Speeches by Alexander.

“I wish to make a statement on the progress that this Government have made towards a UK-India trade deal. I am delighted to inform the House that we have now concluded negotiations on a comprehensive, modern agreement with the fastest-growing economy in the G20. Hon. Members will no doubt be aware that India is expected…”

“India is quite simply the fastest growing economy in the G20, and is expected to be the third largest economy in the world by 2028. If we were choosing countries that we would wish to do deals with, India would be pretty high up the list. By 2030, India will be home to an estimated 60 million middle-class consumers, wh…”

“What I said was that we have social security agreements with a range of countries, including the USA and with the EU. The hon. Lady asks whether a new points-based system is being introduced, and I can assure her that that is not the case. The deal covers only business mobility, and the UK has not given away visas or c…”

“My hon. Friend seems to know my brief better than I do. In all seriousness, it is right to place on record our gratitude to the Prime Minister for his sterling work in getting this deal over the line. I also pay generous tribute to the Business and Trade Secretary, who has done an immense amount of work and whose visit…”

“I pay tribute to the right hon. Gentleman’s long-standing interest in matters relating to culture, media and sport and to the creative industries more generally. We are grateful for the expertise and experience that he brings to the House on these issues. It would be one of the first occasions on which I told Lord Mand…”

“I thank my hon. Friend for his generous words of congratulation. I know that the bilateral relationship between the United Kingdom and India has been a constant feature of his long service in the House, and a particular focus of his parliamentary work. He is right to recognise, in the context of both digital services a…”

“The hon. Gentleman has referred to our attempt to reset our trading relationship with Europe. The red lines that were set out in our manifesto are very clear, but within those red lines we are endeavouring to broaden and deepen an important trading relationship that represents about 46% of the UK’s trade. As for the ho…”

“I thank my hon. Friend and fellow Scottish Member of Parliament. One of the commitments that we made when we were both elected—in my case, re-elected—to the House back in July was that we would seek to ensure a Labour Government delivering for Scotland. The cut that we have secured in whisky tariffs for the huge and si…”

“I thank the hon. Lady for her recognition that this is a landmark deal, although I have to say that it was not her most generous welcome of a deal that the previous Government worked for many months to try to secure—it is right to recognise that, albeit they did not manage to close the most difficult remaining issues. …”

“Having worked so closely with former Prime Minister Gordon Brown over a number of years, I am probably the last person in this Chamber who needs to be convinced of the economic significance of the Rosyth dockyard. As my hon. Friend knows, I have recently had meetings with Babcock’s executive team, both in London and ab…”

“In substantive terms, the hon. Gentleman’s point is important: we should be looking to reduce unnecessary barriers to trade between the United Kingdom and our friends, neighbours and partners in the European Union. However, on a political level, it is worth recognising that, had Scotland voted in 2014 to leave the Unit…”

“I assure the hon. Lady that we are looking at how we can improve that relationship, and she is right to recognise that a whole number of barriers were created as a consequence of choices made previously, which are causing significant challenges to businesses small, medium and large. As the Secretary of State made clear…”

“I am not entirely convinced that the previous Government are a compass by which to navigate the next set of negotiations with the European Union. The right hon. Gentleman is entirely right that there is a whole series of unnecessary barriers to trade between ourselves and the European Union that were put in place as a …”

“I am unfamiliar with the particular case but concerned by that description. We inherited the export licensing system, and we are reviewing it as part of our ongoing work looking at all aspects of the Government’s work. If the hon. Member writes to me, I will certainly take a personal interest in the matter and write ba…”

“We are consciously pursuing a trade agenda based on data, not on post-imperial delusion. Regrettably, the data is pretty devastating on the damage done by how Brexit was implemented by our predecessors. If one wants to look at academic research, the latest publications from Aston University indicate that a number of sm…”

“I would be inclined to wait for the summit before declaiming it as a disaster—I think, in the trade, that is called prebuttal. However, the hon. Gentleman’s point about the seriousness of the summit is a fair one, and I recognise it. When I saw those images of the Prime Minister sitting with President Trump in the Oval…”

“Three of our five largest trading partners are in the European Union. Indeed, 46% of UK trade is with our friends, neighbours and partners in the EU. The Department for Business and Trade, along with other Departments across Government— I hope in a co-ordinated way—have been contributing to the resetting of our relatio…”

“I am slightly worried that the question adds two and two and gets about 97. The Bill recognises that we have to find a way forward on standards with the European Union, but to try to overlay what is, as the shadow Minister says, a necessary and somewhat dry technical piece of legislation with the policy agenda that she…”

“At exactly this point tomorrow morning, I will be visiting a farm in East Lothian, so I can assure the hon. Gentleman that I am fully aware of the importance of food and agriculture to the Scottish economy and, more broadly, to the UK economy. I also respectfully refer him to the Labour manifesto at the last general el…”

“As we have just been discussing, increasing trade with European countries is and has been a focus of discussion between Ministers in the Department for Business and Trade and their EU counterparts. I recently met Ministers from Spain, France, Denmark, Poland and Germany, and work is under way on the first UK-EU summit,…”