European Union Bill

I do not believe so. It is important, from time to time and in specific circumstances, to pool sovereignty in the mutual best interests of a collective of states. That is what the European Union is all about. Whatever the arguments publicly advanced, we all know the real reason for clause 18. It is the result of the Conservative party's desire to placate its Eurosceptic Back Benchers. As we will see this afternoon, however, the Government have been rumbled. The likes of the hon. Member for Stone and the right hon. Member for Wokingham (Mr Redwood) will not be bought off with flimsy window dressing. In The Times this morning, the latter wrote that the Bill is ““shadow-boxing”” and not a substantive piece of legislation. Interestingly enough, however, the hon. Member for Stone referred to the explanatory notes and the fact that the Government might—he said—be on the verge of rewriting them. Well, that is certainly news to us. If the Government intend to rewrite the explanatory notes, surely it would have been courteous, at the very least, to inform the Opposition of their intention. I look forward to hearing from the Minister whether that is true, and what his intentions are. Our concern, however, is that the House is spending an inordinate amount of time on a clause that achieves absolutely nothing more than we have already. It is an exercise in smoke and mirrors that is neither here nor there. I have to say, however, that this debate has brought to the fore important issues.