Sammy Wilson MP: speeches

Speeches

• 4 Mar 2025 · Trade Diversion and Windsor Framework · Hansard source

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  The Secretary of State says that the situation is unprecedented, and that unique arrangements have therefore been put in place. The Government recently recognised that the flow of trade from the Irish Republic through Northern Ireland into GB could cause a situation where goods had to be checked to safeguard the GB market, yet they have been able to put in place arrangements, without all this elaboration, that do not require laws to apply to traders in the Irish Republic; they are simply checks away from the border. If the unique situation of trade from GB into Northern Ireland, which has a non-check border with the Republic, has to be dealt with through a labyrinth of regulations, why is it possible to avoid that in the other direction? If such arrangements can work from Northern Ireland to GB, why can they not work from GB to Northern Ireland?

• 4 Mar 2025 · Trade Diversion and Windsor Framework · Hansard source

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  You shouldn’t encourage him, Madam Deputy Speaker—he will take to 7.30 pm and beyond, because this is such an important subject. Does the hon. and learned Gentleman agree that the diversion of trade has not only political but economic implications for Northern Ireland? There are increased transport costs, because lorries do not come both ways with goods in them; there is the fact that many people chose suppliers in England because they are cheaper, better-quality and so on, and now manufacturers in Northern Ireland are having to go to the second-best suppliers; and there is also the additional paperwork that is involved. That all adds to costs and makes the Northern Ireland economy less competitive, which therefore makes it more difficult for it to be viable.

• 4 Mar 2025 · Trade Diversion and Windsor Framework · Hansard source

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  The hon. and learned Member talks about that trade being infinitesimal—0.4% of EU trade crosses that border, yet it accounts for 20% of checks. Does he agree that that will not be the story of the future? In my constituency, we are already building a £140 million EU control post on a 10-acre site. Once that is open, there will be much more scope to check goods to an even greater degree. If that is not the point of having such a large EU border post in the middle of the United Kingdom, what is?

• 4 Mar 2025 · Trade Diversion and Windsor Framework · Hansard source

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• 3 Mar 2025 · Ukraine · Hansard source

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  May I, too, on behalf of my party, congratulate the Prime Minister on the work he has done this week, both in America and here in the United Kingdom. He has made a commitment to providing support to Ukraine to defend any peace agreement, but given the state of our armed forces and how overstretched they are, how sure is he that he can deliver on that commitment? Does he not agree that there needs to be a continued role for America in the defence of democracy against terrorising tyrants?

• 26 Feb 2025 · Public Services · Hansard source

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  Many ministerial decisions are important in getting public services delivered, but so too is back-up by the civil service. There is some concern about the level of expertise in the civil service in Northern Ireland. In the inquiry into the renewable heat incentive, the permanent secretary admitted that the civil service was not able to give timely advice to Ministers, and had not given accurate advice. What can the Secretary of State do to ensure that the gap that there appears to be in expertise in the civil service—because the Northern Ireland civil service is not integrated into the UK civil service—can be filled?

• 26 Feb 2025 · Public Services · Hansard source

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  Many projects that are designed to improve public services are being held up in the courts in Northern Ireland because of procurement, planning and the decision process. The latest ruse being used to hold up projects is the claim that they do not comply with the Government’s net zero policies and will lead to an increase in carbon dioxide emissions. One of the projects that is being held up is the important A5 road in the west of Northern Ireland. Does the Secretary of State agree that while we have statutory limits on CO 2 emissions, we will always be vulnerable to major infrastructure projects being held up in the courts?

• 25 Feb 2025 · Defence and Security · Hansard source

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  I welcome the Prime Minister’s statement and I wish him well as he goes to America to persuade the Americans to side with democracy, rather than vote with dictators. There will be a long lead-in time before we see the effects of today’s announcement. Given that and the overstretched commitments of our armed forces, how will he give assurances to the Ukrainians that Britain will be able to supply arms and personnel to defend any peace agreement that is reached?

• 24 Feb 2025 · Ukraine · Hansard source

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  I welcome the robust statement from the Secretary of State today and the way he has stood by Ukraine and committed the UK to standing by Ukraine. I hope he will convey the same message to President Trump: that by giving into Putin, we jeopardise peace not only in Ukraine but across the whole of Europe. First, what practical steps can he take, apart from the assurances he has given the House today, to ensure that Ukraine’s interests are reflected in any negotiations? Secondly, given the stretched state of our own armed forces, what long-term security commitments can we give to Ukraine?

