Constitutional Reform and Governance Bill

The point that the hon. Gentleman makes with restrained passion—we have all sat metaphorically at his feet in many debates on this issue—is precisely that this House is a cockpit of checks and balances. This House is tested every four or five years in a general election, and the public can throw us out. That is the connection. The notion that we should replace the sovereignty of the British people acting through elected representatives with plebiscite or referendums is false. In the one country that frequently uses that device—Switzerland—we see the lowest turnout for parliamentary, cantonal and local elections of any country in Europe, and a very low turnout in referendums.