Empower Your Business to Lead to Opportunity in European Union

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Secretary of State and before I go anywhere else with this interview how's that sound Secretary of State it's the first time I've had that in an interview and it does feel very special on a personal level to have had that experience of being asked to walk up Downing Street to go to an office that used to belong to Winston Church Hill in the old admiralty of the Department of Business and trade really really personally significant but obviously the most exciting bid is to be able to get on with the job and deliver on the Mandate that we've received in indeed and um the last but one labor Prime Minister Tony Blair doesn't waste any time in telling you how you should get on with a job um his top thing I gather is that he says that uh you need a plan for migration and that implies that he thinks you don't actually have one um and that because you don't have one you risk the rise of the national populists that's a rather stinging assessment of the labor campaign isn't it well look I think he mentions immigration once in in a 1500 word article but the policies we put forward in the election are I think what the country needs it's not just about tackling illegal immigration important as that is we've got to look at legal migration we've got to to look at the relationship to the skills system why for instance have there been jobs on the shortage occupations list now for 15 years or since the the list came into existence you know the sense of it not responding to real market conditions relying too much on immigration even though I will always welcome people who want to come to contribute to the UK changes just the Friendship Levy that we put forward we have a plan for that and it's about a much closer linkage between migration well that's interesting because he he's pretty clear that he doesn't seem to think you have his in a typical sort of Blair phrase he says if you don't have rules you'll have prejudices and what that implies that he he thinks you haven't actually laid out any rules you might have projects but you don't have rules and the point I think he's making is labor has to get a grip on legal migration numbers and he wants to see what you're going to do about that what is it would you for example back his call for ID cards well the new uh Home Secretary will be looking at all sources of advice when it comes to that but I would just say we have back the points-based immigration system we made difficult decisions particularly when we thought legal migration was too high I think it has to come down again I'll say that whilst all was welcoming people who do make a contribution come to the UK to do that I think it's you historically High a Time when Public Services were under strain and I think it's it's right to recognize public concern around that but look we we made decisions not just in the campaign but before it about backing at times decisions particularly on dependence which were not easy decisions so we have been doing that we'll continue to do that and we want to address those issues but what's what's clear from what you've just said is that you haven't made a decision but digital ID cards are on the table as one possibility well look my colleague vet Cooper and the rest of the home Affairs team will be looking at all sources of things I'm not going to preempt things they may or may not want to do but I would push back on the assertion that we've not made already significant political decisions recognizing public concern on legal migration recognizing the system has to work better but looking at the real answers not gimmicks as we saw from the previous government and I I'll respect my colleagues taking that agenda forward okay well let me put it to you in a slightly different way um Everybody respects Tony Blair but is this intervention a little bit unhelpful in the first 48 Hours well I don't think anything is unhelpful of course when you are an incoming government you're always looking to people who have frankly done a job in the past in government their expertise their experience will be invaluable it's not about harking back to any era but of course if people have been in something that resembles a similar position to this incoming government we'll listen to them of course we will well you say you say not harking back to another area it's striking this morning that there are um a couple of new appointments both of which are pure blairite era Jackie Smith who was at home Home Secretary uh and was a Blair Minister for a long time and Alan Milburn actually who is Blair Health secretary both back in one way or another in government well this is a cabinet uh which has won a mandate in its own right has its own set of people that knows what its own agenda is and actually in historical terms actually groundbreaking some of the representation now we're seeing at the top table of British government of course we will use expertise experience where it is available I think specifically on on Alan Milburn I know he's been working with the health Team I think no announcement has been made around that but of course people like Jackie Smith and the experience that they bring there are a lot of problems for an incoming government to resolve if people can give us advice know how the system works of course any Cabinet member is going to be looking at how they can do that all right well another piece of advice to gives you is uh he's not clear about it but he's pretty um strongly hint that there should be a closer relationship with the EU the Irish Prime Minister Simon Harris uh suggests to Sky news this morning that that this could be the start of a new relationship I just want to show you what he says brexit has happened H the people of Britain have made that decision but absolutely is there space to have a veteranary agreement is