European Union (Amendment) Bill

My hon. Friend is right. As a rough rule of thumb, the nightmares predicted about Britain's engagement in Europe since the first great conference in The Hague in 1948 to set up the Council of Europe, which led to the Coal and Steel Community and the treaty of Rome—I read some of them from the remarks of Hugh Gaitskell and Clem Attlee—have never come to pass. We are seeing a sea change in the approach of the United States. The right hon. Member for Richmond, Yorks complained that there was not adequate discussion on the defence clauses of the treaty. He had a legitimate complaint. He could, however, have shortened his speech on foreign policy and let in some of his hon. Friends who wanted to talk on defence, but he has been delighting us with more comic turns than I have seen since the disappearance of Les Dawson as a working men's club comedian. The right hon. Gentleman has a great future treading the boards in the north if he ever chooses to give up his current isolationist politics.