European Union Referendum Bill

The good news is that I was in charge of selection, and it is well within order. It is unusual, b...

I beg to move amendment 16, page 1, line 4, at end insert—

‘(2) The Chief Counting Officer ...

With this it will be convenient to discuss the following:

Amendment 49, page 1, line 7, lea...

There is a link of continuity between amendment 16 and the point of order that I made—that the th...

indicated dissent.

He was just stretching his legs, I suspect.

On the subject of respect for all nations of th...

Does the right hon. Gentleman not accept that matters such as this are determined at the UK level...

I think that even the Prime Minister and many of his right hon. and hon. Friends would concede th...

I welcome the right hon. Gentleman back to this House. Is not the analogy with the United States ...

I was merely pointing out that there are a number of international examples. As I said, my hon. F...

The right hon. Gentleman is being generous in giving way. Will he confirm my suspicion that his s...

I am always dubious about accepting a Conservative interpretation of the secret wishes of the Sco...

rose—

I see that this right hon. and learned Gentleman has stopped stretching his legs and now wants to...

I am grateful to the right hon. Gentleman. It seems to me that he, too, has put his finger on the...

Let us continue the point exactly on that question. It was as a solution to the scenario painted ...

rose—

I will make a wee bit of progress and then give way.

The amendment is phrased so that it wo...

rose—

I am spoilt for choice. Given that we are on a theme, I give way again to the right hon. and lear...

It seems to me that the question is about not lack of respect, but what decisions are taken in co...

I congratulate the right hon. and learned Gentleman on intervening at such length without attract...

Is the right hon. Gentleman really saying if, for example, a majority of people in England, Scotl...

Far be it from me to be the one who stands up for the rights of the people of Northern Ireland, b...

Will the right hon. Gentleman give way?

Will the right hon. Gentleman give way?

I am very tempted to do so, but I can see that the Chairman is encouraging me to move on to our o...

The right hon. Gentleman is making not a party political point, but an important cross-party poin...

And the point has been broadly accepted since. It is not just a question of the Government accept...

Does the right hon. Gentleman agree that it does not matter which side one is on? Even people on ...

Absolutely; that is why I am making this argument from the yes side of the campaign.

I am s...

I rise to support amendment 11.

I congratulate the Government on having the good sense not ...

It gives me great pleasure to make my maiden speech during the Committee stage of the European Un...

rose—

Order. We now come to another maiden speech. I call Andrea Jenkyns.

1.15 pm

I congratulate the hon. Member for Hampstead and Kilburn (Tulip Siddiq) on her maiden speech—she ...

I shall speak to amendments 4, 5 and 6 on the publication of information, and amendment 54, in my...

I have some sympathy for providing as much information as possible during the referendum, but is ...

I have read the work by Open Europe. My hon. Friend is right to say it has made an assessment, bu...

My right hon. Friend has mentioned some of the work of Select Committees, but he will also know t...

My hon. Friend makes a good point. All these models need to be examined to see what their strengt...

Will the right hon. Gentleman explain why he and his party objected to my Bill in the last Parlia...

We know the costs of being in. The point of the amendments is to assess the costs of being out. A...

On a point of order, Mr Hoyle. Excuse me, but I thought we were discussing amendments, not the vi...

The Chair can decide what is in order and what is out of order, but I thank the hon. Gentleman fo...

Of course, some Members do not like hearing these warnings and find them unpalatable, and people ...

Order. We need to keep tight to the amendments.

Hear, hear.

Thank you, Mr Jenkin. We do not need any applause. We can save that for another occasion.

I...

The point is that right across the piece— whether trade, university research or farming and agric...

The right hon. Gentleman is absolutely correct that the Bank of England is independent—in my esti...

I am afraid I disagree with the right hon. Gentleman. It is not surprising that the Bank is carry...

I am listening to the right hon. Gentleman’s comments with interest. Is he aware of any other ele...

I am not aware of any other occasions.

When my right hon. and learned Friend the Member for...

I thank the right hon. Gentleman for giving way, and for the pertinent questions that he is putti...

As my right hon. Friend the Member for Leeds Central said on Second Reading, we do not object to ...

Why does the right hon. Gentleman not propose to support an amendment that would reintroduce the ...

I am speaking to my own amendment, which calls for clarity on the Government’s intentions.

...

I shall speak from a standing position.

May I suggest that perhaps the hon. Gentleman ought to take a seat? The last thing that I want hi...

I will sit down then. I am sorry to have to make my speech in this way, but I have been in hospit...

But does not the experience of the Scottish referendum tell the House that not only should the pr...

