European Elections 2014

On 12 March, the European Commission published a set of recommendations and a communication conce...

I have much sympathy with what the Minister is saying, but he seems to be eliding two things: the...

I have no quarrel or disagreement with the hon. Gentleman on that count.

Much as I think it would be quite wrong for anything to be mandated—the decision should be made l...

My hon. Friend is right that it used to be the case that general elections in this country took p...

What consideration have the Government and the Minister given to the opinion of faith groups in r...

The hon. Gentleman puts his finger on one of the key problems with shifting away from our practic...

I am reassured by what the Minister says. I can tell him that, whether it be held on a Sunday, a ...

That is an interesting view. I do not know whether the Cabinet Office has the figures for which m...

rose—

I shall give way briefly, but then I want to make some progress.

We are proposing the alternatives of Sunday and Thursday, but there is also the alternative of Sa...

I hear what the hon. Gentleman says, but the problem with Saturday is, first, that a number of Je...

On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. Would it be relevant to our business if my hon. Friend...

I think that the Minister is stretching a point, as he has done several times already. I am grate...

I am sure that, if the right hon. Member for Coatbridge, Chryston and Bellshill (Mr Clarke) wishe...

This is mind-bogglingly irrelevant to the problems of my constituents. Would it not be better for...

I am speaking about this because it is very relevant to the communication which the European Scru...

On that point, how does my right hon. Friend interpret the start of article 17(7) of the treaty o...

rose—

Order. Minister, you are stretching the debate very widely, as the document is not legally bindin...

rose—

Mr Jacob Rees-Mogg, I am speaking to the Minister, not you. I was not ruling what you said out of...

On a point of order, Madam Deputy Speaker. The motion specifically refers to the proposals from t...

With respect, Mr Horwood, if you had listened to what I said, you would have heard me say article...

In answer to my hon. Friend the Member for North East Somerset (Jacob Rees-Mogg), let me explain ...

On page 14 of the package before us of the Commission’s communications, it specifically quotes ar...

I believe it is, and I think it is fair to say that there are plenty of people in and around the ...

This point is not on article 17(7) per se. The motion uses the words

“notes that whilst Eur...

It is important to distinguish a couple of points. First, nothing in these Commission documents i...

I welcome the opportunity that the European Scrutiny Committee has given the House to scrutinise ...

On the question of democratic legitimacy, does the hon. Lady agree that one problem is that Europ...

Turnout is low for many reasons, and I agree that that is one of them. I would have preferred us ...

They are not sure, either.

They might not be sure.

The MEP would not only have a home constituency to look after but w...

I must say that I am delighted by what my hon. Friend has just said about first past the post as ...

Order. Much as the hon. Lady might be tempted by that question, can we stick specifically to the ...

My overall objective in this House is obviously to make my hon. Friend the Member for Luton North...

Being asked to support a motion that takes note of a non-binding set of documents means that this...

I very much agree with the hon. Gentleman. If we had elections over two days at weekends, Jews co...

Absolutely. And Muslims could vote on both, and the election could start on Friday. We could be v...

I can assure my hon. Friend that not a single constituent of mine has ever expressed to me any di...

rose—

Order. We are not actually discussing the position of the Conservative party anywhere in Europe; ...

Of course, Madam Deputy Speaker.

The second point is that there is an expression of what I ...

With regard to the motion, which mentions European political parties and their freedom to support...

I think that we are trying to raise the tone of the debate and not to refer to things that were s...

It is always too tempting to fail to intervene on my hon. Friend’s speeches, but the point that M...

Yes, and I think the European people do actually care about each other. When I take part in the c...

Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

No, I will not; I really must draw my remarks to a conclusion.

I believe that there is a Eu...

I shall just make the point that I was going to put to the hon. Member for Cheltenham (Martin Hor...

If the hon. Gentleman thinks that holding elections at different levels leaches democracy away fr...

I think that power ranges over different levels. Over recent years we have seen power leached awa...

I am usually very nervous when there is an outbreak of complete consensus across the House. It is...

The hon. Gentleman may like to know that when I was a candidate in the Cities of London and Westm...

I am sorry to say that my hon. Friend has been led down the path of temptation towards pro-Europe...

I am grateful to all hon. Members who have taken part in the debate. I do not want to detain the ...

My question might be too hypothetical, but if the Council puts forward somebody who has never bee...

In theory, anything is challengeable, in the same way that almost any Executive decision in this ...