UK Parliament / Open data

European Union Bill

Debate on bills and Committee of the Whole House (HC) on Monday, 24 January 2011, in the House of Commons.
European Union Bill. Programme motion (No. 2) on proceedings in Committee, agreed to on question. Committee stage second day. Clause 1: Interpretation of Part 1, discussed with new clause 9, debated and agreed to. Amendment negatived on division (220 votes to 329). Clauses 2 to 4 agreed to. Clause 5: Statement to be laid before Parliament, agreed to as amended, with an amendment negatived on division (239 votes to 310). Committee to sit again tomorrow.

About these Parliamentary proceedings

Reference

522 c25-134 

Session

2010-12

Department

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Legislative stage

Committee stage

Procedure

Programme motions
New clauses

Chamber / Committee

House of Commons chamber

Related items

European Union Bill 2010-12. Explanatory notes also published (Bill 106-EN).
Thursday, 11 November 2010
Bills
House of Commons
The EU Bill: Restrictions on treaties and decisions relating to the EU. European Scrutiny Committee fifteenth report with formal minutes and written evidence.
Wednesday, 19 January 2011
Parliamentary committees
House of Commons

Proceeding contributions

Charlie Elphicke | 522 c32 (Link to this contribution) I, too, rise to welcome the fact that the Government have agreed to add a sixth day. The Bill is rec...
Martin Horwood | 522 c31-2 (Link to this contribution) I will not often rise in sympathy with the hon. Members for Wellingborough (Mr Bone) and for Stone (...

