John Baron MP secures debate on Parliamentary sovereignty

MP says renegotiations should include restoration of sovereignty

John Baron MP, together with strong cross-party support, has secured a House of Commons debate on the importance of Parliamentary sovereignty amid the EU renegotiations, courtesy of the Back Bench Business Committee. The debate will be in the first slot on Thursday, 4th February.

The application to the Back Bench Business Committee followed a letter sent by John last November, co-signed by 40 Conservative MPs, asking the Prime Minister for a meeting to discuss the importance of sovereignty within his renegotiations. Having not received a response to his letter, despite chasing the No 10 Political Team, John raised the meeting request at Prime Minister’s Questions on 20th January, having given the Prime Minister advance notice of the question. However, the Prime Minister refused the meeting.

John said,

“The Prime Minister’s response to my PMQ confirmed Parliamentary sovereignty is not a priority when it comes to his EU negotiations. This concerns many MPs, who believe sovereignty goes to the heart of our relationship with the EU, covering such issues as the primacy of our domestic laws, the extent of business regulation and control over our borders.”

“Without the restoration of sovereignty, everything else is peripheral. We should by ourselves be able to stop unwanted directives, taxes and regulation. I look forward to the Government’s response in the debate, given many of us have been unsuccessful in engaging with the Prime Minister.”

Notes to Editors:

• The debate motion reads: ‘That this House believes in the importance of Parliamentary sovereignty; and that the Government’s EU renegotiations must encompass Parliament’s ability, by itself, to stop any unwanted legislation, taxes or regulation’.
• The application to the Back Bench Business Committee was supported by the following MPs: Steve Baker MP, Douglas Carswell MP, Sir William Cash MP, Christopher Chope MP, John Cryer MP, Philip Davies MP, David Davis MP, Richard Drax MP, Nigel Evans MP, Frank Field MP, Paul Flynn MP, Mary Glindon MP, Roger Godsiff MP, Gordon Henderson MP, Kate Hoey MP, Adam Holloway MP, Sir Gerald Howarth MP, Bernard Jenkin MP, David Jones MP, Julian Lewis MP, Ian Liddell-Grainger MP, Craig Mackinlay MP, Jacob Rees Mogg MP, Andrew Rosindell MP, Jim Shannon MP, Andrew Turner MP. More MPs will take part in the debate itself.
• John wrote an article for the Sunday Telegraph at the weekend on the issue of Parliamentary sovereignty, online at: http://goo.gl/xqQJXn.