European Union (Amendment) Bill

The noble Lord was not saying anything; he was nodding. By that, I thought he was agreeing with what I said—that if you move away from the 1972 Act and the primacy of European Union law, the logical conclusion would then be to leave the European Union. I am deliberately talking not about the referendum but only about the amendments as they stand. The Lisbon treaty does not alter anything in that area. When we come on, as I hope we will, to look more closely at what is proposed for the role of national parliaments, we will see that that role is strengthened. Noble Lords of all persuasions should welcome that because it gives parliaments a direct say in EU law-making for the very first time. I have no doubt that some noble Lords will argue that they wish to see more, or perhaps less, of that and they will want to understand what it actually means. There is a lot to do, particularly in talking to our European Union Select Committee about how we make that a proper reality in a way that both Houses of Parliament would wish. None the less, that measure is there, and I hope we will have good and interesting debates on it.