Sir: Having read your article entitled 'No consent, no entry'
(November 6), I find your argument hard to follow. You suggest that there is no reason for the Government to lose office by going to the country and that.the only other method of consulting the people is by the process of a referendum. However, I thought that the main or at least one of the major reasons argued by us antimarketeers why we should not join 1:ie Community was the issue of the sovereignty of Parliament. Indeed, Sir Derek Walker-Smith QC, MP, in his brilliant speech during the Commons debate on accession to the Treaty of Rome devoted the whole of his time to an exposition on sovereignty.
The Queen in Parliament may make, amend or repeal any law whatsoever and no person nor body has power to set aside its legislation. Parliament is not bound by its predecessors nor can Parliament bind its successors. It was decided in the case of Edinburgh and Dalkeith Railway Co. v. Wandrope (1842) that if any Act provided that a referendum be held to approve any particular Bill, Parliament could repeal or ignore such provision.
It seems to me that, going on the basis of this decision, a referendum would "signify noth ing." In fact, and this is the point, a referendum would immediately limit the supremacy of Parliament; something that we are fighting against by opposing the EEC. I am not disheartened by the decision of Parliament on the Common Market motion — far from it. I should imagine that it is Messrs Pym and Whitelaw who are disheartened when they survey the list of Tory 'rebels.' Hugh Fraser, Enoch Powell and Sir Derek Walker-Smith. to name but three are probably the toughest Tory Parliamentary practitioners as the three proved in the 'unholy alliance' with the Labour 'Left' during the last administration's abortive attempts to reform the Upper House. There is no reason to suppose that the enabling legislation will not receive the same treatment. As Sir Gerald Nabarro suggested, rather simply, at the anti-ECC meeting held at Brighton during the Tory party conference 5,000 amendments will be tabled and filibustering will commence.
The Government will quickly let the Common Market application drop. Please, Sir, can you also drop the referendum argument quietly?
H. W. H. Outfin Kings Barton, Summerlane, Brixham, South Devon
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