European Union (Withdrawal) Bill - Committee (11th Day) (Continued)

Part of the debate – in the House of Lords at 5:30 pm on 28 March 2018.

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Photo of Lord Hannay of Chiswick Lord Hannay of Chiswick Crossbench 5:30, 28 March 2018

I find it rather hard from the Cross Benches and as a non-politician to make this point, but I wonder whether the Minister has considered what the Government are proposing to do. They are proposing to offer in an Act of Parliament signed into law by the Queen something which they know is not going to happen. They have offered that up; their supporters will, no doubt, rise cheering to their feet; and then, three or six months later, they will repeal that part of the Act, at which point there will be cries of betrayal and perfidy—and those are probably rather mild words compared with the ones that will be used by the Daily Mail and others. Have the Minister and his colleagues not given any thought to that? Is not the simple thing to do to accept the amendment, and then there will be no betrayal and no perfidy, or if there is it will have been done already?