Douglas Carswell's Blog

David Lidington makes the case for an in / out referendum

David Lidington tell us that Conservatives should be "proud" of the EU Bill being debated in the Commons this week.

It puts in place a "referendum lock", he writes.  The reality is that it gives us neither a referendum nor a lock.

The Bill serves as a check against the further transfer of power to Brussels, we're told.  The truth is it would have done nothing to stop the transfers of power to Brussels that have happened since the General Election.

Labour, declares our Europe minister, broke their promise to hold a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty.  The fact is Labour are not the only party to have used word play to wriggle out of cast iron promises to hold an EU referendum.  The 2010 Lib Dem manifesto told us they were "committed to an in/out referendum".

Because this Bill is so "complex", there have been some "misunderstanding", apparently.  Perhaps we understand only too well.

David Lidington's article does nothing to allay concerns about the EU Bill.  Rather it shows why we must allow the people - not politicians or Foreign Office spokesmen - to have the final say.  Inadvertently, what he writes only strengthens the case for an in / out EU referendum.

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