European Union (Amendment) Bill

Perhaps I may concentrate on Amendment No. 129. Xenophobia is a feeling, an emotion, like anger, anxiety and fear, to which it has some affiliation. Conversely, it is in the same league as joy, exhilaration and contentment. In other words, it is a thought, not a deed. Democracies have not hitherto had thought crimes on their statute books, nor have authoritarian regimes. Thought crimes are the preserve of totalitarian states. If by any chance some other EU states want, perhaps without realising the full enormity of what they are doing, to copy Stalin, Mao and Hitler in this regard, so be it, but we in this country should not contemplate it for one single moment.