there space in terms of student Mobility is there space to work closer together on issues I think there absolutely is and I do think there would be a willingness in Europe to have those conversations in due course should that be the wish of the British government that seems to me a pretty clear opening of the door to a renegotiation of at least some aspects of the trade deal um are you going to walk through that door it's your job now well I welcome that constructive attitude from colleagues we were right in the campaign to respect brexit to not revisit those constitutional arguments but when it comes to trade the issue that you've just revealed there in that revealing clip is really about standards on food we've got the same standards as the European Union if we can sell more whiskey more salmon to a a market which is so significant to us of course we should explore an opportunity like that and I think moving forward to to be frank a relationship to Europe that is not determined by the internal politics of the conservative party is very much in the National interest in the UK so we're not going to revisit those constitutional arguments but of course where it's in the mutual interests of both the European Union and the UK to work together that good faith relationship has got to make sense so no re-entry to the EU no new referendums or anything like that but it's clear you want a closer relationship with the EU well I think on things like um food and agricultural products agreement where we've got the same standards removing some of those barriers to trade that makes sense we've talked for instance about recognizing each other's professional qualifications again completely sensible pragmatic you know if you are in the creative Industries you've really suffered in your ability to move around the European Union in terms of the restrictions on that these are practical things and actually we have seen a little bit of the last government we saw the reassociation with Horizon the science agreement and the Windsor framework so clearly the basis is there to do that and I welcome constructive colleagues it's interesting because you've named three or four things there and put together this sounds like the development of a new deal I mean to some extent what Rich Shak tried to do but actually you seem to be saying that there is space here for a new and uh more open relationship with the EU they're going to ask for something they're going to ask for migration are you are you open to that free movement of people well I don't think we should preempt that negotiation we're not open to the free free movement of people that is something which is part of membership of the European Union and as I said we're not revisiting that so it's not about that let's be clear as well these are things that I think are in the UK's interest they're also in the eu's interest that doesn't mean it's an easy negotiation but of course we should always be seeking to to make those opportunities real for across the UK all right the what happened on Thursday was in many ways historic record broken all over the place but some of it is is also personal can I ask about um one of your former Shadow cabinet colleagues Jonathan Ashworth who I think actually I've interviewed on Sunday morning to even more times than you um did you feel his absence at yesterday's uh first cabinet meeting because he lost his seat surprisingly I did um I've known Jonathan a long time he put in a credible service to the campaign um maybe to his own personal cost in that way and of course to be in a political system where you can win a landslide get that mandate but lose very close colleagues that that is British politics is tough like that on a personal level really you know someone who'd given so much and has a lot to give and I hope can we can find a role that will allow him to continue to do that one of the reasons I asked is that he lost his seat in Leicester South uh we don't know yet but it is thought partly because of if you like some ethnic rivalries which is something that's popped up elsewhere within uh the labor campaign and in some Birmingham seats the labor vote was depressed particularly in places where there's a large Muslim population is this going to be an issue for labor well look we would take the loss of any support seriously you know of course there's a lot to digest from a set of results where I don't think we've ever really had a general election quite like it in terms of the diversity of contests across every bit of the UK so of course there's a lot to to digest from that take on I would say we will always as Kia made clear the new prime minister made clear we will always put country first party second sometimes there are tough things you you were hit by the Gaza protest basically look I really understand people's frustration there are particularly younger people in Britain not just confined to one Community by the way this is AC Ross the board they've never seen a real peace process in the Middle East they're frustrated they see you know the difficulties that causes real problems on both sides incredible human suffering of course they're frustrated by that what I hope we can now do as a government is show real leadership on the world stage to a real solution to that conflict now I think to be honest people want they want to see that progress rather than the words behind it and I I do understand that I think we can contribute the other thing that's happened uh of course is that you've made these appointments um prime minister brought in experts like uh s Patrick Valance um but as I said we're we're seeing the return of some veterans let's call it from the Blair era Jackie Smith Alan Milburn um how can I put this delicately prime minister had 411 MPS to choose from are none of them good enough to do these jobs no it's not about that I mean look I think my generation of Labor MPS can