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European Union (Amendment) Bill

In the concluding moments of the debate, I should like to say that the Conservative party is completely united on these matters—[Interruption.] I listened to the speeches from the Government Back Benches—they were extremely well delivered—and I was struck by how divided Labour Members are in comparison with us. We insist on democracy and on the right of this country's voters rather than the right of the ECJ to make decisions. That remains paramount, and we shall pursue our proposals. Although I shall not press amendment No. 84 to a vote, I shall seek to vote on amendment No. 228. Finally, Sir Francis Jacobs, a member of the ECJ, made a seminal speech about the interaction between the European convention and the charter. He said that the rights in the treaty were said to be based on the rights guaranteed on the convention, but that there were intriguing differences of wording. He also said that the treaty's scope was considerably wider than the rights protected in the European convention. The reality is that there is overlap between the treaty and the convention. They are different, and new rights are being proposed. The Government stand condemned for what they have said today.