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European Union Bill

This Bill, and more particularly this clause, have had a long gestation. In November 2009, the then Leader of the Opposition promised that if his party won power there would be a United Kingdom sovereignty Act"““to make clear that ultimate authority stays in this country, in our Parliament.””" He told his party that this was"““not about Westminster striking down individual items of EU legislation””—" but that its intention would be to"““put Britain on a par with Germany.””" He said that the German constitutional court had consistently"““upheld that ultimate authority lies with the bodies established by the German constitution””." No doubt some Conservative party activists had some reservations about the idea of Great Britain being the same as Germany; nevertheless his proposal was warmly received. As we have heard, the Conservatives went into last year's general election with a manifesto commitment to introduce a sovereignty Bill, but the coalition agreement stated only that the new Government would examine the case for such a Bill. At the Conservative party conference on 6 October last year, the Foreign Secretary stated that the sovereignty Bill would become a sovereignty clause in a wider European Union Bill, and that is what is before us today.