The Conservatives are desperate to have a referendum on EU membership. The bill was passed in the commons yesterday. A bill calling for a referendum on
the UK's membership of the EU in 2017 has been approved by the House of
Commons.
The legislation passed its final stage in the Commons on Friday despite
efforts by Labour and Liberal Democrat MPs to delay its passage.
The bill will now move to the House of Lords for scrutiny early next
year. Click here to read the full article.
Wow, this is quite a significant event for the Conservatives as they would be able to either withdraw from the EU or they can dictate different arrangements. In addition to that as it had already promoted a huge awareness in the mass media, so even if the House of Lords reject the bill, it will be passed if the House of Commons will agree to pass it for the next time. Arguably if the referendum is successful for the Conservatives, it is the best sign of democracy if even people actually agree with the withdrawal/ negotiating with EU. There is a higher chance that the bill will actually pass.
ReplyDeleteI can't see this ending in a result which shows a discouragement to EU membership, mostly down to UKIP (I know, I know...)
ReplyDeleteFirstly. if UKIP do form a coalition with the Tories in May 2015, although this caters directly to their cause - arguably promoting them further as a potential third party - it's right in the middle of their prospective term (two years in) and so, the mid-term blues will be in full-swing, and a large part of the electorate will seek solely to avoid catering for the current government.
If they fail to secure power in 2015, surely it shows that their cause is not pressing enough to be fulfilled - that is, to leave the EU, theoretically ending in a 'content' verdict.
Especially since the large decline of inflation (to 2.2%, I think), people are, if anything, becoming more and more satisfied with the Tories, and even if not with Cameron (and certainly not Obsourne), then there is the constantly pressing matter of Boris Johnson being a vote-winner, especially considering the recent claim that he could be the party leader.
Thanks for the comments people. For me, it is Cameron trying to gain the UKIP vote. I doubt the tories want to leave the EU and if there ever was a referendum, I would hope (as I think Cameron would hope) that the UK public would vote to stay in. Either way, it would once again, as in 1975, put an end to EU discussion for another 40 years.
ReplyDeleteThe idea is not that great. The EU is a huge and complex institution that has a framework of treaties built up over decades and can take a full-time job to understand. To think that people have the time, energy or knowledge to fully understand the treaty changes David Cameron is proposing might be difficult.
ReplyDeleteFurthermore, even if it was a good idea in principle, announcing it 5 years in advance, subject to winning an election and getting a bunch of undetermined things 'renegotiated'. It will cause uncertainty and instability. It puts short-term party advantage over the long term national interest.
In conclusion the thing that highlights David Cameron's folly is that of all the problems the country has like housing, welfare, employment none of them are solved by holding a referendum on the membership of the EU in five years time.
I personally don't believe a referendum should be held on the EU situation as many people within the UK are uneducated on the situation as a whole. In the latest Eurobarmeter survey only 33 percent of Britons actually thought that staying in the EU would benefit them, and believed it was a good thing. This leads me to the conclusion that the rest of the UK citizens were either unaware of the EU situation, or they were not interested as they didn't believe it affected them. Furthermore, being in the EU makes it easier for the UK to trade with countries which are members, which could therefore make it cheaper and better for business because the trade throughout the EU is free. On the other hand, the UK don't follow all of the legislation's that the EU have implemented, for example the Human Rights Act, which suggests that terrorist suspects are only allowed to be held for the 30 days, however the UK went against this act, and held someone for 90 days which is absolutely outrageous. Overall having a referendum isn't an issue as long as the government educate the UK citizens on the pros and the cons of the situation in order for them to come to the right conclusion on whether staying in the EU will be beneficial to the UK or not. Cameron knows that staying in the EU will be better for the economy, and hopefully Cameron is doing this just to say that he made an attempt to give the Eurosceptics the opportunity to have a say on whether they want to stay or not. According to polls, not many people express their opinions, however they are now given a formal opportunity to make a decision. But is there really any point? Cameron could ultimately turn around and say that he'd rather stay in the EU even if the majority want to leave after the referendum results. The referendum has to take place immediately, otherwise if Labour come into power they have enough time to convince the people that staying in the EU is the best decision, and could perhaps encourage people to vote to stay in.
ReplyDelete