HC Deb 07 December 1977 vol 940 cc1385-7
52. Mrs. Bain

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has held with relevant EEC bodies about the proposed timetable for direct elections to the European Parliament.

Mr. Judd

The Council of Ministers has reviewed the progress of legislation in the member States but there has been no discussion of any change in the proposed timetable. My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister will refer in his statement to discussions at the European Council on 5th and 6th December.

Mrs. Bain

Will the Minister make clear that he will try to come up with a valid reason for the slippage appearing in the United Kingdom timetable, and will he say whether he has told our European partners that he has said that this is due to internal Labour Party disputes or opposition by both the Labour Government and the Tory Opposition to the concept of proportional representation?

Mr. Judd

As I have already said in answer to a previous question, whether we meet the target date is very much in the hands of every hon. Member. If there is a decision to accept the Government's recommendation of a regional list system, there is no reason why we should not meet the target date next summer.

Mr. Heffer

Is my hon. Friend aware that there is no real internal Labour Party dispute on the question of direct elections? The Labour Party, as such, is opposed to direct elections. There may well be people in the House who support them, but that is not the party in the country. Is my hon. Friend also aware that the National Executive of the party and its so-called International Committee have not accepted the manifesto from our European partners, because it is federalist in concept? As my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs indicated that he was opposed to federalism, I should like to know where we stand.

Sir Anthony Boyle

On a point of order, Mr. Speaker. Is it in order for hon. Members to have to listen to an internal Labour Party dispute throughout the afternoon?

Mr. Speaker

It is always interesting.

Mr. Judd

I can assure my hon. Friend the Member for Liverpool, Walton (Mr. Heffer) that we are well aware of the position of the Labour Party and its National Executive. On the federal point, not only my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State but my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister has made it plain that we are not committed to the concept of a federal Europe.

Sir Frederic Bennett

On the basis of the last question, does the Minister agree that there are one or two other problems standing in the way of rapid progress towards free elections in Europe, other than the method of election? Are we not now the odd man out in being the only country that has not completed the necessary legislative process to hold the elections next year?

Mr. Judd

We are not the only odd man out; I still maintain that the method of election has a great deal to do with whether we meet the target date.

Mr. Molloy

Is my hon. Friend aware that the people of this country are not all that passionately interested in direct elections or anything to do with them? Is he further aware that they are gravely disappointed that many of the things promised at the time of the referendum have not come true, that they were cheated, and that it would be to the benefit of the Commission if it concentrated on trying to reduce European unemployment instead of messing about with ideas of federalism or any form of direct elections?

Mr. Judd

I certainly endorse the point inherent in my hon. Friend's question, which is that in the final analysis the way in which the Community will be judged will not be by theological discussions about institutions and structures but by the policies which do or do not come out of it in the interests of the ordinary men, women and children who make up the member countries of the Community.