Show all contributions (381)
Charlie Elphicke | 522 c32 (Link to this contribution) I agree with my hon. Friend. What will we discuss? A wrecking amendment, tabled by the Labour party,...
Bernard Jenkin | 522 c32 (Link to this contribution) Perhaps my hon. Friend is going on to say this, but I would have thought that he would be disappoint...
Charlie Elphicke | 522 c32 (Link to this contribution) I defer to you, Mr Deputy Speaker, and apologise for using language that was perhaps too simple. Of ...
Speaker | 522 c32 (Link to this contribution) Order. If it was a wrecking amendment, it would not have been selected. I remind the hon. Gentleman ...
Charlie Elphicke | 522 c33 (Link to this contribution) I should be delighted to share that information with the House. For the record, my Whip did not ask ...
Douglas Carswell | 522 c32 (Link to this contribution) Will my hon. Friend share with the House whether his Whip asked him to take part in the debate?
Lord Spellar | 522 c33 (Link to this contribution) On a point of order, Mr Deputy Speaker. Several Members on the Government Benches have referred to p...
Speaker | 522 c33 (Link to this contribution) There should be no criticism of the other House. We can all learn from that.
David Lidington | 522 c33-4 (Link to this contribution) With the leave of the House, let me reply briefly to some of the main points. I do not want to take ...
Anne Main | 522 c37 (Link to this contribution) With reference to the hon. Gentleman's remarks on holding referendums on fundamental matters that af...
Wayne David | 522 c37 (Link to this contribution) The week before last, the House enjoyed an excellent debate on the sovereignty clause of the Bill. P...
Chair of Committees of the Whole House | 522 c35-7 (Link to this contribution) With this it will be convenient to discuss the following:
Wayne David | 522 c35 (Link to this contribution) I beg to move amendment 85, page 2, line 6, at end add—
Baroness Stuart of Edgbaston | 522 c38 (Link to this contribution) I am sorry, but having written the constitution and having read the Lisbon treaty, I think that it i...
Wayne David | 522 c37 (Link to this contribution) Not at all, because it is pretty obvious to anybody who has given the matter any detailed study that...
Richard Fuller | 522 c38 (Link to this contribution) The issue is that the Labour party promised a referendum and then reneged on it when in office.
Wayne David | 522 c38 (Link to this contribution) I will stick to the point. It is really important that Members recognise that there is a fundamental...
Chair of Committees of the Whole House | 522 c38 (Link to this contribution) Order. We are not dealing with the Lisbon treaty. Can we please stick to the amendments before us?
Wayne David | 522 c38 (Link to this contribution) With all due respect to my hon. Friend, it was not she who wrote the treaty or the constitution; she...
Wayne David | 522 c39 (Link to this contribution) This party does not make promises which it breaks. [Laughter.] I would point out to Government Membe...
Charlie Elphicke | 522 c39 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Gentleman will forgive me, but my recollection of the history is that the treaty was ratifi...
Wayne David | 522 c38-9 (Link to this contribution) I do not think that is the case at all. There are certain principles at issue that it is important w...
Baroness Stuart of Edgbaston | 522 c38 (Link to this contribution) On Europe, is not the real lesson that when in government, we do not give referendums, but when in o...
Wayne David | 522 c39 (Link to this contribution) With all due respect to the hon. Lady, it was her party that reneged on the commitment to have a ref...
Claire O'Neill | 522 c39 (Link to this contribution) I appreciate the point that the hon. Gentleman is trying to make, which is that there is a lot of co...
David Lidington | 522 c27 (Link to this contribution) I am grateful to my hon. Friend for his intervention and will deal with each of his three points in ...
David Lidington | 522 c26-7 (Link to this contribution) It would be improper for me to comment on the selection or grouping of amendments, which is properly...
Peter Bottomley | 522 c27 (Link to this contribution) There seem to be three issues on which the Minister must guide the House: first, whether the Governm...
David Lidington | 522 c26 (Link to this contribution) I am sure that my hon. Friend the Member for Stone (Mr Cash), who has been here for a long time, kno...
James Clappison | 522 c26 (Link to this contribution) Is my right hon. Friend aware that there are no fewer than 29 amendments, some of which are Governme...
David Lidington | 522 c25-6 (Link to this contribution) As far as I am aware, it has not been a question of a guillotine. We have the normal 10 o'clock rule...
William Cash | 522 c26 (Link to this contribution) Does my right hon. Friend agree that if there were any attempt during the proceedings on the program...
David Lidington | 522 c25 (Link to this contribution) I beg to move,"That the Order of 7 December 2010 (European Union Bill (Programme)) be varied as foll...
Peter Bone | 522 c25 (Link to this contribution) The Minister must be in absolute despair. In his very good ConservativeHome article, he said that th...
Baroness Stuart of Edgbaston | 522 c31 (Link to this contribution) The accession of new member states can be fairly insignificant numerically, but there could be an ex...
Chris Heaton-Harris | 522 c31 (Link to this contribution) I rise rather sheepishly, because I almost feel partly responsible for the Government adding an extr...
Claire O'Neill | 522 c29-30 (Link to this contribution) I enter this debate with some trepidation, because there is the most complicated series of amendment...
Bernard Jenkin | 522 c30 (Link to this contribution) I rise briefly to plead that we do not divide the House on this matter, because time is pressing. Ho...
William Cash | 522 c30 (Link to this contribution) Does my hon. Friend recall the speech made by Mr Speaker only last week, in which he drew attention ...
Bernard Jenkin | 522 c30 (Link to this contribution) I agree with my hon. Friend. We have yet to find a way of respecting the Government's right to obtai...
Wayne David | 522 c27-8 (Link to this contribution) This is a fascinating and intriguing Bill. There have been times in the past few weeks when, because...
Peter Bone | 522 c28 (Link to this contribution) I appreciate that I am eating into our time in Committee of the whole House, but that is due to an u...
Peter Bottomley | 522 c28-9 (Link to this contribution) The days of the guillotine started before the 1970s, when the then Labour Government began using it ...
Kelvin Hopkins | 522 c29 (Link to this contribution) I add my concern to that of other hon. Members over the time allocated for the Committee of the whol...
William Cash | 522 c58 (Link to this contribution) Amendments 1 and 3 stand in my name. My comments boil down to what I said in my interventions on my ...
Baroness Stuart of Edgbaston | 522 c60 (Link to this contribution) I rise to speak to amendment 11, on which I hope the Committee will have time to vote. The amendment...
William Cash | 522 c58-60 (Link to this contribution) I think that my hon. Friend can wait, if he does not mind. I want to give an example that deals exp...
Baroness Stuart of Edgbaston | 522 c61 (Link to this contribution) I genuinely do not want to be patronising, but I might be about to sound patronising. An accession t...
Kwasi Kwarteng | 522 c60-1 (Link to this contribution) My issue with a referendum on Turkish accession is that it would not really be within the jurisdicti...
Martin Horwood | 522 c62 (Link to this contribution) Is not the logic of the hon. Lady's position that the significance condition in clause 3, talking ab...
Martin Horwood | 522 c47 (Link to this contribution) I understand the point that the hon. Gentleman is making, but surely the issue under discussion is t...
Wayne David | 522 c46-7 (Link to this contribution) No, I have made my decision. I have referred to the significance provision but, as if that were not...
Hywel Williams | 522 c46 (Link to this contribution) Will the hon. Gentleman give way on that point?
