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Future EU Finances and Own Resources

I am bound to agree. It is a tragedy, because we need a balance. Co-operation is one thing, but appeasement is another. I was disturbed to discover that the motion, despite being merely a ““take note”” motion,"““supports the Government’s objective of securing agreement…in line with the agreement reached by Heads of Government at the December European Council.””" I do not know who drafted that, but whoever it was must know—definitely knows—that the European Scrutiny Committee insisted as far as we could, in this case successfully, that today’s debate should take place on the Floor of the House, not least because the December deal was not, and is not, the deal that we are now debating. I made that point in an intervention on the Minister, who has still not returned to the Chamber. I do not know why. I suppose that he must be embarrassed by the fact that he cannot answer the questions that weare asking. In that intervention I said thatMrs. Grybauskaite, the European Commissioner who I am told is a Lithuanian with a black belt in karate—I do not know whether the Paymaster General is up to a black belt in karate—was more than keen to get the matter out into the open. According to her, the final spending for 2007-13 will exceed £600 billion, which is £24 billion above the budget that the Prime Minister announced in December. That means that the taxpayer will have to find an extra £2 billion, and that Britain will now contribute £44 billion to European coffers over the next budget period. In other words, as I said in my intervention, not only does the new total make a mockery of the Prime Minister’s claim to have held the budget to €862 billion at the December summit; it makes nonsense of the motion that we are debating. That is the key point. No wonder even the Liberal Democrats have been brought shouting and screaming to oppose a piece of European legislation. This is the first time, during my 22 years in the House, that I have heard words uttered by a Liberal Democrat that indicate any opposition to the maniacal system in which we are now involved. I will certainly give way if the expression on the face of the hon. Member for Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey (Danny Alexander) means that he would like me to. The hon. Gentleman has nothing to say, because there is nothing to say. I am very glad that the Liberal Democrats are picking up the message, in view of the abysmal results that they achieved in the recentlocal government elections. Those of us who have consistently and persistently—I make no apology for it—maintained an argument that is now being proved correct note that they are having to shift their ground on the issue. It is also true, as one or two Members have pointed out, that on 8 June last year, when asked during Prime Minister’s Question Time whether the rebate was negotiable, the Prime Minister said"““The UK rebate will remain and we will not negotiate it away. Period.””—[Official Report, 8 June 2005; Vol. 434, c. 1234.]" We all know that that was rubbish. I suspect that the Prime Minister knew that it was rubbish at the time, but he was in a very tricky political environment, and the Prime Minister always becomes trickier the trickier the situation becomes.