Option to withdraw
Sir: "The countries in the Common Market should know that in the event of Labour winning a general election, this country will pull out." Your leading article of July 15 makes this pregnant deduction from Dr Mansholt's premise: "Wilson can want to re negotiate, but the Treaty of Rome is ratified in ten national parliaments, and there is no question of renegotiation."
Though everyone knows that President Pompidou's referendum backfired domestically no one till now has interpreted his failure to compromise Mr Heath into a paral lel consultation and commitment of the British people; Britain alone therefore retains a moral option to withdraw. "Here we come round to the fundamental dogma of modern constitutionalism again; the legal sovereignty of Parliament is subordinate to the political sovereignty of the nation" A. V. Dicey. Even in Parliament the majority of 112 for the October 28 vote on principle for Market entry has dwindled to seventeen for the final reading of the Bill. Domestic considerations? But exactly!
Dr Mansholt and the Community
think they have got us all tied up. They may, but the sources of power behind the governments of this country, strengthened by their affinities overseas, retain their freedom of action; indeed they have improved it relative to the Six. A demonstration of this will come quite soon when our Government has to decide between closing down the British economy and breaking President Pompidou's requirement that we tie the pound. The Community finance ministers' communiqué (from London) has just revealed the first compromise — 'variations' in the ' fixed ' exchanges.
Just to make the point plain to
everyone, in the closing hours of the debate on the European Communities Bill which he himself had drafted, the Solicitor-General (who speaks for the Government on these matters) concluded his speech with the following judgement: "Acceptance of Community law within the restrictions of the treaties remains consistent with the ultimate sovereignity of Parliament and the ultimate power of Parliament in principle to repeal this Bill."
W. E. Bell 86 Woodgrange Avenue, London N12
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