European Union (Amendment) Bill

My Lords, I am not going to give way again. I have given way once and I have dealt with the point, for what it was worth. As far as the history of the matter is concerned, as I said, I do not believe in the rosy view of history presented by the noble Lord, Lord Owen. The fact of the matter is that this system—the holding of referenda—has not entered the constitution. People have argued for it, but it has not actually happened. For the reasons that I have given and out of my respect for parliamentary government, it should not happen.