We favour it

To the Editor of the Rugby Observer
Published on 5th December 2013

In response to Mark Pawsey MP and his Westminster Diary on November 21 in which he wrote: "It is disappointing neither Labour nor the Liberal Democrats want to let the people decide if or how they want to stay in the EU".

I would like to point out that the consistent position the Liberal Democrats have taken is to be in favour of an in/out referendum the next time a British government signs up for fundamental change in the relationship between the UK and the EU.

This is what was in our manifesto at the last General Election and now the Liberal Democrats are part of the Coalition Government this has been enacted into law through the European Union Act 2011 - as made reference to by Mr Pawsey.

At the time of the Lisbon Treaty (the last major change in relationship), we alone supported an in/out referendum for this country. There was absolutely no support from the Conservative party at that stage. Tony Blair and Labour ducked the issue twice.

In 2006 David Cameron reproached the Tories for always 'banging on about Europe' and in 2011 he said 'as we are not signing a treaty, I think that the whole issue of a referendum does not arise'.

In addition, the Liberal Democrats have been consistent supporters of referendums. The party supported all the referendums on Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. We were quite happy with the referendum on the European Community in 1975, and we even went along with the referendum on AV - the alternative vote system.

The Conservative party has taken a bewildering variety of positions on referendums. In the 1990s John Major was in favour of anEU referendum, but only on membership of the euro.

Before that Margaret Thatcher opposed the original European referendum and she quoted Clement Attlee saying referendums were a device of demagogues and dictators.

At that point she was a supporter of EU membership, which at that stage was already identified as a discussion about social and political union as well as about access to an economic common market.

In 1975 Margaret Thatcher said that for the Labour party the proposal of a referendum was"a tactical device to get over a split in their own party". I think history might be repeating itself for the Tories.

Tim Douglas

Membership Secretary, Rugby Liberal Democrats