Northern Ireland Protocol Bill — 27 Jun 2022 at 21:40

“All Members shall settle their international disputes by peaceful means in such a manner that international peace and security, and justice, are not endangered.”

“a great deal for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.”-[Official Report, 19 October 2019; Vol. 666, c. 579.]

“to show the same breadth of vision as our European neighbours”

“Above all, we and our European friends have preserved the letter and the spirit of the Belfast/Good Friday agreement.”-[Official Report, 19 October 2019; Vol. 666, c. 571.]

“in perfect conformity with the Good Friday agreement.”-[Official Report, 19 October 2019; Vol. 666, c. 583.]

“what such a move would say about the United Kingdom and its willingness to abide by treaties that it has signed.”-[Official Report, 10 May 2022; Vol. 714, c. 38.]

“benefits greatly from our reputation for keeping our word and upholding the rule of law...We should be very wary indeed of damaging that standing.”

“I don’t see how…any member of parliament can vote for a breach of international law.”

“shows a lack of commitment to the rule of law and to a rules-based international order that damages the reputation of the UK.”

“what the government is proposing is short-sighted tactics which will do much harm strategically in the wider world. In fact what is being done is particularly stupid.”

“it will undermine us with our enemies by giving them the opportunity to accuse us of hypocrisy when we call them out for breaking the rules-based international order. It will also undermine us with our allies who will doubt whether they can rely on us to keep to an agreement, keep to our word.”

“the term ‘necessity’ is used in international law to lawfully justify situations where the only way a State can safeguard an essential interest is the non-performance of another international obligation…the action taken may not seriously impair the essential interests of the other State(s), and cannot be claimed where excluded by the relevant obligation or where the State invoking it has contributed to the situation of necessity.”

“The Government’s preference remains a negotiated outcome”,

“the peril that has emerged was not inherent in the Protocol’s provisions.”

“If the UK really did face imminent peril, you might think the government would need to deal with it more quickly than that.”

“The Irish Sea Border is not just a threat to the economic integrity of the United Kingdom, it is a threat to the living standards of the people of Northern Ireland”,

“debated and thrashed to death”

“would love to know what it is”?-[Official Report, 22 October 2019; Vol. 666, c. 853.]

“in whole or in part.”

“What a fool I was. I was only a puppet, and so was Ulster, and so was Ireland, in the political game that was to get the Conservative Party into power.”-[Official Report, House of Lords, 14 December 1921; Vol. 48, c. 44.]

“subjects of Ireland shall have same the privileges…as…subjects of Great Britain.”

“it would be wrong to make any change in the status of Northern Ireland save with the consent of a majority of its people”.

“is without prejudice to the provisions of the 1998 Agreement in respect of the constitutional status of Northern Ireland and the principle of consent”.

“maintenance of stable social and political conditions in Northern Ireland, the protection of the 1998 Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement, the effective functioning of the unique constitutional structures created under that Agreement, and the preservation and fostering of social and economic ties between Northern Ireland and the rest of the United Kingdom”.

“is without prejudice to the provisions”

“no question of there being checks on goods going NI-GB or GB-NI”

“would have been an act of self-harm.”

“One prod to the nerve of nationalism and the intellectual decencies can vanish, the past can be altered, and the plainest facts can be denied.”

“This Protocol is without prejudice to the provisions of the 1998 Agreement in respect of the constitutional status of Northern Ireland”.

“Any subsequent agreement between the Union and the United Kingdom shall indicate the parts of this Protocol which it supersedes.”

“the only way for the State to safeguard an essential interest against a grave and imminent peril”.

“the State has contributed to the situation of necessity.”

“The protocol was not set in stone forevermore on signing. It explicitly acknowledges the need for possible new arrangements in accordance with the…(Good Friday) Agreement.”

“A good deal of the blame lies with the needlessly rigid and inflexible approach adopted on the EU side.”

“provides that enactments, including the Union with Ireland Act 1800 and the Act of Union (Ireland) 1800, are not to be affected by the provision of the Northern Ireland Protocol”.

“This Protocol respects the essential State functions and territorial integrity of the United Kingdom.”

“Nothing in this Protocol shall prevent the United Kingdom from ensuring unfettered market access for goods moving from Northern Ireland to other parts of the United Kingdom’s internal market.”

“simply seeking to campaign, to keep changing the subject and to create political and cultural dividing lines”

“No one in business has raised the issue of the ECJ oversight as a problem for them in my presence. It is purely a political and sovereignty issue, and not a practical or business issue.”

“The Government has repeatedly stated that it will not compromise on our food standards and on health protection, but it has singularly and spectacularly failed to legislate for that.”

“that goes back to the need for proper robust veterinary agreements and standards that I would argue, let’s aim for surpassing the standards within the EU, let’s have the best food and environmental standards in the world, because that will ultimately add value to our food products.”

“provides that enactments, including the Union with Ireland Act 1800 and the Act of Union (Ireland) 1800, are not to be affected by provision of the Northern Ireland Protocol”.

“you resort to a defence of necessity when it is necessary, in other words you don’t have anything else.”

“seriously impair an essential interest of the states towards which the obligation exists or of the international community as a whole.”

“What did Britain gain by the most glorious and successful war on which she ever engaged? A height of glory which excited the envy of the surrounding nations…an extent of empire we were equally unable to maintain, defend or govern”.

“Because of that triumph, the empire would reap a revolution in British America”.

“People will not look forward to posterity, who never look backwards to their ancestors. Besides, the people of England well know that the idea of inheritance furnishes a sure principle of conservation, and a sure principle of transmission”.

“The institutions of policy, the goods of fortune, the gifts of providence are handed down to us, and from us, in the same course and order.”

“over two thirds (68%) have experienced UK online retailers no longer delivering to NI; nearly two thirds (65%) have experienced delayed delivery of goods from GB online retailers; over half (53%) have experienced reduced access to products offered by GB retailers; over half (51%) have experienced an increase in the cost of goods bought online; nearly a third (29%) have been charged customs related fees for parcels coming from GB”.

“a fever dream of 2016”.

“the people of this country have taken a great decision embracing the entire four nations of this country, by a simple majority vote that went 52:48 and which we are honouring now.”

“I think that principle should be applied elsewhere, and I see no reason why it should not be applied in Northern Ireland as well. It is fully compatible with the Good Friday agreement.”-[Official Report, 19 October 2019; Vol. 666, c. 581.]

“In our discussions, the DUP had consistently said that it wanted a negotiated settlement”.

“There is no ‘Irish Sea Border’. As we have seen today, the…preparations the Govt and businesses have taken to prepare for the end of the Transition Period are keeping goods flowing freely around the country, including between GB and NI.”

Debate in Parliament |