I very much agree, and it may be of interest to Members, if they have not already noticed, that t...

How far does my hon. Friend want to take this? In a general election, the whole government machin...

Order. The right hon. and learned Gentleman has been here longer than most Members, and he should...

I seem to have spurred my right hon. and learned Friend to a passionate pursuit of his arguments,...

Does my hon. Friend agree that it is ironic that the section 125 provisions were adopted by the V...

That is absolutely right. I was going to refer to that, but I am grateful to my hon. Friend for m...

Does my hon. Friend share my concerns that the provisions of section 125 would allow the European...

Very simply, any suggestion that the European Commission or the EU should be involved in this pro...

Would my hon. Friend like to confirm that it is a principle of fairness in all British elections ...

I completely agree with my right hon. Friend.

The Government argue—I think we have to accept their argument—that these detailed and broad restr...

I just do not think that makes sense. The bottom line is that we are now so invading the ability ...

I rise to speak in support of amendments 49 and 50, which have been tabled in my name, and to giv...

I am listening closely to the hon. Gentleman, but is not the logic of his argument that, with 27 ...

My position on this matter is well known. I am not in favour of referendums, and neither was Marg...

Does the hon. Gentleman think that it was a mistake of his Front Bench team to go against Labour’...

No. Unlike the hon. Gentleman, if I lose an election or a referendum, I recognise the result. The...

Free trade.

The free trade that Switzerland and Norway have with the European Union is dependent on their com...

Does that not show the hon. Gentleman what a complete protection racket the whole thing is?

There we have it. We have the authentic voice of those who want us to leave the European Union. T...

Order. The hon. Gentleman is straying rather far from the dates that are the subject of the amend...

I was tempted by the interventions, so I apologise to you, Sir Roger, for following the temptatio...

On a point of order, Sir Roger. At various times during this debate, there has been reference to ...

As the right hon. Gentleman knows, Ministers are responsible for making available their own docum...

I think I am fairly confident in saying that the starting point of this debate is that every Memb...

Most of what my right hon. and learned Friend has just said could be applied to democracy itself,...

Which is why I believe that the parliamentary system of democracy is so very good. A representati...

Will my right hon. and learned Friend give way?

I am delighted to see that my hon. Friend the Member for Stone (Sir William Cash) is able to stan...

Will my right hon. and learned Friend allow me?

Let me make a little more progress. I hope that my hon. Friend’s constraint will stop him leaping...

Will my right hon. and learned Friend give way?

I will give way in a moment.

The Prime Minister has announced that he will suspend the rule...

My right hon. and learned Friend’s rather Hush Puppy approach—saying that there is really nothing...

I once gave evidence to an inquiry chaired by Sir Nigel Wicks into the workings of the Electoral ...

Will my right hon. and learned Friend give way?

Let me move on a little and perhaps reassure my hon. Friend. I am prepared to be persuaded that, ...

I agree with my right hon. and learned Friend to the extent that I have every respect for the Bri...

Order. The hon. Gentleman’s intervention is becoming almost as long as the right hon. and learned...

The point is that Members of the same political party may well campaign on different sides of the...

If, on the day of the referendum poll, a member of the electorate does not realise that different...

Will my right hon. and learned Friend give way?

In a moment. Why on earth should a Minister not be allowed, as a Minister, to advocate that peopl...

May I say how much we are enjoying my right hon. and learned Friend’s speech? His casual wafting ...

Order. Before we proceed, in case there was any implied criticism, I have to say that, although t...

I hope I am not being too light-hearted, but this has been a long debate. I have already confesse...

Briefly, on the issue of the Bank of England, we know that it is preparing such a report anyway. ...

Precisely. If I were the Governor of the Bank of England—some might say thank the Lord I am not, ...

I support amendment 16 and new clauses 3 and 4 in the name of my right hon. Friend the Member for...

I will endeavour to be as brief as possible in order to allow other Members to speak. I will spea...

I support that amendment, of course. Does the hon. Gentleman agree that it would be even worse if...

It is a simple matter of principle, which is why I think we would be right to press this to a vot...

The hon. Gentleman makes the point that what Governments do outwith the purdah period is quite di...

There is a serious question about whether civil servants should be closely involved in referendum...

My hon. Friend has insisted, and I understand this, that any safeguards relating to a purdah peri...

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for drawing the Committee’s attention to that point. We should al...

He is not in his usual place, but may I commend the hon. Member for Stone (Sir William Cash), who...

My hon. Friend is making an excellent speech and bringing TTIP into the argument. Does he agree t...

I thank my hon. Friend for bringing me back into order. That is exactly my point. If we are to ha...