• 24 Feb 2025 · Plant Oxford Site · Hansard source

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  In answer to the shadow Secretary of State, the hon. Member for Mid Buckinghamshire (Greg Smith), the Minister stated that the strategy is resulting in people wanting to invest in the United Kingdom. The sad fact is that as a result of the mad net zero policies that this Government are following, we are losing investment every week; this is yet another example. Does the Minister not follow the logic? If we punish people for not wanting the cars that we produce, the companies will cut back production and jobs, consumers will not get what they want, and economic growth will be affected. When will this Government come to the conclusion that this policy of net zero and punishing people is wrong?

• 12 Feb 2025 · Energy Infrastructure: Chinese Companies · Hansard source

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  Almost on a weekly basis, we are lectured by the net zero-obsessed Secretary of State that the race for renewables is necessary in order to give this country a secure future supply of energy. Yet the renewables industry is increasingly dependent on Chinese technology, and on rare earth metals, of which the Chinese control 70%, so we are placing our future energy supply in the hands of a dictatorship that has proved itself willing to use such infrastructure to blackmail the countries in which it is based. Should we not consider the supply of fossil fuels in this country—decades of oil and gas—which we could use without interference from others?

• 11 Feb 2025 · Scrutiny of European Statutory Instruments · Hansard source

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  It is even worse than that. On occasions, regulations have gone through and been adopted before the Committee knew they were there.

• 11 Feb 2025 · Scrutiny of European Statutory Instruments · Hansard source

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  Does the hon. and learned Member accept that even when we had the European Scrutiny Committee, which was able to deal exclusively with such issues, there were many EU regulations that it did not have the opportunity to discuss? Given the importance of such regulations not just to Northern Ireland but, as he pointed out, to the whole of the United Kingdom, does he agree that this leaves us vulnerable to detrimental changes in law that will not get enough examination in the House?

• 11 Feb 2025 · Clonoe Inquest · Hansard source

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  As has been said, people in Northern Ireland are appalled at this decision by a coroner who, incidentally, would have had police officers protecting him during the troubles. I guarantee that had he been faced with armed terrorists and those officers had asked them to put their hands up and surrender, he would have been appalled. He would have expected them to be shot. People will be equally appalled by the measly mouthed response from the Secretary of State. Let me quote some of the things he has said: “I can’t comment on this”, “We have to take seriously the judgment of the coroner” and “I will defend the ECHR, even though it has been abused by terrorists.” When will the Secretary of State take the side of the soldiers who fought in Northern Ireland and not be afraid that whatever he says here might offend Sinn Féin, the IRA and their supporters?

• 11 Feb 2025 · US Steel Import Tariffs · Hansard source

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  To use football parlance, President Trump is playing a blinder with his tariffs strategy. Canada, Mexico and Colombia all fell into line when he threatened tariffs. Only the EU is foolishly saying that it wants to go toe to toe with him. Can the Minister assure us that our Government, using our Brexit freedoms, will put Britain first when it comes to this issue, and that we will not side with the EU, but will work with the American Administration to protect British jobs and British industry?

• 10 Feb 2025 · Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill · Hansard source

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  The shadow Home Secretary notes that the number of asylum claims has gone up since the Government came to power, yet thousands have been wiped off because those people have been automatically given permission to stay in the United Kingdom. Does he not think that one reason we will continue to see people flooding in is that they know we are an easy touch? They can just come here and get granted asylum.

• 10 Feb 2025 · Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill · Hansard source

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  The Home Secretary has outlined many of the measures she is taking to try to deal with the gangs, but the fact is that people come here because there are advantages in coming here. What is she doing to ensure that those advantages are removed, so that there is no incentive for people to come to the United Kingdom? Secondly, what role will Border Force have between Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic, since the Irish Republic is also a route for illegal immigrants to come to the United Kingdom?

• 10 Feb 2025 · Rosebank and Jackdaw Oilfields · Hansard source

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  Hardly a day passes in this place when Ministers do not tell us how broke the country is, yet here we have a Minister who cannot give a commitment to extracting the liquid gold that lies under this country, although it could generate jobs and tax revenue, give us energy security and reduce the import bill. Is it not a fact that the court judgment has driven a hole through the growth strategy, because due to the legal targets for CO 2 reduction that we have set, every major infrastructure project in this country will be legally challengeable, and could be turned down on the basis that it generates CO 2 ?

