If the document were 16 pages long, like that produced by the founding fathers of the United States, the hon. Gentleman would be against it anyway. His opposition to the European Union is honest, but Conservative Front Benchers would also oppose anything that the Government brought back from negotiations in Brussels.

Even if my hon. Friend the Minister had come back and announced that the other European states had decided to give up the euro in favour of the pound and to appoint the hon. Member for Rochford and Southend, East (Sir Teddy Taylor) as the European Foreign Minister, or even if they had agreed that President Chirac would do feudal homage to the Queen for the possession of Calais, the Conservatives would have been against it. They would not have agreed to anything that the Government came back with. That is because they have made an assessment that the right short-term political choice for them as a party is to go along the Eurosceptic road because there are votes in it. There may be some votes in it, although the experience of the European elections suggests that there are not as many as they might have thought.

In trying to concentrate on their Euroscepticism, the Conservatives no doubt hope that their own policies will not be scrutinised too closely. Although the right hon. and learned Member for Devizes (Mr. Ancram) quoted his party's document, "The True Paper", he was not exactly forthcoming about his alternative. That is not surprising, because that document is full of internal contradictions that reflect the confusion in the Conservative party in trying to steer between outright Euroscepticism and recognition of the damage that would be done to our national interests if we drew further away from our membership of the European Union, as we inevitably would as a result of its policies.

I do not have time to go into a detailed textual analysis of the Conservative position. To give an example, mention has already been made of the proposal to allow any five national Parliaments to repeal not only new but existing European legislation. Conservative Front Benchers suggest that that is restricted to certain areas, but they well know that their proposals could apply very extensively. In practice, they would mean that the national Parliaments of Latvia,

Estonia and Lithuania, or Malta and Cyprus—which, although I have nothing against Balts, Maltese or Cypriots, represent about 1 per cent. of the population of the European Union—would be able not only to block new legislation, but to repeal, or at least to challenge, every piece of legislation that has been adopted over the past 47 years.

Similarly, the Conservatives suggest elsewhere in their document that it would be possible for the European Parliament to repeal any European legislation. Some of us might think that there is merit in giving greater powers to the European Parliament, but the Conservatives' suggestion is that MEPs from other countries in the European Parliament should be able to overrule decisions taken by member state Governments—our national representatives—in the European Council.

The Conservatives are torn between Euroscepticism and recognising that there are certain realities in the way in which Europe is run that even they cannot avoid. The fact is that nobody except those in the Conservative party and the more raving elements outside it in the Eurosceptic ranks believe that the draft constitution is the shortcut to a European superstate and the transfer of powers to Brussels.

Mr. Davidson:
As someone who is neither a Conservative nor a member of the UK Independence party, I assure my hon. Friend that I and many people in the Labour party and the trade union movement do believe that this document is a substantial step towards a European superstate, as it gives a substantial number of additional powers to the European Union. Furthermore, is he not embarrassed to support a constitution that makes a virtue of denying workers and trade unions in Britain the sort of rights that our colleagues in European countries have?

Mr. Lazarowicz:
I assure my hon. Friend that I do not suggest that raving Eurosceptics are confined to the UK Independence party although, of course, I do not include him in that category. However, surely the logical position is not to oppose a European constitution but to argue for even more powers to be transferred to the EU.

As was discussed earlier, one of the strengths of the document is that it gives added rights to member state Parliaments. The power that it will grant member state Parliaments, if we choose to exercise it, could be significant in ensuring that the debate about European policy is brought home to the peoples of the various member states and that the benefits of EU membership are shown more clearly.

Another welcome innovation in the constitution is the right for the various devolved legislatures to be consulted on matters that relate to a devolved competence. I am surprised that no representatives from the Scottish National party are present to discuss an issue that is so important for Scotland. Doubtless the difficulties of leading a party 400 miles away sometimes affect that organisation.

Sir Teddy Taylor:
To avoid misunderstanding, does the hon. Gentleman accept that the constitutioncontains no procedure to give the Scottish Parliament or the Welsh Assembly the power to stop anything? It grants the right to talk and consult but nothing else.

Mr. Lazarowicz:
The hon. Gentleman is correct that there is no power to stop anything absolutely, but he well knows that there is a power to request review. He knows far better than me, because he has been in this place for so many years, that the power to delay and review can be effectively exercised by a second Chamber, as the House of Lords has shown frequently.

Chris Bryant:
Is it not also the case that, since we are in a parliamentary democracy, the Government are formed only by virtue of their majority in the House and that, consequently, we have a direct ability to use our powers?

Mr. Lazarowicz:
That is a good point.

It is time to get away from the debates about our negotiations in Europe that contend that we are successful only if we can show that we have managed to extract even more concessions out of those conniving, evil Europeans. I am not naive about negotiations and I accept that conniving takes place in international negotiations from time to time. However, I have no objection to the idea that to achieve better results for our people and to promote our national interest, we should be prepared to transfer more powers to the EU. I do not mean more powers than the constitution proposes, but I do not find the principle of working together at a European level difficult. I do not want to draw back from that.

I want a European Union and EU institutions that allow us to tackle effectively the problems of our time. I want Europe to work effectively to deal with the problems of international terrorism. I want a more effective European voice in world affairs, and that is why I support the proposal in the constitution for a European Foreign Minister. I want us to tackle the environmental problems more effectively. That is why I welcome the constitution and hope that the British people will accept it in a referendum. I accept that those of us who support it will have to fight the campaign strongly, but I believe that its merits and those of our active membership of the EU will come through.

Clearly, if the British people do not approve the constitution in a referendum, it will not mean the end of our EU membership. However, it will mean that the EU will be gradually less able to tackle its challenges effectively. It would thus become less effective and less efficient. That is probably why Opposition Members and a few Labour Members will campaign against our ratification of the constitution.