European Union (Amendment) Bill

I was hopeful that more news would come from the front. I always thought that being a Liberal Front-Bench spokesman was somewhat akin to being a eunuch in a harem—singularly decorative, but not particularly useful. I draw my remarks to a close by saying that the confusion on the question of whether the constitution is the same thing as the treaty is not only confined to the general public. Indeed, I am grateful to have a copy of the agenda for the most recent executive meeting of the Labour Movement for Europe, on 25 February 2008, item four of which refers to"““Progress of EU Treaty on EU Constitution””." The agenda refers clearly to the constitution, while the minutes of the meeting indicate not only that the LME was instructed to use the words ““reform treaty”” not ““constitution””—it was obviously making a mistake in that regard—but that a decision was made to"““speak to David Miliband, to see what role the LME could play””." It is a help that the LME keeps sending me its material, but if even it is confused about whether the treaty and the constitution are the same thing, the general public can be forgiven for being confused.