Parliamentary Search

Proceeding contribution from Mark Francois (Conservative) in the House of Commons on Tuesday, 9 December 2008. It occurred during Debate on European Affairs.

European Affairs

Mr. Speaker, it would be utterly undemocratic of the Prime Minister to say that the Irish people should be allowed to vote twice while the British people have not been allowed to vote even once. Ultimately, democratic institutions can survive only with the consent of the people, and this is not the way to go about fostering such consent. It is, if anything, quite the opposite. The Prime Minister should not participate in any attempts, either overt or covert, to bully the Irish people to vote again on a matter on which they have already expressed a very clear opinion in a free and fair referendum. Throughout the Lisbon treaty debates in the House, we consistently argued that we should restore faith in politics and we should let the people decide. That remains our view.

Secondary information

Type
Proceeding contribution
Reference
485 c503 
Session
2008-09
Chamber / Committee
House of Commons chamber
Subjects
Armed conflict Banks Coal Climate change Competition Development aid Cyprus Carbon capture and storage Africa EU countries Finance Human rights Energy EU enlargement European Union Industry EU internal trade International cooperation Fiscal policy Government assistance Economic situation Germany EU external trade Economic and monetary union EU economic policy EU emissions trading scheme National security Motor vehicles Public expenditure Peacekeeping operations Politics and government Piracy Poland Overseas trade Standards Terrorism Rule of law Balkans Russia Israel Turkey Kosovo Common agricultural policy Foreign investment in UK Zimbabwe Middle East Bosnia and Herzegovina EU external relations EU aid EU defence policy Georgia Somalia Treaty of Lisbon Kurds South Ossetia Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe
Link
View this Proceeding contribution on www.publications.parliament.uk