Wayne David | 522 c46 (Link to this contribution) I must make progress, because other Members will want to speak in this debate.
Wayne David | 522 c46 (Link to this contribution) That would be for the House to decide, which is why this is important. We are talking not simply abo...
Baroness Stuart of Edgbaston | 522 c46 (Link to this contribution) In our system the Government are drawn from the largest party in Parliament, and our Committees have...
Wayne David | 522 c46 (Link to this contribution) What I am saying is that it depends on how ““significance”” is defined. I propose that, rather than ...
Stephen Dorrell | 522 c46 (Link to this contribution) I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman, who is being very patient. However, he is not second-guessing t...
Wayne David | 522 c46 (Link to this contribution) I will give way once more, but then I must move on.
Stephen Dorrell | 522 c46 (Link to this contribution) Will the hon. Gentleman give way?
Kwasi Kwarteng | 522 c48 (Link to this contribution) Will the hon. Gentleman give way?
Wayne David | 522 c48 (Link to this contribution) Who knows who will be on the Committee? Who knows what opinions will be expressed? Who knows on what...
Kwasi Kwarteng | 522 c48 (Link to this contribution) I am reminded of a constituent of mine going to a doctor who gave her some very powerful medicine. W...
Stephen Dorrell | 522 c48 (Link to this contribution) May I bring the hon. Gentleman back to the subject of his amendment? Does it follow from what he is ...
Wayne David | 522 c47-8 (Link to this contribution) Perhaps I should not have given way on that point. I want to go on to make it absolutely clear that ...
Kwasi Kwarteng | 522 c48 (Link to this contribution) The simple question that Government Members wish to ask the hon. Gentleman is whether, under his Com...
Wayne David | 522 c48 (Link to this contribution) It is not for me or anyone else in the debate to say what the Committee should or should not decide....
Chris Heaton-Harris | 522 c47 (Link to this contribution) I thank the hon. Gentleman for his wholehearted support for the amendment that I tabled on this issu...
Wayne David | 522 c47 (Link to this contribution) The ultimate decision-making body in the European Union is the Council of Ministers, where, broadly ...
Kwasi Kwarteng | 522 c43 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Gentleman's comments seem to be a diatribe against all referendums anywhere and are not spe...
Wayne David | 522 c43 (Link to this contribution) It is interesting to hear the hon. Gentleman refer to the exceptional clause in that way. I will com...
Martin Horwood | 522 c43 (Link to this contribution) I may well be more in sympathy with the hon. Gentleman's position than some of my colleagues on the ...
Wayne David | 522 c42-3 (Link to this contribution) What I am saying is that if some of the questions implied by the Bill were put, no reasonable human ...
Wayne David | 522 c44 (Link to this contribution) I thank my hon. Friend for that intervention; she makes a good point. However, the matter might not ...
Baroness Stuart of Edgbaston | 522 c44 (Link to this contribution) It might come as a great relief to my hon. Friend to learn that I totally agree with him on this occ...
Wayne David | 522 c43-4 (Link to this contribution) That is completely untrue. My argument is that there is a clear distinction between important consti...
Anne Main | 522 c42 (Link to this contribution) With the greatest respect, I think the hon. Gentleman is dodging the question. I asked him whether h...
Wayne David | 522 c42 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Lady should realise that all Members have had enormous difficulty understanding this Bill. ...
Anne Main | 522 c42 (Link to this contribution) I cannot believe that the hon. Gentleman really means to imply that the voting public are so dim tha...
Wayne David | 522 c45 (Link to this contribution) I have argued consistently that that was not the case, but the new Committee, drawn from both Houses...
Claire O'Neill | 522 c44-5 (Link to this contribution) I am intrigued to know whether the workings of the proposed Committee would have come into force whe...
Wayne David | 522 c45 (Link to this contribution) The answer is simple. I have faith in Parliament; I do not have faith in this Government. That is th...
David Lidington | 522 c45 (Link to this contribution) Given the concerns that the hon. Gentleman has just expressed, will he please explain why the Opposi...
Wayne David | 522 c45-6 (Link to this contribution) There is a fundamental point here. We are not second-guessing Parliament's view. These are essential...
Stephen Dorrell | 522 c45 (Link to this contribution) Will the hon. Gentleman address the question asked by my hon. Friend the Minister a bit more serious...
Wayne David | 522 c44 (Link to this contribution) It is important that Parliament speaks with one voice, so both Houses would, under our proposal, hav...
Stephen Gilbert | 522 c44 (Link to this contribution) Will the hon. Gentleman tell the Committee what would happen if one of the Houses of Parliament took...
Stephen Gilbert | 522 c44 (Link to this contribution) I understand the hon. Gentleman's purpose, but it is conceivable that the House of Commons would rea...
Christopher Pincher | 522 c53 (Link to this contribution) Does my hon. Friend know that the most recent referendum in Switzerland, a country renowned for hold...
Chris Heaton-Harris | 522 c52-3 (Link to this contribution) Before I make the couple of points that I want to make, I suggest to the hon. Member for Caerphilly ...
Wayne David | 522 c52 (Link to this contribution) And I want the House to have more influence and power; I want clause 18 made real. I believe in the ...
Stephen Dorrell | 522 c52 (Link to this contribution) Will the hon. Gentleman give way?
Wayne David | 522 c52 (Link to this contribution) On judicial activism, I read the explanatory notes, and they gave me the impression that I should no...
Stephen Dorrell | 522 c52 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Gentleman cannot get away with that. Some of my hon. Friends are concerned, as he appeared ...
Wayne David | 522 c51 (Link to this contribution) The important point to stress is that it would not be our committee, but Parliament's committee. We ...
Jacob Rees-Mogg | 522 c51-2 (Link to this contribution) There is a slight contradiction. The hon. Gentleman is worried on the one hand about judicial activi...
Wayne David | 522 c51 (Link to this contribution) We have not skipped over the issue at all. While we recognise that some people might have a differen...
Neil Carmichael | 522 c51 (Link to this contribution) Is that where the hon. Gentleman's proposed committee would ride to the rescue and perhaps solve the...
Wayne David | 522 c52 (Link to this contribution) No, because other Members want to contribute to the debate. In conclusion, this tortuous Bill is pr...
Chris Heaton-Harris | 522 c57 (Link to this contribution) I understand what my hon. Friend says and I am quite sorely tempted, but my problem, as I described ...
Chris Heaton-Harris | 522 c57 (Link to this contribution) I always appreciate the lessons that my hon. Friend can teach a humble new Back Bencher and member o...
William Cash | 522 c57 (Link to this contribution) I understand my hon. Friend's reasoning, but the specific exemptions are set out in clause 4(4)(a), ...
Chris Heaton-Harris | 522 c55 (Link to this contribution) I concur with my hon. Friend. Although I completely trust the Minister, I am slightly concerned that...
Chris Heaton-Harris | 522 c55-7 (Link to this contribution) I concur with the hon. Lady. Several manoeuvres have taken place under previous Governments to deter...
William Cash | 522 c57 (Link to this contribution) I understand where my hon. Friend is coming from, but there is a difference between significance and...
Wayne David | 522 c54 (Link to this contribution) Why does the hon. Gentleman assume that the meetings would be in camera? They would not; they would ...
Chris Heaton-Harris | 522 c54-5 (Link to this contribution) That is not what is contained in the hon. Gentleman's amendment. Perhaps we can have this conversati...
