European Union (Amendment) Bill

I am grateful for that intervention because I agree with it. It is worth emphasising the hon. Gentleman's point. It is fair to say that different views exist in the EU about the way in which western advanced capitalist economies should go. That is a slight simplification but it helps explain matters. I believe that most members of all three main parties have much sympathy for what is regarded as the Anglo-Saxon model of rigorous competition. That view is not universally held but our Government and Conservative and Liberal Democrat Front Benchers subscribe to it. Competition and free trade create wealth and jobs and it is in our interests to promote such values throughout the European Union. That view is not held at such high levels of government in some other European Union countries. France is commonly cited as an example of a country that has a political and cultural attachment to a social model, but many people in Britain would feel that that model restricted business. A great irony of our debate is that the Conservative party, which used to be the pro-business party in the UK, is now trying to make British businesses less able to exploit opportunities to expand elsewhere in the EU.