European Union (Amendment) Bill

My Lords, I will speak briefly at this late stage. To avoid adding to the confusion in the mind of the noble Lord, Lord Ashdown, as to the state of mind in my party, I say to him that I speak as a pro-European. The vote on the amendment to the Motion will send a signal. It will signal either that Britain sides with the big battalions against the lone voice of a small country—with the message that the sooner the Irish can be persuaded by some means or other to recant, the better—or that we respect and take full account of the view so clearly expressed by the Irish people. On the basis of both constitutional principle and political pragmatism, it is in the interests of Britain, the Government, my own party and, not least, this House that we should vote for the amendment tonight. Europe, however united within the EU, will always be divided in some ways, not least between the so-called Anglo-Saxon model of a vibrant, entrepreneurial, flexible, free-trade Europe and a social Europe that seeks in vain to preserve an unsustainable economic model of subsidy and privilege protected by whatever tariffs or state intervention may be needed to do that. Let us remember what happened when President Chirac told the Baltic states that, if they sought to maintain their low, flat-rate taxes, they would be denied structural funds for their development. That threat meant that the Baltic states, along with the majority of those that joined the EU in 2004, decided to follow the Anglo-Saxon model. Britain is the de facto leader of that Anglo-Saxon persuasion in Europe. If we want to remain, as I do, at the heart of Europe, we must maintain that leadership. The noble Lord, Lord Jay, says that we must not be out of step. Many of the proudest hours in Britain’s history have been when we have stood alone or nearly alone. That is why I shall support my noble friend.