European Union Bill

Of course, I have listened to the noble Lord, Lord Richard, for longer than 20 years, and I know that he is an absolutely committed Europhile. He is right to say that I am very much in favour of parliamentary democracy, but I am trying to explain that in relation to the European Union we do not have a proper parliamentary democracy. All the amendments made to the European Communities Act 1972 were made by treaty. Under those circumstances, the Government agree to the treaty and sign it. One former Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs said, ““Now that I've signed the treaty, perhaps I'd better read it””. Therefore, we cannot be sure that even those who sign the treaties know what they are about. Nevertheless, the treaty then comes before Parliament and Ministers come to the Dispatch Box and say, ““You must pass this treaty because we have agreed to it. If you do not, the country's standing in the world will be damaged and we will never be trusted again””. Governments put Parliament in an almost impossible position. If Parliament rejects the treaty out of hand, the Government will say, ““My God, we have no further influence in the world because Parliament has declared that it does not agree with the treaty””.