--and the referendum
Sir: Whether or not there should be a referendum on the Common Market depends, I suggest, a great deal upon the phrasing of the question asked. If only the 'Brussels terms ' are the subject then only the economic issues are covered.
What the European Communities Bill lays bare are all the political issues so long played down. Included in these is, of course, the whole constitutional question of Parliament's own status and supremacy. No single question could possibly cover both the economic and the political aspects of the matter, and more than one question would only serve to fog the result of the exercise.
The right solution, I submit, is to recognise that, while the economic considerations can properly be left to Parliament, the constitutional issue is in a different category and cannot properly be decided by Parliament. This is because its authority and powers are not self-created but spring from the Crown and the people jointly. Any move to change the nature of the institution, and more so if this will reduce its status, must therefore have the express approval of both the parties from which its existence is derived. If not, nothing it afterwards purports to enact can be morally binding.
Kenneth R. Middleton 13 Dean Park Crescent, Edinburgh
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