The noble Viscount raises a very important issue which has not been debated in either House of Parliament at all so far—whether there should be a Select Committee procedure when the withdrawal treaty is presented. That is exactly the kind of issue we should be discussing, and not at one o’clock in the morning.
The second issue, which goes to the heart of the bona fides of the Government, is the options that Parliament will debate and reach decisions on when the withdrawal treaty is presented. The Prime Minister has said repeatedly—indeed, the Minister has repeated it—that the only option that Parliament will be given when the treaty is presented is between accepting the treaty or rejecting it and leaving without a treaty on World Trade Organization terms. That is a completely false, misleading and unacceptable statement of what the options facing Parliament should be. Parliament, which is sovereign, can and should itself decide what options will be available to it. An absolutely credible option—indeed, in my view it is the most credible option facing the country—is that we simply stay in the European Union. The idea that this sovereign Parliament will not be allowed to consider that as an option is totally unacceptable. There obviously should be an option. The reason why we need to enshrine that as an option, as other noble Lords have said, is precisely that the Government, by executive fiat, are seeking to rule it out. That is unacceptable.
4.15 pm
These amendments are vital. They go to the heart of the role of Parliament in our nation’s affairs. As the noble Lord, Lord Patten, said—I entirely agree with him—the ultimate test of Parliament is how it conducts itself on the biggest issues facing the nation at any given time. We may do brilliant work revising legislation—hopefully at more civilised hours, which is of secondary importance—but the thing that everyone in this country will remember about Parliament in our generation is how we conducted ourselves on this big issue of whether we stay in the European Union or leave it.
Noble Lords take inspiration from many great historical figures but I have always taken it on these matters from Churchill. One of his greatest speeches during the war—ironically, made in this Chamber after the House of Commons was bombed and it moved in
here—was in October 1943 on a Motion to rebuild the House of Commons on precisely the model that Hitler had destroyed and not to a more modern design. He said:
“We attach immense importance to the survival of Parliamentary democracy. In this country this is one of our war aims … the House of Commons … has earned and captured and held through long generations the imagination and respect of the British nation. It is not free from shortcomings; they mark all human institutions. Nevertheless, I submit … that our House has proved itself capable of adapting itself to every change which the swift pace of modern life has brought upon us”.—[Official Report, Commons, 28/10/1943; cols 404-405.]
If Churchill could say that about the House of Commons in 1943, we are certainly capable of having adequate procedures in place to debate the Prime Minister’s withdrawal treaty at the end of the year.