---

Business of the House (Lisbon Treaty)

May I encourage the Minister not to be too stubborn on this point? The point about an emergency debate is that it is, in the House’s and Mr. Speaker’s judgment, on an emergency. Although we are all anxious to protect time for European business, it is not necessarily any more important than any of the other business that the House considers. The only question is not how long there should be for European business, but whether it should come after an emergency debate that has been approved. The Minister would reassure the House if he showed a little more flexibility now, rather than at an unknown future date, on a point that does not go to the heart of the Government’s strategy.