Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. By next week, the Conservative Party leadership election will be over, and we will know the identity of the new Prime Minister. We have all watched a leadership campaign characterised by a race to see who can talk the toughest about a 'no deal', and a competition for the top job that focuses on the needs of the Conservative Party and not the needs of the country. It’s a debate that seems to forget that how the UK leaves the EU has a real world impact on people’s lives and livelihoods.

The expectation seems to be that, whoever the new Prime Minister is, he will be able to go to Brussels and renegotiate a deal in a matter of weeks. However, both Jeremy Hunt and Boris Johnson are ignoring the fact that the European Union has repeatedly said that they will not renegotiate the withdrawal agreement, and there is no magic technical solution available to ensure goods can move without friction on the island of Ireland.

They are also ignoring the fact that, for the EU, Brexit is a significant challenge but not an existential one. The EU-27 are preoccupied with the need to install a new European Commission and other top jobs and the development of a new five-year policy programme and seven-year budget.