---

European Union (Amendment) Bill

I have six minutes to respond to what has been a fascinating and often humorous debate. As one of the few Members who has spoken who was not here for the debates on the Maastricht treaty, it has been very interesting for me to hear the speeches for the first time. We heard an excellent speech from the right hon. Member for Chingford and Woodford Green (Mr. Duncan Smith), who reminded us of his personal history as a Euro rebel turned party leader. That joint history is part of the reason why his party denied him the opportunity to be defeated at a general election. As I think everyone accepts, the shadow Foreign Secretary comes to the House in the middle of the afternoon and treats us to a series of excellent after-dinner speeches. We also heard from the hon. Member for Stone (Mr. Cash), who is now in his place again. He made an excellent and telling contribution, which is why the former Prime Minister, John Major, was absolutely wrong when he said that the hon. Gentleman was"““obsessive, driven and, on Europe, frankly a bore””." That was of course entirely unfair.