Oral question asked in the House of Lords, by Lord Waddington (Conservative). It was answered on Tuesday, 2 November 2010.

Government: Role of the State

Question: Does my noble friend agree that successive Governments have in fact been reducing the role of the state for years and years by farming out difficult decisions, such as whether there should be a law of privacy or whether prisoners should have votes, to bodies such the European Court of Human Rights, and farming out virtually all their other powers to the bureaucracy in Brussels? Is it not about time that we went for the repatriation of some of our powers?

Answer: We have plenty of opportunity to discuss European matters on other occasions, and it is certainly beyond my brief to comment on my noble friend’s contribution.

Secondary information