Business of the House (Lisbon Treaty)

I think the hon. Gentleman overestimates the amount of time that is required in the House to expose the contradictions in his party’s attitude to the European Union. The amendment that he supports seeks six more days for debate, and more time within each debate for amendments to the Bill. However, as has been made clear this afternoon, the amount of time that the House will have for substantive debate on both the treaty and the Bill will depend very largely on the number of points of order from Conservative Members. I hardly think that good use has been made of the generous amount of time that has been made available for debate on the programme motion.