Mr jenkin will the right hon gentleman give way david

Mr. Jenkin: Will the right hon. Gentleman give way?
David Miliband: No, I am going to conclude.
Mr. Jenkin: It is on defence.
David Miliband: No.
The truth is that the Conservative party has drifted so far towards the fringes of the
better off out brigade that the hon. Member for Stone can happily declare that they have
achieved an increase in
“our sense of uniformity and unity on such central questions.”—[ Official
Report , 26 February 2008; Vol. 472, c. 993.]
Not half!
Mr. Cash indicated assent.
David Miliband: I am pleased to see the hon. Gentleman nod. He has moved from the
fringes of his party to the centre. The truth did indeed come out last Wednesday when
37 Tory MPs—
Mr. Cash: Forty seven.
David Miliband: Excellent. So 47 Conservative MPs— in other words, one quarter of
the modern Conservative party—supported the hon. Gentleman in voting for an
amendment that aimed to reverse 50 years of cross-party support for the EU. The
amendment claimed to assert the right of Parliament over European law. In fact, it
would have made “a nonsense of the necessity for Community law to have the same
effect in every member state if the UK, any more than any other member state, could
choose by national law to override what it did not like.” [Hon. Members: “Ah!”]
Opposition Members can say “Ah!”, but those were the words of Sir Geoffrey Howe at
the Committee stage of the Bill that legislated for Britain’s entry into the EU. People
cannot join a club and write their own rules.
What was the position of the official Opposition last week? In the face of an amendment
that would have endangered British jobs and British interests, after all the huffing and
puffing about courage and convictions, and after all the attacks on the fence-sitting of
the Liberal Democrats, they took the tough, principled and forward-looking decision to
give Conservative Members a three-line Whip on an abstention that would have set
back our national interests by 40 years. They talk about wanting to be constructive in
Europe; in fact, they would wreck the national interest.
11 Mar 2008 : Column 163

The truth is that successive Governments have faced a choice: whether to retreat from
the world or to engage with the problems and opportunities beyond our borders. It is
this Government’s view that we must continue to look outward and to try to shape the
world, building alliances to tackle the global problems that we face. That is why we are
committed to playing a full role in Europe, driving the European Union’s agenda and
making a positive difference to the British people. That is what this treaty is about. That
is why I commend the Bill to the House.
4.17 pm
Mr. William Hague (Richmond, Yorks) (Con): I begin on a note of agreement with
the Foreign Secretary. Given that there are so many disagreements, it is a happy note on
which to start. He paid many warm tributes to those of us who have taken part in the
debates over the past couple of months. He was very generous to me—if being called