European Union (Amendment) Bill

On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. The Clerk is about to read the Orders of the Day, so that the House can go into Committee. The Standing Order that governs that procedure is Standing Order No. 66, which reads:"““Whenever an order of the day is read for the House to resolve itself into a committee on a bill… the House shall thereupon resolve itself into such committee, unless notice of an instruction to such committee has been given, when such instruction shall be first disposed of””." I have to inform the House that notice has been given of such an instruction, in the form of motion 42 on today's Order Paper, which says:"““That it be an Instruction to the Committee on the European Union (Amendment) Bill that it have power to make provision in the Bill for the holding of a referendum on the United Kingdom's continued membership of the European Union.””" That is a matter of great importance to my right hon. and hon. Friends, because it clarifies whether, in Committee, we could introduce new clauses on a referendum on whether we should be in or out of the European Union, and not just new clauses on a referendum on the treaty of Lisbon. Standing Order No. 66 is, on the face of it, unequivocal. It gives no discretion. It says ““shall””, not ““may””. It does not—