European Union (Amendment) Bill

This has been a lively and at times passionate debate, in which we have had, I think, 22 speeches from both sides of the House, as well as a number of interventions, ranging in style from that of my right hon. Friend the Member for Wells (Mr. Heathcoat-Amory) to that of the future bishop of Rhondda, who is unfortunately no longer with us and conducting evening prayers. I am also interested to see that we have just been joined by the Prime Minister's right-hand man, Mr. Ed Cojones, who can pass back to the Prime Minister our disappointment that he is not here to vote on these matters tonight. The greatest contrast, however, was between the two opening speeches. Without wishing to be malicious to the Foreign Secretary, anybody watching the debate from outside would most certainly have concluded that my right hon. Friend the Member for Richmond, Yorks (Mr. Hague) should be speaking for Britain on the world stage. Tonight, the House is being asked to begin the ratification of a treaty that hands over major powers from this place to the European Union, and that is, in effect, the old European constitution under another name. To escape their solemn manifesto commitment of a referendum, the Government must subscribe to the fiction that the two documents are really different, a position described by The Economist as ““a farce””.