European Assembly (Directelections)

Part of the debate – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 20 April 1977.

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Photo of Mr Alexander Fletcher Mr Alexander Fletcher , Edinburgh North 12:00, 20 April 1977

The hon. Member for Clackmannan and East Stirlingshire (Mr. Reid) has stated again the stark choice that will face the Scottish people at the next General Election—and we should be grateful to him. It is whether, in his words, they wish to be a small northern State on the periphery of Europe or to remain part of a major European country. I have no doubt that the Scots will vote overwhelmingly to remain British at the next General Election and any election thereafter.

Until the beginning of last month I was a member of the delegation to the European Assembly. It was an assignment that I found interesting. Some cynics may say that I even found it rewarding. But at least I got some first-hand experience of the workings of that Assembly. I am aware, of course, of the limitations on the powers and influence of the Assembly, but I have no doubt of the need to exercise some form of parliamentary control over the activities of the Council and of the Commission.

The structure of the Community requires this to be done on a centralised basis. It would be quite impossible for this control to be exercised to any extent by the nine separate Parliaments of the member States, least of all by this overworked and disorganised House of Commons. Therefore, I have been fascinated by the arguments of some Labour Members about whether there should be direct elections.

It is hardly very wise to dismiss the European Assembly as totally unimportant just because the occasional political excitements that exist at Westminster do not come to the fore at Strasbourg, or because the Press in this country tends to ignore, for the present at least, the business that takes place at Strasbourg. However, much as some hon. Members may dislike Britain being part of the Community, surely they would not dispute the fact that the Council and the Commission both have a great deal of influence over the affairs of the British people. I hope that they are not suggesting that we should curtail our influence over the affairs of the Community itself. One way to do that would be to withdraw completely from the whole argument and the participation in direct elections.

I think that arguments that the Assembly has little power and even less influence could be extended to at least some of our local authorities in Britain, yet I do not believe that any hon. Members are suggesting that there should be no direct elections for local authorities. On the contrary, the House is looking forward to the results of next month's local authority elections in Britain, particularly Opposition Members. It may be that the burdens of office have made Labour Members a little resentful of local elections, by-elections or even General Elections, but that is not so on the Opposition side of the House.

However, those who oppose direct elections should say what they would do about the present situation—whether they would argue to maintain nominated Members there, or whether they would go for something like the French system of substitution. I hope that they would agree that the present situation cannot continue and that there is a need for some change and a fresh approach.