Clause 4 - Orders implementing changes in the - number of United Kingdom MEPs
European Parliament (Representation) Bill
3:30 pm
Mr William Cash (Stone, Conservative)
Yes. We have legislative time in this House to deal with such matters properly. We did not vote against the Bill on Second Reading because at bottomalthough I doubt whether the Minister will understand this, coming from mewe appreciate that we have to comply with our international obligations. I might like to see those renegotiated, become more transparent and be more democratically passed, but certain arrangements have been made, and although my whole party and I would have liked referendums on such important questions, we acknowledge the fact that the law is the law for the time being until we can be fortunate enough to do something about it.
Having said that, the answer to my hon. Friend's question is yes, we would be unable to recommence the procedure, but I anticipate that at that point another Bill would have to be introduced to deal with the matter more democratically. To take up the point that the hon. Member for Somerton and Frome and I made under earlier amendments, that might perhaps be more precise about what is or is not Community law and address the questions on the accession treaties to which we have still not had very satisfactory answers. We do not yet know how many countries will become member states. We do not know what the outcome of the referendums in those countries will be.
The Bill is based on a hypothesis, and for all the reasons that I have already given, if the proposals end up being rejected by either House after a full-blown debate, there would be a case for saying that we should go back and recalibrate the system rather than recommencing a procedure that had, by definition, been rejected by the House of Commons or the House of Lords. The very fact that such a situation can arise presupposes that there could be such a rejection.