hold our heads high in terms of returning labor to power and what has happened particularly in the last Parliament when people of my intake and age you know came to the four in the shadow cabinet as it then was but we're very much aware that if you can bring in experience of government if you know people who can make a difference Douglas Alexander will join my team for instance as the trade Minister the former Brown Minister incredible expertise incredible career outside of parliament since he left um after what happened in that election of course you want to use that and I think actually that's a sign of strength that you can bring in that kind of expertise confidence you've got to do that all right let's let's talk about strength you start with this thumping majority uh which is you would say is your mandate for change but let's remember 2third of the voters did not choose you um does that really give you the authority to impose what the minority that backed you want on the majority and let me just make it very specific the MPS that support your government got less than 24,000 votes for each seat yet it took half a million votes to elect a green mp uh over 800,000 to elect a reform MP is that really a fair system well first of all labor has a clear mandate we the first political party in a generation you've got a lot of MPS You' got two3 of the MPS elected with one third of the vote the first political party in a generation to win a majority of seats in England Wales and Scotland that is no small achievement our system is about seats I've been here after elections where we can say oh we piled up votes in a small number of places that's not how British general elections work I think it's really important to say that you know there are results in the past that are similar to this I I don't think you can say a system is unfair just because one side wins it and this was our Strat the fact it was unfair and then past doesn't make it any better than it's unfair now but let's just be clear labor has a mandate to govern there can be no questions around that I would also say when it comes to parties like reform and and the green party they do get far less scrutiny because they're not seen as parties of government or going to significant numbers now maybe that should change I think that's something to address I know I met a lot of good people in this campaign who told me they were voting reform when you explain to them they support in reform the economic policies of Liz trust and the foreign policies of Vladimir Putin they're horrified so you know now they're in Parliament they'll get the level of scrutiny they deserve yeah but look I I'm not being partis I don't want to be partisan here this is an issue about democracy let me show you this this chart um and I think most fair-minded people would ask themselves is this really right you got 33.7% of votes not far off what you got last time uh less the uh than you got under Corbin when you got spanked um but you got 2third nearly of the seats um the lib thems down there they they they are more or less okay but reform on the greens not less than 1% of the seats but reform one in seven votes greens 7% I'm just asking you really as a Democrat rather than as a government minister is that really sustainable well look I have talked in the past about my own views on this sort of thing but I would say when you've got a system you run your campaign to win under that system now you can't then look at it through a different lens you know we have had elections in the past where laborers had these extraordinary majorities in a small number of places that's not good enough we are not a party of of protest or you can't look at V especially when people vote tactically that's part of the system under first pass of the post we had to get a mandate to government to replace this failing former failing conservative government we've done that and I think you've got to recognize that the campaign will reflect the system required to get that mandate to win let me put you something that's happening right across Europe and that is in a way the advant of what people call uh nationalist populism let me ask you first question specifically about about Labor how do it feel to be indebted to Nigel farage for the size of your your Victory cuz this only happened really because he divided the vote and the right no again I reject that I think the idea that somehow if the conservative party with its record would simply have seen votes transfer automatically to label as the alternative that isn't how it happens labor had to earn the right to be the party that could win this election and that was not something that happened by accident it happened with K st's leadership okay so the idea that someone else is the active agent in that happening I'm sorry no it is down to labor and being a part willing to acknowledge it defeat we'll argue the TOs about the numbers but I just want to ask you lastly about something that's happening today which is I think relevant tonight Marine Le Pen will probably become the leader of the largest party in France his Parliament uh with a bigger share of the vote in France and you won here are you looking forward to negotiating with uh a new trade relationship with France with the EU under Madame leen's leadership well you know I'm going to say any election in France is down to the people of France to decide that I would say more generally it's wrong to think of trade relationships and trade treaties in particular as being with the political leadership at any one time of a country whether that is in France whether that is in the USA those are long-term relationships that outli if you do them properly whoever is in charge at any one moment it's about two countries not sets of political leaders and the long-term National interest will always be what we're putting forward in trade policy from a new labor government