Speeches by Thomas-Symonds.

“I have to give the hon. Gentleman top marks for audacity. I do not know whether Conservative MPs have heard, but a week ago, the Leader of the Opposition gave her new year speech, and, as I am sure they know, we listened to it extremely carefully. Do they know what she said about previous EU-UK negotiations? She said t…”

“I do not accept the binary choice that the hon. Gentleman presents. We want to increase trade and export all around the world—that is hugely important. As the Prime Minister said, we do not choose between allies; we look to deepen all our relationships. Of course, we welcome the positive and constructive tone from Comm…”

“I would say, first, that the Government are committed to our membership of the European convention on human rights, and secondly, that the hon. Gentleman talks about bodies and organisations not being compliant with international treaties, but one of the big problems with the previous Government was how they signed int…”

“My hon. Friend is absolutely right: this is a time to look to the future, not to go back to the divisions of the past. The forthcoming EU-UK summit presents significant opportunities to make people in the UK and the EU more secure, safer and more prosperous.”

“My hon. Friend raises a good point. Of course, we set out in our manifesto that we would not return to the single market, to the customs union or to freedom of movement. Within that framework, we absolutely take a pragmatic approach, putting the national interest first to tear down trade barriers wherever we can.”

“My hon. Friend makes a good point, and I can confirm that our priority remains ensuring that UK artists can continue to perform and promote themselves around the world. That is why the Department for Culture, Media and Sport is working collaboratively with the creative sector and across Government to address key issues…”

“The Prime Minister and the President of the European Commission have agreed to strengthen the relationship between the EU and the UK, putting it on a more solid, stable footing. I am taking forward discussions with my EU counterpart, Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič. In two weeks’ time, the Prime Minister will attend a summ…”

“That is something that is already in the trade and co-operation agreement with the European Union. For reference, it is article 392, which states that “The Parties shall co-operate on carbon pricing. They shall give serious consideration to linking their respective carbon pricing systems in a way that preserves the int…”

“Just one correction in the question, first of all. You said the UK wants a veterinary agreement, but it is actually an SPS agreement, which is a sanitary and phytosanitary agreement, so it is broader than what you suggest. I would suggest that what we have is a manifesto that contains the elements that I described in t…”

“I am not proposing to publish a road map. Our position is set out in our manifesto; we have a very firm democratic mandate. There are examples in that manifesto of things that we want to secure or to deliver. In the trade space, as I indicated, a sanitary and phytosanitary agreement is a really important objective for …”

“It is more that you have this perverse incentive for, essentially, dumping. For example, the EU will go ahead; it already has its date for the introduction of its carbon border adjustment mechanism. If we were not to consider linkage, we would open up our industries to the possibility of cheap dumping from overseas. Yo…”

“I have a very brief point of clarification for Antonia on the carbon border adjustment mechanism, although I do not think it changes the substance of my answer. Having just re-read the wording of article 392 of the TCA, it is actually about linking our emissions trading system, but CBAM would very much be part of that.”

“They have been conversations about positives; they were constructive conversations, rather than conversations about barriers. It is well known that our democratic mandate in the manifesto is based on not returning to the single market, not going back to freedom of movement and not going back to the customs union, so it…”

“To go back to my earlier answer to the Chair, the commitment is that the summit will be in the first half of this year, and I am confident that that will be the case. It is also really important to emphasise the interaction that has already taken place. There was a phone call between the Prime Minister and the EU Commi…”

“In the first half of this year; before the end of June.”

“On the customs union we have, again, a mandate for a reset with the European Union. In our manifesto, the contract we were elected on was that we will not rejoin the single market or the customs union, or go back to freedom of movement. That is the democratic mandate we have, and that is the framework that the negotiat…”

“It is the Secretary of State—”

“Of course we have had discussions, as you would expect, Chair. However, it was never going to be the case that we would get into a more formal steep negotiation into the summit until the European Commission was formally in place, which, as you know, was at the start of December.”

“There are a number of creative ways that we can do that, but it is a real priority for us in the negotiation, as I have made clear. It is really disappointing when you look at the number of tours. We have a brilliant, vibrant cultural sector and it is a real source of soft power for us, but what is necessary for a tour…”

“Well, we will see where we get to in terms of what they actually mean by it. I will obviously pursue the UK national interest. I will pursue the objectives and the examples that we have a democratic mandate for—that are in the manifesto. What I cannot ultimately say at this stage is, first, what precisely the nature of…”