European Union (Amendment) Bill

I completely agree with my noble friend Lord Leach of Fairford. I am pleased to see in his place my noble friend Lord Forsyth of Drumlean, because he and I experienced at the front line what can go wrong and why it is so important to get these checks and balances right. We encountered what is affectionately known as the Lazarus system. We were reliably informed that a whole series of directives that would have impacted on the UK’s competitiveness were dead and buried. We had not realised that it was perfectly possible for them to be revived, so we knew these directives as the Lazarus directives. Some of them have been quoted by my noble friend. They indeed impact on our competitiveness. We have to consider the jewel in our crown of financial services and the pre-eminence of the City of London. The idea of the more legislation, the better can run directly counter to our national interest. That is why I think that the noble Lord, Lord Roper, conceded that there were areas where we suffer in our ability to stop the flood of legislation and it is why I support my noble friend.