European Union (Amendment) Bill

I have had the pleasure of reading the shadow Foreign Secretary's biography of William Pitt. I studied British history up to A-level and I continue to read about it. However, I did not study it at university because I liked it so much that I did not want to be put off by someone chopping it into little pieces and feeding it to me in lectures. I understand that the debate between Burke and Pitt related to the defence of the Bill of Rights on the basis that it gave power to the King. Burke and Pitt divided on the challenge to the King's authority. Surely the hon. Gentleman accepts that the conclusions of the process improved this country's constitutional arrangements. Even he must accept that as the European Union has advanced since its inception and the first treaty of Rome, we have been able to do things across Europe that we never thought would be possible, such as breaking down the iron curtain and bringing people into a democratic settlement and a much more prosperous way of life. I agree with my hon. Friend the Member for Wolverhampton, South-West (Rob Marris) that politics is not a zero-sum game. It is something to which great value can be added through flexibility and development.