European Communities (Finance) Bill

Well, let us not then just take the words of The Sunday Times; why do we not take the words of the then Economic Secretary to the Treasury, now the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families—and probably next week the Chancellor? He told BBC radio about how the then Chancellor was going to flex his muscles. He said:"““What we will see is Brown the tough negotiator who will stand up for Britain's interests, who's willing to say 'no' when 'no' is the right thing to say.””" He went on to praise Baroness Thatcher:"““There was a phase on the European budget where she stood up for Britain's interests and got a much better, fairer outcome.””" He also said:"““Going to an international meeting, the easiest thing to do is draft a fudge communiqué and go home, but if you want to make change, that's not good enough””" and"““the people who are banging the table and saying 'It's not good enough, we've actually got to do something', they're the change makers””." So what happened when that tough negotiator and change maker—the Prime Minister—went to Brussels to claim back some of the rebate? What did he achieve banging the table in order to get a fairer outcome? Nothing. The preparations had been made, the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families was urging him on, battle was set to commence, and at the first sign of difficulty the Prime Minister bottled it—not for the last time. The fact is that for all his talk of being a tough defender of Britain's interests in Europe, this is just an excuse for briefing against the previous Prime Minister and now the current Foreign Secretary. He might invite Baroness Thatcher around to No. 10 and he might invoke her name before negotiations, but when it comes to defending British interests he is not fit to pour her tea. This Parliament can defend our interests by voting down the Bill. We would save the country £7.4 billion, which is almost £11.5 million for every constituency in the country. Every Member who votes for the Bill tonight should remember that statistic; they might be reminded of it from time to time. Some have said that this is a done deal and that Parliament should not have a say. They are the same people who say that the European reform treaty should be debated fully in Parliament and that the people should not have a say. We are entitled—