John Baron MP votes to give Parliament final say on EU referendum

MP says referendum decision should not just be left to Ministers

Last night the Government was debating the EU Bill which ensures that if there is any further proposed handover of power from this country to Brussels, the Government will have to seek the British people’s consent in a national referendum. However, the decision as to whether a proposal was significant enough to hold a referendum is for a Minister alone to make. John voted for amendment 11 which provides that where a Minister does not consider a relevant change to be significant enough for a referendum, he must obtain Parliamentary approval for his opinion. Amendment 11 was defeated by 310 to 239.

John said:

“People have had enough of the salami slicing of our sovereignty by the EU. The Government’s EU Bill goes a long way to stop this which I support. However, in order to stiffen the resolve of Government Ministers when deciding whether to hold a referendum or not, I would have preferred Parliament to have made the final decision on whether to hold a referendum.”