But PM disagrees with proposal to make a legal commitment now to hold referendum in next Parliament
On 27th June John Baron MP delivered a letter to 10 Downing Street, co-signed by 100 Conservative MPs, calling for an EU referendum. The letter urged the Prime Minister to place on the Statue Book a commitment to hold a referendum within the next Parliament on the nature of our relationship with the European Union.
David Cameron met John on 9th July to discuss the matter further, and promised to reply. Following a number of chase-ups, the response has now been received. In his letter, David Cameron agreed that we need less Europe, not more. However, he did not agree with the letter’s suggestion, only that once the Eurozone crisis has played itself out should a fresh mandate be sought from the electorate.
John said,
“The letter is revealing. In the past, the PM has agreed that the objective is to have less Europe, and has not ruled out a referendum. However, this letter talks of getting the fresh consent of the British people once a fresh deal becomes clear following concerted efforts to change the status quo. It is a step forward.”
“However, he does not believe our proposition to make a legal commitment now to hold a referendum in the next Parliament would work, without setting an exact referendum question. I disagree. There are many upsides in committing to a referendum now – not least it would address the very real lack of public trust when people hear politicians making promises about the EU. Furthermore, the question has still yet to be finalised regarding the Scottish referendum in 2014.”
“We will continue to press the Prime Minister on this point. As part of this, membership of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for an EU referendum is going great guns and we have our first meeting on 16th October.”
Ends
Word Count: 281
Date: 28th September 2012
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