Committee (2nd Day)

Part of European Union Referendum Bill – in the House of Lords at 5:00 pm on 2 November 2015.

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Photo of Lord Hannay of Chiswick Lord Hannay of Chiswick Crossbench 5:00, 2 November 2015

Will the noble Lord consider carefully whether he is falling into the best-known trap for British commentators on American policy, which is to think that we know what American interests are better than they do? In fact, that statement last week was made by a member of President Obama’s Cabinet. I happened to be at a conference at the weekend at which people from both sides of the divide in the United States—in quite senior positions—made it clear that the policy reflected a cool and careful judgment of where the United States’ interest lay. If we choose to ignore it, we do so at our peril.