European Union (Amendment) Bill

My Lords, while we all welcome the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Chichester to this debate, many of us have been here before. We have been the same pieces on the same chessboard since the decision in principle to join the European Community nearly 40 years ago. In today’s speakers list there are 14 noble Lords who voted in the House of Commons, 10 of whom also spoke, on 28 October 1971 after 180 speeches in a six-day debate designed to settle the future of Britain in Europe. Among the membership of today’s House of Lords as a whole, are more than a dozen Peers of the 69 who, as Labour Members of Parliament, voted for entry despite a three-line whip against it. There may also be a few Tory rebel survivors in this House, and there is one Liberal, who voted against Ted Heath’s Commons Motion for joining. In parenthesis, if I may be allowed an indulgence, I won the House of Commons sweepstake with a forecast of a government overall majority of 111, which turned out to be 112. Altogether, with the help of Ladbrokes, I won £165 that day, which was almost enough to enjoy a modest European holiday. Of the participants in that debate, the noble Lord, Lord Stoddard of Swindon, had already been ““a consistent opponent””, as he put it, since 1962, of what we then called the Common Market; and my noble friend Lady Williams of Crosby had been a very persuasive advocate of membership since the 1956 Treaty of Rome. For 40 years, the Labour Party and the Conservatives have been up and down and hot and cold. All parties have had vocal dissidents, both for and against. I have made no complaint—then and now. Joining Europe was a great historic undertaking, taking risks either way. But the fuss about the Lisbon treaty, although it is significant, as the noble Lord, Lord Hannay, said, seems disproportionate and is less about the practical merits of the case than fighting old political battles and future ones. In 1975, Harold Wilson’s Government chose a referendum finally to settle the matter and to heal the wounds of his party. But by 1983, eight years later, Labour was falling apart and its manifesto said, "““British withdrawal from the Community is the right policy ... That is our commitment””." We should be cautious about referendums and manifestos. The Conservative Party could share Labour's unhappy experience—as could all parties, for that matter. Clearly, some noble Lords will decide to mention what I see as those extraneous matters and the previous draft constitutional treaty, which is dead. But I hope that they will resist that temptation, only genuflect towards them, and not waste too much time in Committee and, rather, scrutinise the terms of the Bill before the House, in keeping with our usual priorities and practices. Whether the Lisbon treaty is a mouse or a mountain, our relations with the rest of Europe have been and remain critical. If I am required to define my personal position, I call myself a good European. But I am a pragmatic, step-by-step Fabian—not an ideologue—ready to hold steady or to change and move on as circumstances require. In a familiar newspaper, four years ago, I read, "““Europe celebrates its greatest project as continent’s warring tribes finally unite””." The article continued: "““The biggest enlargement ... has finally healed the divisions of nearly 70 years of war””." It added that the European Union was, "““the world's greatest peace project””," and so on. If that may be a surprise, that was the Times rejoicing and its European correspondent warned that the European Union could splinter or lose its way. I shared his enthusiasm. It seemed to me that enlargement inevitably meant institutional change and that it was in the interest of Britain, as well as the 25 or 27 members, to negotiate the best all-round deal. I agree that the Lisbon treaty should provide a period of stability in the institutional framework and that there should be no change in the foreseeable future, but I hope that the Government will be careful about calling the reforms ““a lasting settlement””. The time may come when the Government of the day will want a change in Britain’s own interest—even in its hard-fought ““red lines””. I am greatly impressed by the 10th report of the European Union Committee, chaired by the noble Lord, Lord Grenfell. It is a model of a report from a House of Lords Select Committee. It is clear, comprehensive and an invaluable concordance to accompany the text of the treaty. I am also glad that the noble Lord, Lord Goodlad, chairman of the Constitution Committee, will be speaking in the debate. The committee’s sixth report was published only last Friday and its scope is properly restricted to the implications of the UK constitution. As a member of it, I shall not pursue its recommendations. Although the committee wants some additional parliamentary safeguards, it has concluded that the Lisbon treaty and the Bill are likely to have no major damaging impact. At the time of the decisive votes in 1971, there was a flood of hostile letters to both Houses and particularly to the Commons. Now, there is at least a trickle of protest about the Lisbon treaty. Some correspondents build around manifestos and referendums, but others try to get to the heart of the matter, believing that membership of the European Union was, and is, wholly unacceptable. The language and sentiment addressed to the Lisbon treaty is often the language and sentiment of 40 years ago: membership would bring the inhabitants of Britain under an iron dictatorship; we would be demoted from an independent nation to an impotent, impoverished European province; we would lose Magna Carta and the Bill of Rights, perhaps even cricket and driving on the wrong side of the road; the whole way of life would change. However, it does not feel like that. Britain has not fallen apart. On the contrary, we have enjoyed growing prosperity and many of our freedoms have been enlarged. Of course, there are very serious threats to our lives and liberties, but it is terrorism and its consequences, climate change and intrusive technology that are the real dangers, not the Lisbon treaty.