John Baron MP supports EU Referendum Bill

MP speaks in support of Parliamentary veto on EU legislation

Today John Baron MP is in Parliament to support the EU Referendum Bill tabled by James Wharton MP. The Bill contains the legislation for an in/out EU referendum in the next Parliament, and is the culmination of a long campaign led by John which involved letters to the Prime Minister signed by 100 Conservative MPs and his amendment to the Queen’s Speech in May. Unable to persuade the Liberal Democrats to accept the legislation as a Government Bill, the Prime Minister was forced to go down the route of a Private Member’s Bill which is heard on Fridays.

Yesterday, John spoke in a House of Commons debate following the publication of the latest report from the European Scrutiny Committee, which comprises of MPs who consider the impact of EU legislation. The report made a number of important recommendations, including that Parliament be given a formal veto over EU legislation. The Committee Chairman is Bill Cash MP, who also led the debate.

In the Commons, John said,

“We need better scrutiny not only because the organisation now called the EU has fundamentally changed since we first joined it, or because there has been a salami-slicing of our sovereignty under Governments of all parties in the past, but because the British electorate expect us to be scrutinising EU legislation in this place, as the proposals suggest?”

Afterwards, John said,

“A Parliamentary veto on EU regulations is long overdue and would allow us to protect our sovereignty. It would also remind all that Parliament is supreme when it comes to the laws of this land.”