Bill Cash, MP., letter to Telegraph

Legislation should override Lisbon Treaty Sir - Further to the Lisbon Treaty debate (Letters, March 7) I wish to draw your attention to the House of Commons' vote on my New Clause 9 (Supremacy of Parliament) amendment. It was supported by 47 MPs from all parties, including several former Conservative cabinet and shadow cabinet members; 379 Labour and Lib Dem MPs voted against it. My new clause would oblige the UK judiciary to give effect to future Westminster legislation where it overrides any specific provision in that treaty. This would include EU over-regulation, as the Conservatives voted on the Legislative and Regulatory Reform Bill in 2006. The reason for the new clause is that the Lisbon Treaty includes a new division of EU powers, which exclude Westminster from legislating; collapse of inter-governmental pillars; new legal obligations on the UK Parliament; a self-amending text, bypassing Acts of Parliament; and a declaration endorsing the assertions of the European Court over our Parliament. UK case law includes what Lord Denning stated in Macarthy's Ltd v Smith: "If the time should come when our Parliament deliberately passes an Act with the intention of repudiating the Treaty or any provision in it or intentionally of acting inconsistently with it and says so in express terms then I should have thought that it would be the duty of our courts to follow the statute of our Parliament." The former Cabinet and Shadow Cabinet members have signed my amendment for the third reading of the Bill on Tuesday to protect the supremacy of Parliament. We want British laws for British judges. Bill Cash MP, Shadow Attorney General 2001-03, London SW1