James Clappison | 522 c55 (Link to this contribution) My hon. Friend is making a compelling case. He is talking about minor matters, but does he agree tha...
Wayne David | 522 c48-9 (Link to this contribution) I do not think that it is. Members have asked about our rationale in tabling the amendment. I belie...
Martin Horwood | 522 c49 (Link to this contribution) First, I apologise for saying that I was in sympathy with the drift of the hon. Gentleman's argument...
Wayne David | 522 c49 (Link to this contribution) In terms of this debate, I believe it is important for the special Committee to consider the pros an...
Wayne David | 522 c49 (Link to this contribution) No. I will move on. It is important that we realise that as well as the significance provision, the ...
Wayne David | 522 c49 (Link to this contribution) Once again, the hon. Gentleman is not following the debate very closely. What we are saying is that ...
Stephen Dorrell | 522 c49 (Link to this contribution) May I ask the hon. Gentleman a simple question? Is he in favour of a referendum on Turkey's accessio...
Kwasi Kwarteng | 522 c50 (Link to this contribution) Will the hon. Gentleman give way?
William Cash | 522 c49 (Link to this contribution) The shadow Minister referred earlier to the meaning of the word ““significance””, and he has just me...
Wayne David | 522 c50 (Link to this contribution) I would not claim that for one moment. I had better move on. If I am bemused by the Government's ex...
Neil Carmichael | 522 c51 (Link to this contribution) On the significance test, why has the shadow Minister skipped over the idea that anything that was j...
Wayne David | 522 c50 (Link to this contribution) No, not yet. When I first read the Bill, I was worried about this complicated piece of legislation,...
Kwasi Kwarteng | 522 c50 (Link to this contribution) I shall try again. In the context of the Bill, does the hon. Gentleman believe there should be a ref...
Wayne David | 522 c50 (Link to this contribution) I was talking about judicial reviews. I cannot see how that fits into judicial reviews. With all due...
Charlie Elphicke | 522 c50 (Link to this contribution) Will the hon. Gentleman give way?
Wayne David | 522 c50 (Link to this contribution) No, I will not give way. I asked the House of Commons Library whether a judicial review was likely....
Stephen Phillips | 522 c50-1 (Link to this contribution) Is not the distinction that the Bill envisages that, were a Minister to decide that something was no...
Wayne David | 522 c51 (Link to this contribution) Part of the problem, as was mentioned earlier, is that we are talking about a Government making subj...
Graham Stringer | 522 c51 (Link to this contribution) I share my hon. Friend's worry about judicial review and the interference of the courts in what shou...
Wayne David | 522 c51 (Link to this contribution) The Committee will have to wait to see how we will decide to vote. I should like to finish the poin...
Jacob Rees-Mogg | 522 c39 (Link to this contribution) Is it not in fact remarkably important to have a detailed Bill that sets out all the conditions? The...
Wayne David | 522 c40-1 (Link to this contribution) There are two problems with that intervention. The first concerns the issue of detail. We have alrea...
George Freeman | 522 c41 (Link to this contribution) On the subject of what we were sent here to do, I can assure the hon. Gentleman that the people of M...
Wayne David | 522 c41 (Link to this contribution) I have read all the evidence submitted to the Committee, and the significant point about that partic...
Graham Stringer | 522 c41 (Link to this contribution) I understand the logic of my hon. Friend's argument, but, given the profound changes since 1975 in t...
Charlie Elphicke | 522 c42 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Gentleman will correct me if I am wrong, but I believe that Professor Hix also went on to s...
Wayne David | 522 c42 (Link to this contribution) With all due respect, I must point out that the hon. Gentleman has made exactly the same point that ...
William Cash | 522 c41 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Gentleman has referred to Professor Hix's evidence to the European Scrutiny Committee. Will...
Wayne David | 522 c42 (Link to this contribution) I am aware of all Professor Hix's comments, and I was careful to say earlier that I did not agree wi...
James Clappison | 522 c65 (Link to this contribution) I shall give way first to the hon. Member for Cheltenham (Martin Horwood) and then to my hon. Friend...
James Clappison | 522 c64-5 (Link to this contribution) With his great experience, my hon. Friend makes an important point, and there are similar arrangemen...
James Clappison | 522 c66 (Link to this contribution) It would be a matter for this House and the other place to express their opinion and to vote for a r...
Charlie Elphicke | 522 c65-6 (Link to this contribution) I find amendment 11 very attractive, because it would ensure that the Minister was subjected to a vo...
James Clappison | 522 c65 (Link to this contribution) We have just been debating the hon. Gentleman's second point, but I shall say more about it shortly....
Martin Horwood | 522 c65 (Link to this contribution) Surely the whole point of the simplified revision procedure is that it relates to changes that are r...
William Cash | 522 c64 (Link to this contribution) In supporting amendment 11, may I ask my hon. Friend whether he is aware, as I became recently when ...
James Clappison | 522 c64 (Link to this contribution) My hon. Friend makes a very fair point. Why are we making all the other requirements for a referendu...
James Clappison | 522 c66 (Link to this contribution) I do not wish to be unkind to the hon. Gentleman, but I believe that I dealt with that point in my r...
Martin Horwood | 522 c66 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Gentleman is being very generous with his time. Surely even provisions that the Minister c...
Jacob Rees-Mogg | 522 c66 (Link to this contribution) As my hon. Friend knows, I have considerable sympathy with his amendment, but I wonder whether he ma...
James Clappison | 522 c67 (Link to this contribution) My hon. Friend is right. The amendment follows the scheme of the Bill. Unless a Minister says that t...
William Cash | 522 c67 (Link to this contribution) The opinion of the Minister will in fact be the opinion of the Whips, who will wish to ensure consis...
Jacob Rees-Mogg | 522 c67-8 (Link to this contribution) A Minister's decision can be subject to a judicial review, and, under the Bill, the House would have...
James Clappison | 522 c66 (Link to this contribution) No doubt the hon. Gentleman will try to persuade me that the Bill does not say that that is signific...
Bernard Jenkin | 522 c64 (Link to this contribution) May I put it to my hon. Friend that if we accept the premise of my right hon. Friend the Member for ...
Stephen Dorrell | 522 c63 (Link to this contribution) I do not think my hon. Friend will remember a Bill going through the House without going through Thi...
James Clappison | 522 c63 (Link to this contribution) The point could also be made that we have a very friendly Government who have given us five days—we ...
James Clappison | 522 c63-4 (Link to this contribution) There is that point, but I think that my right hon. Friend would find that it is all subject to the ...
James Clappison | 522 c62 (Link to this contribution) What a great pleasure it is to follow the hon. Member for Birmingham, Edgbaston (Ms Stuart). As to t...
Stephen Dorrell | 522 c63 (Link to this contribution) Is there not an important difference, however, between the circumstances today and those that would ...
James Clappison | 522 c63 (Link to this contribution) I am grateful to my hon. Friend for putting his name to my amendment, and it is indeed the case that...
Baroness Stuart of Edgbaston | 522 c62 (Link to this contribution) There are plenty of inherent inconsistencies both in the original Bill and in the amendments. I was ...
Charlie Elphicke | 522 c80 (Link to this contribution) My hon. Friend makes a powerful point. The House of Lords was once a thoughtful, revising Chamber th...
Stephen Gilbert | 522 c80 (Link to this contribution) Is there not another problem? Today, we have teased out of the Opposition that the new clause would ...
