Business of the House (Lisbon Treaty)

I entirely agree with my hon. Friend, who also made a very good point earlier. I have always supported that sort of special procedure for Bill Committees. Many, many years ago when I was general secretary of the organisation that is now called Liberty, I gave evidence to a Standing Committee which I believe I am right in saying was the first to make use of such procedure in dealing with Bills. I well know from my mail box and conversations with constituents that they are interested in many aspects of the substance of the Lisbon treaty. They want to speak to me about rising energy prices, to which, of course, the liberalisation that is so urgently needed in the European Union is one of the major responses. They want to talk about climate change, about human trafficking, and about the welcome cuts in mobile phone roaming charges and other benefits to consumers that have come, and will come in future, from the European single market. It is on all those and many other issues that the themed debates will allow us to reflect.