Debate on the Address — House of Commons, 2021-05-11
Topic: International Affairs
Samuel Wilson (Democratic Unionist Party, Right): It is a joy to follow the right hon. Member for Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale (David Mundell), first because I agree with his point about the importance of developing the A75. Not only is it dangerous, but it is a vital link between GB and Northern Ireland. Secondly, I support his strong case for the Union, because of course just as Northern Ireland is better off within the Union, so Scotland is better off within the Union. The reaction to covid, and the resources that both countries got as a result of the decisions in this Parliament to combat covid, is an indication that neither could have survived, and neither could have come through this pandemic, without the support of the Government here at Westminster and without being part of the United Kingdom and having the resources of the United Kingdom As we move from the pandemic and tackling covid to recovery, it is equally important that the Government recognise that if they are going to cement the Union, there must be clear evidence that in that recovery programme, in the levelling-up programme, all parts of the United Kingdom are given the attention that is required to ensure that that economic recovery is effective, and that the businesses that have been damaged by restrictions, the people who have lost jobs as a result of those restrictions, find themselves given opportunities In Northern Ireland, the difficulty of course is that part of the programme that the Government outlined in the Queen’s Speech today will be faced with difficulties because of the Northern Ireland protocol. First, the Government said they will support industries where there is a national priority, but Northern Ireland remains under the EU single market rules. Any support that the Government are likely to give to businesses in Northern Ireland can be challenged—and will be challenged, I have no doubt—by the Government of the Irish Republic, businesses in the Irish Republic and the European Commission Secondly, the Government said they want to ease regulations, but that will have an even greater impact because, of course, since Northern Ireland is under the protocol—a monstrous decision to remove all democratic control of laws in Northern Ireland and place it in the hands of Brussels—any UK-wide relaxation of regulations cannot therefore apply to Northern Ireland; and the same goes for any advantages of deregulation, which I believe is right in many instances To give one example, I welcome the Government’s commitment to improved animal welfare, and I hope they will stop the export of live animals to the continent because of the suffering that that causes. However, those rules could not apply to Northern Ireland, because we will still be subject to EU regulations on the export of live animals. I could give lots of other different examples The first thing the Government must address is the protocol. If we are going to have an equal chance in the levelling-up agenda, Northern Ireland must not be economically and democratically disadvantaged by the imposition of Brussels rule, which we are left with as a result of the protocol The second thing that I want to discuss is the commitment that the Government have made to setting "binding environmental targets". I know that, ahead of COP26 in Glasgow, the Government are engaging in international virtue signalling, but there is no point in setting such targets unless they spell out what the impact will be on the people. I noted that the right hon. Member for Maidenhead (Mrs May) said in her speech today, "We can reduce CO2 emissions and still have economic growth; we have done that." The truth of the matter is, of course, that we have reduced CO2 emissions by divesting ourselves of many of our heavy and energy-intensive industries, such as steel, aluminium and many others. It is not that the CO2 emissions have ceased; we have simply moved them to another country If we are going to set targets to reduce CO2 emissions, the Government must spell out how they are going to do that. Does more renewable energy mean that we add to the £12 billion a year that electricity consumers pay in their electricity bills for renewable energy subsidies? Does it mean greater restrictions on people’s ability to fly because we make flying—one of the big producers of CO2—more expensive? What impact will that have on people’s ability to go on their annual holiday? Does it mean we insist that people have more expensive ways of heating their houses? It is estimated to cost £20,000 to invest in heat pumps and so on to make a house energy-efficient. Are consumers going to pay that? The Committee on Climate Change says we will have to eat less dairy products and meat. Are we even going to tell people what their diet should be? If we are going to set these targets, then the Government have got to be honest. They cannot simply set a target and not spell out how it will impact on people’s choices and freedom, and what we would regard, in a free society, as the ways in which people can make those choices The Prime Minister said that he wants to put rocket fuel into the economy after the pandemic. I hope that it is rocket fuel and not a damp squib. My fear relates to issues about the Union. If the Government do not deal properly with the levelling-up programme and the divisive impact of the Northern Ireland protocol, as well as the impact that that has on Scottish nationalism, then he will not achieve that objective. If we continue to pursue these high-level climate change CO2-reducing targets, are we going to find more and more that people’s personal choices are affected, that fuel poverty increases as energy bills go up, and that we chase away energy-intensive industries and lose jobs? If we are going to move in that direction, I believe we do not have a Government who are free market, free choice and pro-Union, but a Government who act against all those fundamental principles of the Conservative party. That is why I want to see, and why I believe it is important that we see, the detail of the Queen’s Speech.