Charlie Elphicke | 522 c80 (Link to this contribution) I entirely agree. My hon. Friend makes a strong and forceful point. I have another concern about ne...
Michael Ellis | 522 c80 (Link to this contribution) Is my hon. Friend struck by the fact that the Opposition appear to wish to increase the power of the...
Kelvin Hopkins | 522 c79 (Link to this contribution) I absolutely protest. The hon. Member for Stone (Mr Cash) knows infinitely more than I do.
Charlie Elphicke | 522 c79-80 (Link to this contribution) Shortly after my hon. Friend the Member for Stone, the hon. Gentleman is a true expert, and whenever...
Wayne David | 522 c78 (Link to this contribution) I hope that the hon. Member is not suggesting that the Bill might in some way bind future Parliament...
Charlie Elphicke | 522 c78 (Link to this contribution) With respect to the hon. Gentleman, I think that that is increasingly less likely to be the case.
Wayne David | 522 c78 (Link to this contribution) Does the hon. Gentleman accept that past precedent and the vagueness of the Bill tend to indicate th...
Charlie Elphicke | 522 c77-8 (Link to this contribution) I believe that they would refer the decision back to the Minister to take into account relevant cons...
Charlie Elphicke | 522 c78 (Link to this contribution) Perish the thought. Were such a Minister to make such a decision, my constituent would be able to ch...
Charlie Elphicke | 522 c78 (Link to this contribution) I completely agree with my hon.—and learned—Friend, who makes the central point. He will correct me ...
Michael Ellis | 522 c78 (Link to this contribution) In a judicial review, the courts would be concerned about any abuses of power and about whether a pu...
Charlie Elphicke | 522 c78-9 (Link to this contribution) The shadow Minister knows from our discussions on clause 18 that it is not possible to do that. Neve...
Richard Fuller | 522 c79 (Link to this contribution) Does my hon. Friend agree that new clause 9 demonstrates that the Opposition have not learned the le...
Charlie Elphicke | 522 c77 (Link to this contribution) My hon. Friend makes a fair point, so let me to clarify my position. We will hopefully have an Act o...
Martin Horwood | 522 c77 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Gentleman is making a powerful case, but surely the ultimate sanction should not be with th...
Charlie Elphicke | 522 c75-6 (Link to this contribution) I thank the hon. Gentleman, who is highly knowledgeable and skilled on European matters, for making ...
Kelvin Hopkins | 522 c75 (Link to this contribution) I take issue with my hon. Friend the Member for Caerphilly (Mr David). Constitutional matters underl...
Charlie Elphicke | 522 c76 (Link to this contribution) I defer to my hon. Friend. His independence of mind and spirit is well known, and his championship o...
Bernard Jenkin | 522 c76 (Link to this contribution) Is my hon. Friend seriously suggesting that he would be swayed by his Whips on such a question?
Charlie Elphicke | 522 c76 (Link to this contribution) I entirely agree. I remember in times past the former Prime Minister, Tony Blair, saying that the Sc...
Chris Heaton-Harris | 522 c76 (Link to this contribution) There is history here, is there not? Were we not told as a nation by a former Minister for Europe, t...
Charlie Elphicke | 522 c77 (Link to this contribution) I entirely agree with the hon. Gentleman. My central concern with clause 11 is that a Minister could...
Kelvin Hopkins | 522 c76 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Member for Harwich and North Essex (Mr Jenkin) made light of the matter in saying that we w...
Jacob Rees-Mogg | 522 c77 (Link to this contribution) What exactly will the courts do on a judicial review? Will they say that the Minister has not follow...
Chris Heaton-Harris | 522 c74 (Link to this contribution) I thank the hon. Lady for giving way again; it is very kind of her. Following on from the point made...
Nia Griffith | 522 c74 (Link to this contribution) I will address my remarks to the question before us. The issue that the hon. Gentleman is raises is ...
Charlie Elphicke | 522 c73 (Link to this contribution) I am grateful to the hon. Lady for being so generous in taking interventions. As I understand it, sh...
Nia Griffith | 522 c73-4 (Link to this contribution) We have spent a considerable time in the European Scrutiny Committee listening to experts on particu...
Graham Stringer | 522 c73 (Link to this contribution) Is not the constitutional position normally that this House is superior to the other place on manife...
Nia Griffith | 522 c73 (Link to this contribution) I am sure that my hon. Friend will enlighten us a little more on his position later. The important t...
Nia Griffith | 522 c73 (Link to this contribution) Perhaps it would be better to have a cross-party committee and to take the matter away from the part...
Charlie Elphicke | 522 c75 (Link to this contribution) The shadow Minister for Europe makes a fair point. In my constituency, yes, people's prime concern i...
Charlie Elphicke | 522 c74-5 (Link to this contribution) I see the Bill as a ground-breaking and essential force for good. It is important to understand that...
Wayne David | 522 c75 (Link to this contribution) Surely the hon. Gentleman recognises that people are not concerned about constitutional abstractions...
Nia Griffith | 522 c71 (Link to this contribution) It is very clear. The idea is that if one Chamber does not think there is a need for a referendum, t...
Stephen Gilbert | 522 c72 (Link to this contribution) So whereas the coalition proposes to legislate to ensure that the people have a referendum, the Oppo...
Nia Griffith | 522 c72 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Gentleman has to understand that the committee will make recommendations and it is not abou...
Kwasi Kwarteng | 522 c72 (Link to this contribution) My understanding of the hon. Lady's position is somewhat unclear. Is she saying that her constituent...
Nia Griffith | 522 c71 (Link to this contribution) Absolutely. That is the important point and that is why we are calling for a committee to be set up....
Stephen Gilbert | 522 c71 (Link to this contribution) As I understand the Opposition's proposals, there will be one committee comprising Members from both...
Nia Griffith | 522 c72 (Link to this contribution) I am saying that my constituents say that there is often detail to be considered before we can decid...
Robert Buckland | 522 c72 (Link to this contribution) On the point about when the decision is made, will the hon. Lady enlighten me on the subject of the ...
Nia Griffith | 522 c72-3 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Gentleman raises a significant point. One difficulty about European legislation is that dea...
Martin Horwood | 522 c73 (Link to this contribution) Given that we are all agreed that any change would be subject to an Act of Parliament, what is to st...
James Clappison | 522 c70 (Link to this contribution) He has been friendly. He has been a model of charm and ministerial competence, but he has not yet pr...
Nia Griffith | 522 c70 (Link to this contribution) I rise to speak to the amendments standing in the names of my Labour Front-Bench colleagues. People ...
James Clappison | 522 c70 (Link to this contribution) He has been very charming and dealt with things in a very satisfactory and open way.
Chris Heaton-Harris | 522 c70 (Link to this contribution) I understand where the hon. Lady is going with this argument, but is what she is describing not exac...
Nia Griffith | 522 c70-1 (Link to this contribution) Indeed. I shall be dealing with that point shortly, because it is very important. There is a huge di...
Priti Patel | 522 c71 (Link to this contribution) Does the hon. Lady agree that when it comes to issues that are in the national interest, both the pu...
James Clappison | 522 c68 (Link to this contribution) I fear that I must part company with my hon. Friend if he is suggesting that our democratic safeguar...
William Cash | 522 c68 (Link to this contribution) Although the Committee has rightly said that a judicial review might be considered unlikely in certa...
