1st Allotted Day

Part of European Union (Withdrawal) Act – in the House of Commons at 8:38 pm on 4 December 2018.

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Photo of Graham Brady Graham Brady Chair, Conservative Party 1922 Committee 8:38, 4 December 2018

Mr Speaker, there may not be room in the Gloucestershire Echo for the whole of your ruling in response to my hon. Friend Alex Chalk. I am grateful to allowed to speak so early in the debate, and I will be brief out of consideration for the many Members on both sides of the House who wish to participate.

Following Ian Blackford, I have to wonder how he has apparently not realised that the British economy has been growing steadily since the vote to leave in the referendum in 2016. If the Scottish economy is failing in the way that he suggests, perhaps it has something to do with the Scottish Government and their failure to provide the services that are needed north of the border, rather than having anything to do with the Brexit vote.

The right hon. Gentleman spoke at length about the tradition of democracy and respect for the rule of law. He called them European traditions without noting that they are actually strongest in this country—in Britain—and have been for a very, long time. I wonder whether he might reflect for a moment, as he thinks about that respect for democracy and the rule of law, what damage could be done to that respect and to those values that are so precious in our country if he and his hon. Friends were successful in ignoring the biggest democratic mandate in British history.