John Baron MP criticises Labour’s EU Referendum stance

MP: only the Conservatives can deliver an in/out referendum

This morning it was announced that, if in government, Labour will not call an in/out EU referendum unless Britain is about to surrender fresh powers to Brussels as part of wider treaty changes. The Shadow Foreign Secretary, Rt Hon Douglas Alexander MP, has said he considers such a possibility as ‘unlikely’.

The Conservative Party remains committed to an in/out EU Referendum in 2017. Although the EU Referendum Bill – a Private Member’s Bill – was talked out in the Lords by Labour and Liberal Democrat Peers, there are well-sourced rumours that an EU Referendum Bill will reappear in June’s Queen’s Speech (see ‘notes to editors’).

As Chairman of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for an EU Referendum, John said,

“Once again, Labour has come up short regarding an EU Referendum. The leadership has all but said there will never be an in/out referendum on their watch. Only the Conservatives will be able to deliver such a referendum.”