James Clappison | 522 c68-9 (Link to this contribution) I am grateful to my hon. Friend for that point. The long and short of it is that the Bill provides t...
Nick de Bois | 522 c69 (Link to this contribution) I am very attracted to amendment 11, but I am struggling to understand one thing. It has been debate...
James Clappison | 522 c69 (Link to this contribution) For the same reason that placing something in a Bill is a stronger defence—it has stronger legislati...
James Clappison | 522 c69 (Link to this contribution) I give way to one of those spectrums.
William Cash | 522 c69 (Link to this contribution) It seems inconceivable that if parliamentary approval for the Minister's opinion were denied precise...
James Clappison | 522 c69-70 (Link to this contribution) My hon. Friend is absolutely right. Hon. Members will just have to face the fact that although the B...
Neil Carmichael | 522 c86-7 (Link to this contribution) Yes. My hon. Friend the Member for Dover went through the possible Members who could serve on the pr...
Austin Mitchell | 522 c82-3 (Link to this contribution) I want to speak briefly. The hon. Member for Dover (Charlie Elphicke) might have a more sceptical vi...
Martin Horwood | 522 c86 (Link to this contribution) There has been some discussion about the risk of votes being whipped. Does my hon. Friend agree that...
Neil Carmichael | 522 c85-6 (Link to this contribution) It is a great honour to participate in this important debate. Members have mentioned the number of ...
Austin Mitchell | 522 c84-5 (Link to this contribution) All I can say is that David Blackburn must be more naive than I thought. I was giving the example o...
Stephen Gilbert | 522 c83-4 (Link to this contribution) I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for giving way, and I do represent a fishing port. Does he agree...
Austin Mitchell | 522 c83 (Link to this contribution) When the hon. Gentleman has been here longer, he will appreciate that my position is not exactly the...
Kwasi Kwarteng | 522 c83 (Link to this contribution) I am very grateful for the hon. Gentleman giving way, notwithstanding my not representing a fishing ...
Austin Mitchell | 522 c83 (Link to this contribution) I am not sure that I should give way to a Member who does not represent a fishing port.
Kwasi Kwarteng | 522 c83 (Link to this contribution) Will the hon. Gentleman give way?
Bernard Jenkin | 522 c88 (Link to this contribution) The Maastricht treaty was pushed through the House on the basis of our having an opt-out from the eu...
Kelvin Hopkins | 522 c87-8 (Link to this contribution) I am pleased to have the opportunity to speak and I apologise to hon. Members for being unable to be...
Kwasi Kwarteng | 522 c89 (Link to this contribution) What does the hon. Gentleman say to the idea that even if amendment 11 were made, it would not bolst...
Kelvin Hopkins | 522 c88-9 (Link to this contribution) That is interesting. We could have a long debate about the strength of the German economy relative t...
Kelvin Hopkins | 522 c89 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Gentleman seems to be saying that everybody does what the Whips tell them, but that is not ...
William Cash | 522 c88 (Link to this contribution) Does the hon. Gentleman agree that those who take our position—the Euro-realists—are the pro-Europea...
Kelvin Hopkins | 522 c88 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Gentleman is right, and I apologise for momentarily forgetting the name of his constituency...
Kelvin Hopkins | 522 c88 (Link to this contribution) Indeed. The hon. Gentleman is right again. Many of those who protested most strongly against matters...
Kelvin Hopkins | 522 c89-90 (Link to this contribution) We must take all those things into account when we make our decisions, but we make those decisions a...
William Cash | 522 c89 (Link to this contribution) On the anniversary of Winston Churchill's death, will the hon. Gentleman accept what he said, which ...
Kelvin Hopkins | 522 c89 (Link to this contribution) The decision in favour of going to war was made with Conservative support. In the end, we are accoun...
Nick Boles | 522 c91-2 (Link to this contribution) I agree wholeheartedly with my hon. Friend. Indeed, one of the most important things about the Bill—...
Lord Wharton of Yarm | 522 c91 (Link to this contribution) Does my hon. Friend agree that it is exactly this sort of parliamentary fancy footwork that has unde...
Nick Boles | 522 c90-1 (Link to this contribution) I should like to share with hon. Members why I think the Bill is the most significant thing that the...
George Eustice | 522 c94 (Link to this contribution) Yes, my hon. Friend is absolutely right.
Claire O'Neill | 522 c94 (Link to this contribution) Like my hon. Friend, I listened to the opening speeches from both sides of the Committee. Was he str...
George Eustice | 522 c92-4 (Link to this contribution) I have been a long-standing supporter of referendums and the role that they can play in strengthenin...
George Eustice | 522 c94 (Link to this contribution) I give credit to the Labour Government of some 35 years ago for giving us that one and only referend...
Lord Spellar | 522 c94 (Link to this contribution) Will the hon. Gentleman remind us which party has given the country a referendum on the European Uni...
George Eustice | 522 c94 (Link to this contribution) I am grateful to my hon. Friend for raising that issue, and I completely agree with him. I know that...
Desmond Swayne | 522 c94 (Link to this contribution) I was there, and I recall campaigning for a no vote and voting accordingly in the referendum. Althou...
George Eustice | 522 c94-5 (Link to this contribution) No, I personally do not agree with that, and there is a good reason why. What the Bill should aim to...
Chris Bryant | 522 c94 (Link to this contribution) I think that the Bill is a load of hogwash, but be that as it may, does the hon. Gentleman think tha...
Wayne David | 522 c95 (Link to this contribution) How would a referendum on accession be an interference in, let us say, the governance of Turkey?
Geraint Davies | 522 c95 (Link to this contribution) I am interested that the hon. Gentleman would not agree to a referendum on Turkey, which is a simple...
George Eustice | 522 c95 (Link to this contribution) Because rather than allowing such countries to join—and we have already expanded the number of count...
Charlie Elphicke | 522 c82 (Link to this contribution) That is a very important question. It shows the respect that the new Government have for our democra...
Wayne David | 522 c82 (Link to this contribution) What has that got to do with the Bill?
Wayne David | 522 c80 (Link to this contribution) I do not have a retrospective crystal ball. We are looking to the future.
Charlie Elphicke | 522 c80-1 (Link to this contribution) We come to the vexed question of Lisbon, when the push for a referendum reached its apogee and the p...
Charlie Elphicke | 522 c81 (Link to this contribution) I agree strongly. That is the risk: the whole thing could be buried in committee. The new clause is ...
Kwasi Kwarteng | 522 c81 (Link to this contribution) Does my hon. Friend agree that the signal being sent by the Labour party is contemptuous of the elec...
Charlie Elphicke | 522 c82 (Link to this contribution) Yes, I agree. The Opposition are in a fix, and new clause 9 is designed to deal with that. On the on...
Ben Gummer | 522 c82 (Link to this contribution) My hon. Friend should not be surprised by that, given that two Members on the Opposition Front Bench...
Charlie Elphicke | 522 c82 (Link to this contribution) My hon. Friend makes a fair point.
William Cash | 522 c105 (Link to this contribution) Does what the hon. Gentleman just said bear out what we heard from Lord Mandelson, which is that eve...
Martin Horwood | 522 c105 (Link to this contribution) Whether the hon. Gentleman likes it or not, as regards formal influence we are one of the four large...
Martin Horwood | 522 c105-6 (Link to this contribution) My suspicion is that that is very unlikely to be true, but I suggest that the hon. Gentleman consult...
Claire O'Neill | 522 c106 (Link to this contribution) Will my hon. Friend therefore take his argument one step further and recognise that although we may ...
