European Union (Amendment) Bill

My Lords, I have not felt sufficiently expert to speak on the Bill before, but I would like to express my view on the proposed postponement until October. The referendum issue is over and we are concerned with Third Reading. Not every Bill that has been passed through Parliament and become law has been implemented. I could give the House a number of examples of Bills that became law and never passed anything. I can remember one in particular where it was obvious within days of Royal Assent that it was never going to be more than a dead letter. So it is not extraordinary for this House to pass a Bill that may not necessarily be implemented. One has to look at the reality. This is a reality of the past as well as one that we are discussing today. The proposal to postpone until October does not seem a particularly useful exercise. We should make our own decision today. Not to do so will send an unhappy message to the other member states of the Union, of which we are a member. Whatever anyone in the House says, everyone—apart from two or three Members of the House—is in favour of us remaining members of the European Union. As has been said several times, the Irish Government have not asked us not to ratify. They have left it entirely to us. They have not asked us to hold our horses. We should take a decision and complete the process of Third Reading today.