Thursday 10 January 2013

David Cameron and an EU referendum

For some time, I have wondered why the prime minister has not sponsored an in-out referendum on the EU in this parliament. Granted, it is not written in to the coalition agreement, but he could have given tacit acceptance to a Private Member's Bill authorising a referendum.

I had dreamed that his abandonment of his pre-election anti-EU rhetoric was a result of a realisation of the benefits of membership once he got into government. However, it appears that the real reason is that the pressure from the US State Department which was partly responsible for our entry to the European Community in the first place has continued. An official, possibly alarmed by the increased coverage of UKIP and Tory europhobes in the UK media, has broken cover.

It has not swayed John Redwood, though.

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