dealing directly with those who are dependent on drugs as well as informing national guidance and debate. He was one of the first within the field to champion the recovery agenda and to embed it successfully in local services. I am confident that he will make effective use of his considerable experience and extensive knowledge in drug and alcohol treatment and recovery in this role.

It is clear that substance misuse has a hugely damaging impact on individuals, families and communities. To support effective recovery outcomes across the country, Dr Day will work towards galvanising partners at national and local levels, offering advice to local partners on how evidence-based practice can be most effectively applied, and supporting collaboration at a national level through the Drug Strategy Board.

May 21, 2019
Andrew Stephenson – 2019 Statement on Nuclear Energy

Below is the text of the statement made by Andrew Stephenson, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, in the House of Commons on 15 May 2019.

Government’s preparations for the UK’s withdrawal from Euratom mean that the UK now has all the necessary measures in place to ensure that the UK nuclear industry can continue to operate with certainty in all situations.

On 22 February the UK and Japan signed an exchange of notes confirming how the terms of our existing 1998 nuclear co-operation agreement will operate in the context of the UK’s withdrawal from Euratom.

The Nuclear Safeguards (Fissionable Material And Relevant International Agreements) (EU exit) Regulations 2019 and the Nuclear Safeguards (EU exit) Regulations 2019 and the Shipments Of Radioactive Substances (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 have been made. This means that Government have put in place all legislation needed ahead of the UK leaving Euratom to ensure that it can now operate as an independent and responsible nuclear state, and that civil nuclear trade can continue.

Government have also published further guidance to industry on no-deal arrangements in relation to the Transfrontier Shipment Of Radioactive Waste And Spent Fuel (EU exit) Regulations 2019, and the Shipments Of Radioactive Substances (EU Exit) Regulations 2019.

Today I will be depositing a report in the Libraries of both Houses that sets out further details on the overall progress on the Government’s implementation of their Euratom exit strategy, including EU negotiations, domestic operational readiness, legislation and international agreements. The report covers the three-month reporting period from 26 December to 26 March and is the third statutory report under section 3(4) of the Nuclear Safeguards Act 2018. The next report on Euratom exit progress is due to be deposited in July 2019.

May 21, 2019