Business of the House (Lisbon Treaty)

That concerns me deeply. That is precisely why I am looking back at the manner in which our procedures have developed and demonstrating the fact that those important constitutional authorities have as much relevance to the present day as they did in their own time. This Parliament has been going for centuries and has developed those principles. We should be living by them now. The most recent edition of ““Erskine May”” reaffirms that what I have just said remains true, as it says, up to the present time:"““The principal common characteristic of the rules of practice [as they emerged from the seventeenth century and still form the groundwork of procedure] was to provide ample opportunity for debate and for initiative in choosing subjects for debate, and ample safeguards against business being taken without due notice so that decisions could not be reached without opportunities for full consideration being given.””" That is what ““Erskine May”” says today. That is what is at stake and what the Government are completely overriding. In the words of Sir Edward Coke, a former Speaker and seasoned parliamentarian,"““the course of this House is to deliberate well before we order””." Bagehot’s claim goes further. It is that, in a parliamentary regime, the function of government takes place in the House by way of discussion. The programme motion denies that to us. The Bill is more important and extensive than the Maastricht treaty, yet there is less time for discussing it. There is no general sense of crisis in the country, but there is unease. Sixty-four per cent. of people want a referendum because they do not trust Parliament, and that is our fault. Inadequate discussion means that the position will get worse and European laws will not be properly debated. The European Communities Act 1972 is at the root of the problem. We have had invasions of law from the Romans, the Danes, the Normans, the Stuarts and through canon law. We created a democracy in the late 18th, the 19th and especially the 20th centuries, which has been the bastion of freedom for western civilisations. Now, we are going back, like ectoplasm, into a dark age through reverting to procedures that override our fundamental freedom of speech and proper discussion, which is the means whereby the people can be governed. The motion will prevent that proper discussion, and the Government and Parliament will be condemned for it.