I regret the tone of much of that response, which I think does not become the Minister and does not respond fairly to the debate he has heard tonight. I do not know what his history was of “47 tempestuous years” within the European Union, but I seem to recall that we started rather as a basket case economically and it was through the European Union that we grew. However, I am not going to rehearse that argument. I think he accused me of denying the referendum. He knows, not only because I gave him my European history today, that I am Welsh, and he knows how the Welsh voted. He knows jolly well, because he has heard all this, that I have never questioned the referendum and I never called for a second one. I think he knows that he was perhaps a little unwise in some of his words.
Our amendment is not as described by the Minister. My regret amendment goes along with giving this Bill a Second Reading, which we are going to vote for. It does four things, none of which—despite what the noble Baroness, Lady Noakes, asserts—undermines the decision to take us out of the European Union. First, it starts by welcoming the deal as it has avoided a no-deal exit. That is what I think the noble Lord, Lord Ricketts, called “worse than chaos.” Secondly, it regrets that it leaves much to be desired, as was reflected in many of the speeches today. Thirdly, it asks the
Government to work with Parliament—this is not delaying anything—to ensure the sort of transparency and accountability outlined by the noble Earl, Lord Kinnoull, and by my noble friend Lady Taylor, and with regard to secondary legislation, mentioned by the noble Lord, Lord Moynihan, and to answer the points made by the noble and learned Lord, Lord Judge. I say that asking for accountability is not delaying anything. Fourthly, the amendment asks the Government to work speedily to set up the agreed parliamentary partnership assembly—an assembly agreed by the Prime Minister. We are asking for progress on that. This does not in any way deny that we should, as we will want to do, give the Bill a Second Reading. It simply asks the Government to work with Parliament on how we see the next stage. I wish to test the opinion of the House.