• 10 Feb 2025 · Biomass Generation · Hansard source

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  This statement should be a warning to all those across the House who are cheerleaders for renewable energy. Let us not forget that, in 2010, Drax power station was the poster boy for green energy policy. Of course, it turned out that instead of green energy, it has produced more CO 2 . We have chopped down natural habitat 3,000 miles away to bring it and burn it in a power station in England, and consumers pay the grand total of £1,000 million a year for the pleasure of doing so. The Government have not learnt from that lesson. Only this year, we have had a similar mistake made with wind energy, where the Government have given a subsidy six times what the price of gas would be. Will we find a Minister in 15 years’ time standing again at the Dispatch Box to apologise for a waste of public money, high electricity prices and environmental disaster?

• 5 Feb 2025 · Chagos Islands · Hansard source

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  We have not been able to obtain any facts from the Government about the cost. The deal is, of course, inflation-linked, and we do not know what inflation will be in the future. We do, however, know three facts: first, the base is crucial to our national interests; secondly, China is seeking to expand its influence across the Indian Ocean and Africa; and thirdly, the Mauritian Government will have clear, unambiguous sovereignty over the islands. How can the Minister anticipate that our interests are safeguarded if he does not know what relationship future Mauritian Governments will have with China?

• 4 Feb 2025 · Warm Homes Plan · Hansard source

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  Is it not a fact that, regardless of how much money is put into a warm homes scheme, social tariffs or whatever, consumers can never be insulated against the massive cost of the mad net zero policy that will require thousands of new turbines, acres of solar farms and miles of new transmission lines, all at a cost to the consumer? How on earth does the Minister believe that we will deal with the issue of fuel poverty in this country with that cost?

• 3 Feb 2025 · School Accountability and Intervention · Hansard source

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  It is quite right that we measure the performance of schools since we spend billions of pounds on them every year and they affect the life chances of millions of children across the country. Will the Minister explain why she is introducing these new measures to improve standards in schools at the same time as jettisoning the academy system, which was designed to improve standards and disseminate changes to improve schools? What are the implications for individual schools in gathering, holding and presenting the data required to give the information for the nine sections and five different levels? How will she make all that comprehensible to parents?

• 3 Feb 2025 · AstraZeneca · Hansard source

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  Investment in highly paid industries producing good-quality research and development, and the spin-offs from that, are, of course, important to the economy and to long-term growth. I agree with the Minister that when it comes to using public money we have to be careful about how it is spent, and not just throw it at a company because it has threatened to walk away from investment. In fact, I should have thought that those on the Opposition Front Bench would be quite happy to hear the Minister talking about the proper use of public finance like a prudent Conservative Minister. My question, however, is this. Although due diligence had to be done, and it may well have been assessed that this was not a good use of public money, was the investment lost because of a lack of communication between the Government and the company during the assessment process, when perhaps the company could have been convinced that it could proceed, even with less support?

• 3 Feb 2025 · Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Bill · Hansard source

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  The Minister is outlining the actions she intends to take to ensure that errors do not happen and that humans will conduct any reviews. However, once a decision has been made—whether the error was genuine or not, the person should not have received the money—the Bill sets out that the person is still subject to all the measures that would be imposed on people who have deliberately engaged in fraud. That is the real worry. Despite the Secretary of State’s assurances, errors will still be made. Judgments will have to be made about whether the money, given in error, is recoverable, and if it is recoverable, it will be treated as if that were fraud.

• 29 Jan 2025 · Growing the UK Economy · Hansard source

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  As I listened to the Chief Secretary declare that this is all about putting our country on a new path towards a brighter future, I was reminded of a wee song that we used to sing when we were children: “There is a happy land, but it’s far, far away.” Unfortunately, many of these projects are long term. They will not be delivered even in the lifetime of this Parliament, and they will not offset the anti-growth policies that the Government have already announced, which are devastating industry. The Chief Secretary said that he wants to deliver for people in every part of the country, but there was not one mention of a project in Northern Ireland, or any indication of what the Government will do with the anti-growth impacts of the protocol and the Windsor framework. What is there in the statement for the people of Northern Ireland and for growth prospects in Northern Ireland?