Martin Horwood | 522 c106 (Link to this contribution) What we have is not a temporary alliance with splits in it, but a business arrangement between two p...
Martin Horwood | 522 c106-7 (Link to this contribution) Indeed. That was well put and brings us back to the subject of the Bill and the amendments, which is...
Wayne David | 522 c100 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Gentleman said earlier that the Bill was about giving this country's people a voice on sign...
Geraint Davies | 522 c99 (Link to this contribution) I am very grateful to the hon. Gentleman for generously giving way again, but I must correct the rec...
Michael Ellis | 522 c99 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Gentleman should read the Bill; it is not about every little change, but ““significant”” ch...
Geraint Davies | 522 c98 (Link to this contribution) It would follow, then, that we should have a referendum on every Bill we pass and every decision we ...
Michael Ellis | 522 c98 (Link to this contribution) This Bill is about checking the European Union in its encroachment of sovereign powers. It is not a ...
Claire O'Neill | 522 c99 (Link to this contribution) Does my hon. Friend agree that the hon. Member for Swansea West (Geraint Davies), in representing 50...
Michael Ellis | 522 c99 (Link to this contribution) My hon. Friend is quite right; I entirely endorse what she says.
Kwasi Kwarteng | 522 c98-9 (Link to this contribution) My hon. Friend is making the point—the hon. Member for Swansea West (Geraint Davies) seems not to ha...
Michael Ellis | 522 c99 (Link to this contribution) My hon. Friend is quite correct: this is not an abrogation, but a reaffirmation of people power. In ...
Geraint Davies | 522 c97 (Link to this contribution) Does the hon. Gentleman think that there should be a limit on the number of referendums held over a ...
George Eustice | 522 c97 (Link to this contribution) If there were fatigue because we were holding too many referendums, that would mean that we had been...
Michael Ellis | 522 c97-8 (Link to this contribution) I welcome the Bill. I embrace it with open arms; I actually cherish it. It goes further than any oth...
Geraint Davies | 522 c98 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Gentleman mentioned parliamentary sovereignty, but does he agree that the Bill is tantamoun...
Michael Ellis | 522 c98 (Link to this contribution) It is extraordinary—although not surprising from Labour Members—to hear that the general public shou...
George Eustice | 522 c95-6 (Link to this contribution) It depends: if there was an extension of competences, then yes, of course. Coming back to the areas...
Wayne David | 522 c96 (Link to this contribution) I would like to put a pretty fundamental question to the hon. Gentleman. If a Government were to say...
George Eustice | 522 c96 (Link to this contribution) I am not sure that I understand the hon. Gentleman's point. If any major transfer of power from the ...
Desmond Swayne | 522 c96 (Link to this contribution) I certainly understand the thrust of the argument. Is it not the case that any future treaty revisio...
George Eustice | 522 c96-7 (Link to this contribution) My hon. Friend makes a valid point. Having this legislation in place will change the nature of the p...
Bernard Jenkin | 522 c104 (Link to this contribution) I am glad that the hon. Gentleman referred to ““exclusive”” competences. Surely if the EU has gained...
Bernard Jenkin | 522 c104 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Gentleman asked the Minister why the Bill's language is about the ““transfer”” of competenc...
Martin Horwood | 522 c104 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Gentleman makes a powerful response on behalf of the Minister, but I would say that ““trans...
Wayne David | 522 c104 (Link to this contribution) The use of the language is important, because the rhetoric has changed and the Opposition contend th...
Martin Horwood | 522 c104 (Link to this contribution) That stretches credibility somewhat. The hon. Gentleman has heard in many eloquent speeches from Mem...
Geraint Davies | 522 c103 (Link to this contribution) Does the hon. Gentleman accept that if the number of referendums available in this Bill were availab...
Martin Horwood | 522 c103-4 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Gentleman might want to listen to the rest of my speech, because there is some risk of what...
William Cash | 522 c102 (Link to this contribution) Leaving that aside, let me suggest that, according to the sequence of events provided for by the exc...
Martin Horwood | 522 c102-3 (Link to this contribution) I do not quite follow the hon. Gentleman's argument. I suspect that the Minister's decision would al...
Martin Horwood | 522 c104 (Link to this contribution) I disagree with the hon. Gentleman's perspective. He speaks as if the European Union were somewhere ...
Martin Horwood | 522 c102 (Link to this contribution) Thank you for calling me, Mr Brady. It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship for, I believe...
Martin Horwood | 522 c102 (Link to this contribution) I see no signs of the hon. Member for Stone (Mr Cash) giving way to the Whips on anything. Meanwhile...
Michael Ellis | 522 c101 (Link to this contribution) I was not present for that, so I shall forbear making further reference to the matter. The Labour a...
Wayne David | 522 c101 (Link to this contribution) Does the hon. Gentleman not accept that it would have been far better if the Government had adhered ...
Michael Ellis | 522 c101-2 (Link to this contribution) I am afraid that that is not relevant to the Bill. Matthew d'Ancona has said:"““Imperfect though it...
Sarah Newton | 522 c100 (Link to this contribution) Does my hon. Friend agree that in the event of Turkey joining the EU, we—unlike Labour Members—can e...
Michael Ellis | 522 c100 (Link to this contribution) That is absolutely right. Conservative Members have learned lessons from previous enlargements and w...
William Cash | 522 c100 (Link to this contribution) I take issue with my hon. Friend on that, simply because we had a significant debate on it and the E...
William Cash | 522 c112 (Link to this contribution) Amendment 1 would deal with the exemption condition, which in turn would deal with that mission cree...
Bernard Jenkin | 522 c112-3 (Link to this contribution) I will deal briefly with my hon. Friend's amendments, which deserve consideration and which I will s...
Stephen Dorrell | 522 c111 (Link to this contribution) Given that it is unlikely that I shall have the opportunity to address the Committee and respond to ...
Bernard Jenkin | 522 c113-4 (Link to this contribution) Amendment 1 would remove wriggle room for any Government by requiring a referendum on any new treaty...
Stephen Dorrell | 522 c113 (Link to this contribution) My hon. Friend asserted once or twice from a sedentary position during the debate that it had straye...
Bernard Jenkin | 522 c114-5 (Link to this contribution) I thank the hon. Gentleman for that, because it is the only other argument against amendment 11. He ...
Martin Horwood | 522 c114 (Link to this contribution) Surely the hon. Gentleman will concede that under the Bill, every treaty change will be subject to a...
Bernard Jenkin | 522 c115 (Link to this contribution) I should point out that the only reason why we are not having a referendum on the Lisbon treaty is t...
Claire O'Neill | 522 c115 (Link to this contribution) I feel like I am putting a toe into a pool full of big fish who have been debating these issues for ...
Bernard Jenkin | 522 c115 (Link to this contribution) Of course. I stood on the same platform as my hon. Friend at the last election of wanting a referend...
Bernard Jenkin | 522 c115 (Link to this contribution) I agree that it is better, if only because it generates an expectation and a moment that will come i...
Bernard Jenkin | 522 c116 (Link to this contribution) I am grateful to my hon. Friend. I hear the plea of my hon. Friend the Member for Devizes (Claire P...
David Lidington | 522 c116-7 (Link to this contribution) We have had a robust debate, and I want to start by thanking all right hon. and hon. Members on both...
