In this speech Lord Bilimoria states his support for the amendments and highlights his own experiences in business to aid his argument. He notes the importance of the role of the House of Lords in scrutinising legislation and that the current Bill will deprive the House of the ability to scrutinise a lot of important areas. He highlights that statutory instruments can be challenged by the judiciary, overriding Parliament, when Parliament should supposedly have the ability to take back control. He concludes that it is too dangerous to give the Government such power, hence the importance of such amendments.
Lord Bilimoria’s contribution to the House of Lords on the 12th of March was lively and full of factual content. His arguments centre around trade issues in post Brexit Britain, and the catastrophe for British imports and exports. Lord Bilimoria illustrates the consequences for imports via ports, lorries and aviation, that will result in the destabilisation of the British economy.
The noble Lord provides evidence for all his statements, and a particularly alarming case study of the 2015 French lorry strikes. In this study he states that 7,000 lorries were backed up as far as Maidstone, and that £21 million worth of stocks were lost as a result of the exportation delays. Lord Bilimoria argues this study provides a window of sight into the future, with the loss of the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) resulting in more extensive importation/exportation delays.
Lord Bilimoria provides breadth and depth to his position on the argument, thus clearly portraying the message that trading in post Brexit Britain will be harmful to the economy.
In this contribution to the House of Lords, Lord Bilimoria targets the issue of the Henry VIII clause enabling government to bypass Parliament when tweaking EU laws during and after Brexit. Lord Bilimoria begins by stating that he believes the House of Lords is the ‘Guardian of the nation’, and that it is essential that the house stands united against the Henry VIII clause. Lord Bilimoria quotes former Attorney General Dominic Grieve who stated the Henry VIII clause is the most power he has ever seen the Government receive to change the laws.
Lord Bilimoria draws on an important point that the British constitution is very delicate and not codified. Thus the protection of the constitution is essential, but that the Henry VIII clause threatens this.
To conclude Lord Bilimoria argues that judicial activism must be avoided, and that the harmony between Parliament, the judiciary and Government must be upheld.
In this lively debate to the House of Lords, Lord Bilimoria raises concerns over the power granted to the Government under Clause 7 of the EU Withdrawal Bill. Lord Bilimoria reminds the House that the Government attempted to avoid Parliament when concerned with enacting Article 50. He notes Parliament must be remembered as independent from the Government and the power of Parliament to oversee and scrutinise Government must not be compromised. Lord Bilimoria furthers his argument by quoting a direct threat from David Lidington who responded to the Strathclyde report and stated that the Lords must not block legislation.
With his closing remarks Lord Bilimoria uses the time to point out that judicial review will certainly increase to prevent ministers overstepping the mark, but this is avoidable if the supremacy of Parliament is retained.
This speech made to the House of Lords dealt with the issue of academic mobility in post Brexit Europe. Lord Bilimoria highlights the worrying fact that the Erasmus program, after 30 years of being in effect, will be lost in post Brexit Britain. Currently this program enables foreign students to study in the UK and vise versa, creating academic movement that results in highly successful research programs in the UK and EU. Drawing on the example of Switzerland, Lord Bilimoria emphasises that Switzerland were forced to withdraw from the program when they decided to tighten immigration. Thus there is a clear parallel to be drawn as a result of Brexit.
Lord Bilimoria continues to urge his fellow peers to come to the realisation that Brexit will undermine the UK’s current standings in scientific research as a result of the crippling of academic mobility. The power of collaboration in a global community to stimulate academic advancement is far more than just the funds that Universities receive from the EU, he argues.
Lord Bilimoria concludes with a point on the effect on young people who didn’t even have a voice in the referendum, and yet their educations/futures have been jeopardised. “This is their future, in which they want a say!” Read More →
In this contribution in the House of Lords debate over the European Union Withdrawal Bill, Lord Bilimoria highlights key issues with Britain’s exit from the EU. The most serious of issues being Britain’s exit from the EU’s single market and customs union. Lord Bilimoria begins by pledging his support of amendment 206 of the EU withdrawal bill stating: “…the withdrawal agreement must provide the United Kingdom’s continued participation in a customs union with the EU”. .
Lord Bilimoria outlines a multitude of negative impacts that Brexit would result in if a deal is not made over the customs union. Namely the loss of 70% of current trade either through or with the EU. Lord Bilimoria uses evidence from many areas of trade to support his claims, the Farmers Union, CBI and the Irish Business and Employment Confederation, all of which support his claim that Britain must remain in the customs union. He makes it clear that without the Customs Union Britain will be wounded significantly. Asking his fellow Lords to remain realistic throughout, Lord Bilimoria uses his Business background, as well as his contacts in India with the high commissioner to paint a vivid picture of how essential the customs union is to Britain.
In this contribution during the second reading of the EU Withdrawal Bill Lord Bilimoria notes the effect of the EU referendum on the UK as a whole . He further notes the leaked government analysis of Brexit that says that Britain will be worse off in every scenario. He states that he is a Eurosceptic and highlights aspects of the EU he disagrees with but stresses the benefits the UK has received from EU membership such as trade with it and trade agreements through it. With regard to the Bill, he notes the issue of Ireland and Scotland and argues for the need to give the British people a chance to have their say and that Parliament must have the final word before any deal is passed on to the EU. He concludes by recalling a past conversation which describes Brexit as a train crash in slow motion and states it is not too late “to stop that train crash”.
In this contribution Lord Bilimoria discusses the EU referendum and the voting results from the various devolved administrations as well as the upcoming Bill before the House. He asks the minister whether the Government has worked in close consultation with the devolved administrations to fulfil their Brexit responsibilities as they had intended. He notes the issue of the Northern Irish border in great detail and also asks how much authority devolved administrations will continue to have over various issues. He also notes the issue of identity among those who wanted to remain or leave the EU.
Lord Bilimoria’s speech dealt with the economic predictions for the UK in the budget. He notes past attempts to balance the budget as well as positive elements within the current budget such as investment in research and development and the desire to reduce single-use plastics. He argues more needs to be done in areas such as business rates and discusses the issue of Brexit in relation to the budget and that it is completely overshadowed by Brexit and by the potential consequences of leaving the EU.
In this speech Lord Bilimoria discusses the UK’s trade with the Commonwealth and the wider world as well as its trade with the EU and the effect of Brexit upon UK trade. He also notes the effects of trade agreements between the EU and other countries and the importance that this has to the UK’s wider trade as well as the importance of the EU relative to the other potential trading partners.