European Union (Amendment) Bill

That still leaves me with the question of what is meant by having a mandate to renegotiate, and I should be interested in having an answer to that. I wanted to go back to what I believe is the substance of the amendment—that is, the supremacy of Parliament. It seems to me that, after getting on for three hours of debate on these issues, it is absolutely clear. Indeed, my noble friend Lord Lester of Herne Hill suggested that a first-year law student would know the answer—that the UK Parliament is indeed supreme. It can repeal the European Communities Act. As the noble Lord, Lord Hannay, pointed out, there is now a specific provision in the treaty on withdrawal. Therefore, it is utterly clear that the UK Parliament is supreme. It can decide to repeal the European Communities Act, but that would mean that we would no longer be in the EU. There is no third way.