Arguments about the UK's place in the EU dominated the first House of Lords question time session of 2014, with Foreign Office Minister Baroness Warsi insisting that membership of the EU "is in the UK's interests, and we will make the case vigorously".
Responding to a question from the Liberal Democrat peer Lord Dykes on recent ministerial statements about EU membership, Lady Warsi said there was "no doubt" that "millions" of jobs in the UK relied on membership of the bloc.
But Labour's Lord Soley said that the constant questioning by senior politicians over the UK's role in the European Union was doing "enormous damage to Britain's place in Europe". Lady Warsi insisted that the UK was building allies across Europe for reform, citing countries such as Austria, the Netherlands and Sweden among those who had supported the UK in calling for an EU that is "more flexible and democratically responsive to the needs of its members". A private member's bill to facilitate a referendum on the UK's membership of the EU in 2017 is scheduled to have its first debate in the House of Lords at the end of the week.
Conservative peer Lord Balfe said that migration to the UK from other EU countries could be explained by the UK's "expanding, vibrant and welcoming economy", which, he said, "gives room for personal advancement for people from less wealthy EU countries". He suggested the government should focus more on benefit levels for UK citizens, rather than raising the issue of so-called "benefit tourism".
Lady Hamwee said that the government should follow the policy of "do as you would be done by", arguing that many Britons moving to countries such as Spain had benefited from free movement. Lord Attlee said that there were "great benefits" from free movement of persons, insisting it is a "two-way street".
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