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Governance of Britain

My Lords, like many other Members of this House, I was a Member of the other place in 1972 when the European communities legislation was discussed. I well remember the wailing and gnashing of teeth on both sides of the House when it was discovered that the treaty was unamendable; not one syllable of it could have been changed. I appreciate that, in so far as public international law is concerned, no unilateral act by Britain can make a difference to that situation. We can change our domestic law and our domestic municipal arrangements. On the other hand, it is clear that the scope of creative involvement by both Houses of Parliament is extremely limited. You cannot, on the one hand, have Ministers who are plenipotentiaries—for that is what they are—eternally coming every day and night to Parliament asking for its consent. On the other hand, I agree that for there to be creative involvement for the sovereign will of Parliament there has to be something better than the present system, albeit on a limited plane. What is the status of the three documents referred to in the Statement? Presumably they are not White Papers. Presumably they are not Green Papers—they are not tendered academically with a view to having a general and broad discussion. Am I right in thinking that they are Green Papers with whitish tinges, giving some indication of the direction in which the Government are looking at these various and crucial questions?