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British Nationality Law
[Mr. Rees.] cheered have read the document, I would defy anyone to get the confusion that is in our laws made clear to the legisla- tive draftsmen. We need about a year or 18 months, even if one were working with great urgency. There are great problems in this matter. What happened in 1971 was that when the then Conservative Gov- ernment came in with the patriality law they made it even more obscure than it was previously. Therefore, I would advise people not to jump into this matter until they are clear as to what it is all about. However, having said that, I am very grateful to the right hon. Gentleman.
Mr. Bidwell: As my right hon. Friend has had much more time than Back- Bench Members to study the Green Paper, may I have an assurance from him that the principle of equality of the sexes shines right throughout the docu- ment? On that basis, and on the basis of page 5, which deals with the acquisi- tion of British citizenship by virtue of marriage, if that principle is adopted, bearing in mind my right hon. Friend's most recent pronouncements on the sub- ject of marriages of convenience- although I have never known what a marriage of inconvenience is does he not agree that he could not operate what he has recently announced if the prin- siple of the Green Paper came through in ultimate legislation?
Mr. Rees: No; the principle is there. My hon. Friend was referring to page 5 of the document, which is a summary. If he looks at page 18 and section 50. he will see four possible options which - are put there freely for hon. Members and others to discuss. We have had a look at what has gone on in other countries. Whatever system we have, if there are bogus marriages it would be wrong for any law that we have to aid those who are marrying simply to come in rather than marrying for the normal purposes.
Mr. Powell: Does the right hon. Gen- tleman contemplate dispensing with the status of British subject", which since 1948 has been largely devoid of content, and attaching to the status of "British citizen any substantive rights, such as those of the franchise in this country?
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Mr. Rees: I remember the days when the right hon. Gentleman and I served on the Committee which deliberated on the
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British Nationality Law patriality Bill, as it was then, and exchanged ideas that we had. We are at one in this respect. There is no doubt that the sort of nationality that we had in 1948 was based on a concept that was even then outmoded. What we want is citizenship, and indeed, citizenship in the same way as it is in most other countries in the world where there are rights. How- ever, civic privileges are a separate matter. Of course they are related, and I have put in a section on that matter, because, even at present, if one wanted to alter civic privileges one could do that without waiting for a change in the law on citizenship.
Mr.
Alexander W. Lyon: While welcoming the decision to issue the Green Paper but regretting the omission of some of the argumentation in the working party document, which makes the recommen- dations more understandable, I under- stand why some of the issues have been more muted than others, but the issue about the right of British citizens to have free movement in Europe seems to me to be the most muted of all. Will my right hon. Friend recognise that, although this is subject to negotiation with our Com- munity partners. the Government ought to recognise and to desire at any rate that British citizens should have free move- ment throughout the Community, so that there are not two kinds of British citizens in future?
Mr. Rees: My hon. Friend is right. I take this opportunity of saying that the detailed investigations and report of the working party which he chaired have been extremely valuable and that we are grateful to him and his colleagues for their work. The situation in relation to the EEC is one aspect of the matter. The fact that citizenship of the United King- dom and Colonies as a nationality con- cept has not been accepted in Europe is basically because it is not citizenship in the sense of the term accepted elsewhere. It is most important that we get it right, because the final concept should mean that a British citizen, once given that classification, should have the right to free movement in Europe because we have defined it by statute. Until we get the whole thing correct, there will be problems.
Mr. Hooson: As the Green Paper is being published well in advance of the
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