Lord Davies of Brixton (Lab)

Before the Recess we had tumble dryers, last week we had seed potatoes and this week we have batteries. I support the process. I think it is right that every Member of this House should have the right to seek a proper debate on all the statutory instruments that come before us, whether they affect Northern Ireland or are more general. It is important and, to an extent, we are making up for the problems faced by the Commons in giving adequate consideration to all the matters that come before them. So I support the process and welcome the opportunity to debate these issues. As the noble Lord, Lord Jackson of Peterborough, said, there are always choices. The point we need to emphasise is that in the UK we have made a choice. Some people do not like the choice we have made and they have every right to protest about it, but it is the choice that has been made. There is a certain irony in the fact that those who are most vociferous in calling for Northern Ireland’s place within the United Kingdom are objecting to a decision made by the United Kingdom. You have to take the obligations that come with your objectives, and this is what we have. I remind noble Lords of the point I made last week: the people of Northern Ireland voted against Brexit. So, when people come forward to complain about the outcome, those who promoted Brexit should accept responsibility for where we have ended up. Given the land border, there were bound to be problems. Clearly, whoever negotiated the arrangements did not do a good job. That is why the framework was being discussed yesterday in Grand Committee. As my noble friend Lady Ritchie of Downpatrick said, “it is important that the challenges and impediments presented by the Windsor Framework are ironed out”.—[Official Report, 14/9/26; col. GC 347.] So there is an acceptance, even by those who support the Windsor Framework—as my noble friend declared she does—that it should be sorted out, following up the work of my noble friend Lord Murphy of Torfaen. In my last few seconds, I turn to batteries. Batteries are made in China and some are made in Belgium. The idea that we as a country can determine the nature of the batteries that are used in this country is an illustration of the falsity of the claim of taking back control. We are part of an international system, and the reason why we do not have control over the form of batteries sold in this country is that we left the European Union, where the decisions are being made. We have no power over the batteries in this country because they are not made in this country; they are made elsewhere. The wish to ignore the reality of an interconnected world is, at heart, the cause of the problems here.