Convention on the Future of Europe

Part of the debate – in the House of Commons at 2:35 pm on 9 July 2003.

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Photo of Jack Straw Jack Straw Foreign Secretary 2:35, 9 July 2003

I am answering. Evidently, the hon. Member for Stone has not read this constitutional text—[Interruption.] I have read what happened in 1688. I have read the lot. Of course what happened then helped the introduction of parliamentary democracy, but it is typical of the hon. Gentleman that he thinks history stopped in 1688. He has forgotten that it was followed by a century of the most corrupt sort of elitist Government, which required action and agitation by the labouring classes before the universal right to vote was achieved and we secured the sort of Parliament that we have today.

Those comments disclose an all-too-familiar mindset. The Conservatives fought the last election—[Interruption.] I am sorry, but I must make progress. They fought the last election on an anti-European platform, and lost for a second time by a record margin. Today's Conservative leader has none of the subtlety or forensic skills of Mr. Hague. Furthermore, the opposition of Mr. Duncan Smith is visceral, as is that of his supporters. The drift of the Opposition is towards an unattainable renegotiation of the basis of the UK's membership, leading inevitably to this country's total separation from the Union. However, to sugar this bitter pill, which even the Opposition know would immediately be rejected by the British people, they have invented a fantasy comfort zone—

"an associate EU membership of some kind", in the words of Mr. Heathcoat-Amory, in which we could have a menu without prices and any benefits of membership that we chose with none of the obligations. Let me tell the Opposition that such a prospect is a deceit. No such never-never land would ever be available. An associate EU membership of some kind would involve obligations without influence—or, to paraphrase Baldwin, responsibility without power, the prerogative of the eunuch down the ages. Under such an arrangement, this great nation would be castrated of its power, removed of its vote, yet we would be bound to accept the last detail of the EU rules if we wanted any growing share of its markets.