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European Union (Amendment) Bill

I am grateful for that clarification, which describes a significant difference. Moving from unanimity to qualified majority voting is not a transfer of competence, so the point that I was about to make is not quite valid. I had been wondering whether the right hon. Gentleman should call not for Acts of Parliament but for referendums on such issues, but I shall withdraw the point. Amendments Nos. 50 and 41, which the right hon. Member for Wells (Mr. Heathcoat-Amory) tabled, are similar to amendments Nos. 19 and 20. Of the four, amendment No. 20 is by far the clearest and goes to the heart of the matter. The hon. Member for Stone tabled amendments Nos. 60 and 61; he will doubtless speak about them, and perhaps I will intervene on him. It is slightly ironic that he wishes the House to move to qualified majority voting, given his stance on QMV at European Union level. I will not say much about his amendments because I want to hear his arguments. However, Parliaments in the EU countries that currently use QMV for constitutional changes or changes in their relationship with the EU are elected by proportional representation. Clearly, that creates a different dynamic in their legislatures.