My hon. Friend makes an interesting point. In the discussions in Europe in relation to some of th...

This debate has allowed us to place some of those issues on the agenda. The major issue with TTIP...

I accept the hon. Gentleman’s point about sovereignty—many hon. Members are concerned about that—...

I do not want to take up any further time, but that is an excellent point. That is why, in most o...

It is a pleasure to participate briefly in this debate. I want to direct my remarks towards amend...

As a Buckinghamshire colleague of my right hon. Friend the Minister, I have great admiration and ...

I appreciate my hon. Friend’s point. Governments, like the world, move in mysterious ways. If I m...

Does my right hon. and learned Friend agree that there requires to be statutory protection and a ...

My hon. Friend makes a very important point. Certainly, I would be much happier to see the return...

Does my right hon. and learned Friend agree that, on principle, it is best to leave it in and com...

Yes, but my experience in this House is that it is quite frequent in Committee for a Bill to be c...

I rise to support amendment 16. I also take this opportunity to pay tribute to the excellent maid...

rose—

I will not give way, as I do not have much time. I apologise.

In the days before Scotland’s...

I start by congratulating the hon. Member for Hampstead and Kilburn (Tulip Siddiq) and my hon. Fr...

Will the Minister give way?

Yes, but I do want to respond on the detail.

Many Conservative Members will trust these Front Benchers and I accept his remarks about section ...

I want to explain to the House why section 125 causes some real difficulties. We should not be un...

Will the Minister give way?

I will not give way, if the hon. Gentleman will forgive me. I have about eight or nine minutes, a...

Will the Minister give way?

Will my right hon. Friend give way?

I will give way to my hon. Friend.

I just want to place on the record the fact that I really do challenge that interpretation of the...

My hon. Friend is obviously free to take legal opinion of his own, but if he looks again at the w...

My right hon. Friend said that the Government may not be able to give their view on the outcomes ...

What I am saying is that the Government will need to be able to say why they have come to the con...

I have had concerns about the implications of the complete removal of section 125. Does my right ...

I completely understand that concern. I repeat that we will not ask the House to rely only on the...

On a point of order, Sir Roger. Some of my hon. Friends were asked, in courtesy to the Committee,...

That is not strictly a point of order for the Chair. The Minister knows whether to sit down or no...

We will ensure that there is a clear mechanism so that in the four weeks before polling day, the ...

With this it will be convenient to take the following:

Amendment 9, in schedule 1, page 6, ...

On a point of order, Sir Roger. I seek your guidance. The Committee has just agreed to Government...

If the right hon. Gentleman is referring to amendments 3 and 7—I think he is—it will be a matter ...

Further to that point of order, Sir Roger. Does the same apply to amendment 17, which is also in ...

The answer to the right hon. Gentleman’s question is no, because that was not debated under the g...

On a point of order, Sir Roger. Many colleagues were expecting a Division on amendment 11. May I ...

Amendment 11 comes later in the proceedings. Whether or not that is the subject of a Division wil...

My view about the clause is that we have managed to have a wide-ranging debate. In the interests ...

rose—

Order. I am at the disposal of the Committee and looking for hon. Members to speak, but there app...

Is it appropriate that I speak to my amendment 53, Sir Roger?

indicated assent.

Amendment 53 would state that

“the total number of permitted participants shall be limited ...

Order. Will Members leaving the Chamber please do so quietly? There are people who wish to hear t...

I was just referring to the explanatory statement. It is very helpful that the Public Bill Office...

Do the figures my hon. Friend is referring to include Government expenditure? The Minister, respo...

That is why this debate is important. When the Minister replies, we want further and better parti...

The hon. Gentleman talks about an SNP backlash, but by the time of the independence referendum th...

I do not want us to repeat yesterday’s debate, but we all know that there was a shift in public o...

Has my hon. Friend noticed my own amendment about restricting the money that will surely come fro...

It would be ironic if the European Commission were a major player—but actually why should it not ...

As the Members will know, my party has some experience of referendums. I assure Members in all pa...

I rise briefly in connection with some amendments standing in my name, such as amendments 32, 29,...

It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Harwich and North Essex (Mr Jenkin). I recall that...

I am extremely grateful to the right hon. Gentleman for giving way. I find myself in a surprising...

As I understand it, and I am open to correction from Sir Roger, the sinner may get a chance to re...

As I am being quoted, may I just say to the right hon. Gentleman that I shall not be taking repen...

I wish to make it absolutely clear for the record that the only sinners to which we are referring...

Should the Government not be commended for listening and being flexible, rather than condemned?