Martin Horwood | 522 c108-10 (Link to this contribution) That is a good example of how a completely uncontroversial and essentially technical change might ne...
Bernard Jenkin | 522 c110-1 (Link to this contribution) I am most grateful to be speaking under your chairmanship, Mr Brady. I will endeavour to be briefer ...
William Cash | 522 c107-8 (Link to this contribution) As Chair of the European Scrutiny Committee, I know that it is universally accepted on both sides of...
Martin Horwood | 522 c108 (Link to this contribution) I do not always agree with the hon. Gentleman, particularly on matters European, but I pay due credi...
Stephen Gilbert | 522 c108 (Link to this contribution) One area of competence that the EU currently acts in but does not have defined is combating climate ...
Stephen Dorrell | 522 c111 (Link to this contribution) Did not the Opposition spokesman's responses give the game away that Labour is unwilling and resista...
Bernard Jenkin | 522 c111 (Link to this contribution) I will not give way, because my point was not designed to provoke the Opposition and I want to press...
Bernard Jenkin | 522 c111 (Link to this contribution) I agree totally, but perhaps my right hon. Friend was a little unwise to draw more attention to hims...
David Lidington | 522 c123-5 (Link to this contribution) I am grateful to the right hon. Gentleman for that. I wish now to discuss the significance test. Ne...
Keith Vaz | 522 c123 (Link to this contribution) The Minister is absolutely right on this point and my hon. Friend the Member for Birmingham, Edgbast...
David Lidington | 522 c123 (Link to this contribution) I am going to stick to my figure of 10. It does not make much difference to the principle of the arg...
David Lidington | 522 c125-6 (Link to this contribution) No. I want to do justice to the amendments tabled by the Opposition. They have been presented as inc...
James Clappison | 522 c123 (Link to this contribution) The Minister is making a persuasive argument in a courteous way, but I must take him up on this poin...
David Lidington | 522 c122-3 (Link to this contribution) If we followed the hon. Lady's logic, a referendum would be required in this country for any change ...
Baroness Stuart of Edgbaston | 522 c122 (Link to this contribution) The Minister is simply wrong. If Lisbon caps the total number of MEPs, if the number of MEPs is base...
Speaker | 522 c135 (Link to this contribution) I have had no discussion on the progress of business in the House today, which was orderly and withi...
Peter Bone | 522 c135 (Link to this contribution) On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. Have you had any advice from those on the Treasury Bench ...
David Lidington | 522 c119 (Link to this contribution) The points are not vague. I invite the hon. Gentleman to have another look at clause 4 and schedule ...
Wayne David | 522 c119 (Link to this contribution) I hear what the Minister is saying, but his points are deliberately vague. How does he respond to th...
David Lidington | 522 c118-9 (Link to this contribution) My hon. Friend is tempting me to go way beyond the scope of the Bill. At the moment, any legal aid a...
Bernard Jenkin | 522 c118 (Link to this contribution) Would a member of the public be allowed legal aid for such a challenge?
David Lidington | 522 c118 (Link to this contribution) We shall have a debate on the ratchet clauses later this week when we deal with amendments to those ...
Baroness Stuart of Edgbaston | 522 c118 (Link to this contribution) There is something that I genuinely do not understand after reading through the notes. When the Gove...
David Lidington | 522 c117-8 (Link to this contribution) In those conversations about parliamentary scrutiny, which I intend should begin as soon as possible...
William Cash | 522 c117 (Link to this contribution) I very much acknowledge the sentiment that my right hon. Friend is expressing, but I am sure that he...
Martin Horwood | 522 c121 (Link to this contribution) That is not an entirely accurate representation of amendments 67 and 68, which refer only to changes...
David Lidington | 522 c120-1 (Link to this contribution) I will make some progress, because many Members have spoken and made different points, which I want ...
David Lidington | 522 c120 (Link to this contribution) If the measures in respect of greater economic union or perhaps fiscal union or shared responsibilit...
Baroness Stuart of Edgbaston | 522 c120 (Link to this contribution) I am still trying to understand what the Minister regards as significant. The monetary union is not ...
David Lidington | 522 c120 (Link to this contribution) By implication, my right hon. Friend has answered his own question. There is a question about nation...
William Cash | 522 c119 (Link to this contribution) Does the Minister not accept that it would be a monumental change if proposals relating to fiscal un...
David Lidington | 522 c119-20 (Link to this contribution) My hon. Friend is jumping several bridges in assuming that what might be proposed in those hypotheti...
Wayne David | 522 c44 (Link to this contribution) Before too long, we hope, both Chambers would be elected. Therefore, we believe that it is important...
Baroness Stuart of Edgbaston | 522 c55 (Link to this contribution) As a former Member of the European Parliament, the hon. Gentleman knows that the decision-making pro...
Wayne David | 522 c41 (Link to this contribution) I have to say that I have not had one constituent come into any of my surgeries since the last elect...
Bernard Jenkin | 522 c63 (Link to this contribution) I am listening carefully to my hon. Friend, not least because I put my name to his amendment. If the...
William Cash | 522 c106 (Link to this contribution) Is the hon. Gentleman aware—I am sure that he is, and perhaps on reflection he might like to retract...
Michael Ellis | 522 c100 (Link to this contribution) With great respect to the hon. Gentleman, a new country—whether it be Turkey or any other—joining th...
David Lidington | 522 c121-2 (Link to this contribution) I was going to make the qualification that the amendment applies to measures within the simplified, ...
Stephen Dorrell | 522 c120 (Link to this contribution) Were my right hon. Friend a Minister in one of those European Union countries that might theoretical...
Chris Heaton-Harris | 522 c53-4 (Link to this contribution) I thank my hon. Friend, because every time he stands up, he educates me with a fact that I do not kn...
James Clappison | 522 c66-7 (Link to this contribution) My hon. Friend has clearly given the matter great consideration, but I think that he is wrong, and t...
Charlie Elphicke | 522 c79 (Link to this contribution) My hon. Friend makes exactly the point that concerns me most. New clause 9(5) states:"““The Committe...
Wayne David | 522 c71 (Link to this contribution) Does my hon. Friend agree that an important issue is involved in the case of the Welsh referendum? I...
Nia Griffith | 522 c71 (Link to this contribution) My hon. Friend is absolutely right. That is the problem. The referendum is about the technicalities ...
Martin Horwood | 522 c88 (Link to this contribution) Is not the lowest unemployment in the European Union in Germany? Last time I looked, it was in the e...
Robert Buckland | 522 c81 (Link to this contribution) Does my hon. Friend agree—I tried to make this point earlier to the hon. Member for Llanelli (Nia Gr...
Bernard Jenkin | 522 c111-2 (Link to this contribution) I am all for that. I remember my noble Friend, the former Member for North Shropshire, Lord Biffen—h...
Desmond Swayne | 522 c115 (Link to this contribution) My hon. Friend will recall that we did not get a referendum on the Lisbon treaty because the House d...
William Cash | 522 c115-6 (Link to this contribution) I am sure that my hon. Friend will accept that the real problem is the European Union as it now is. ...

Subjects

Committees
EU law
EU accession
European Parliament members
Legislation
European communities
Powers
Referendums
Parliamentary scrutiny
Sovereignty
Treaties
Reform
UK membership of EU
Turkey
Treaty of Lisbon

Legislation

European Union Bill 2010-12

Link

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