Douglas Carswell's Blog

New Eurosceptics or old smoke-and-mirrors?

Today sees the inaugural meeting in the House of Commons of a new “mainstream Eurosceptic” group of Conservative MPs – and I’m looking forward to going along and taking part.

Several commentators suggested that this new group of MPs might not be all it first seems.   Tim Montgomerie has wondered aloud if this new group is “a creature of the leadership or a genuinely independent initiative”. Fraser Nelson wrote about the possibility that perhaps “Tory whips have actually encouraged this group ..... to stave off a greater threat: support for an in-or-out referendum”.

Caught between an integrationist Coalition administration, and an ever more Eurosceptic electorate, is this all a cunning ruse by MPs to try to make themselves appear sceptic, without having to vote that way in a division? Smoke-and-mirrors, or a genuine effort to ensure that the government begins to do the right thing on Europe?

What do I think? I’m very positive about the new group and open minded.

We will soon know if this group is simply Eurosceptic-under-license or the real deal once we know what the group actually calls for.

      a)  Sceptics-under-whips-office-license?  If the group is run under license by the whips office, the group will merely make demands for some sort of “renegotiation”. Lots of very sensible points will follow about the need to transfer powers back from Brussels to London. There may even be worthy talk about subsidiarity, or even Euro-localism. 

But it will all be about trying to get politicians to try to get a better deal – and deliver precisely the sort of stuff people in SW1 have spent 20 years saying they’ll try to do.

      b)  New Eurosceptics?  If the group is not run with nudge-nudge approval from the whips, you would expect it to say all that – but to then recognise that the final decision of any new deal must be put to the people in a referendum.

     If this new Eurosceptic group opposes a referendum on the outcome of any new deal, in what sense is this new Eurosceptic group either new or Eurosceptic? With most voters now wanting a referendum, how would it be mainstream?        

Put another way, what possible reason could there be – after the AV referendum – for this new group to not also push for a referendum. Unless undermining the campaign for a referendum was part of the game plan to begin with.....

We will soon know see what the group stands for based on what it calls for.   I’ll let you know how things develop.

Back to all posts