This in from Andrew Turner’s office, in their own words. Ed
MPs are set to vote next Thursday (October 27th) on whether a national referendum should be held on Britain’s relationship with the European Union.
The historic vote was agreed by the Backbench Business Committee, formed last year to decide debates on issues raised by backbench Members of Parliament. The application for the debate was submitted by Conservative MP David Nuttall, with support from others including Island MP Andrew Turner. It follows the submission of a public petition consisting of over 100,000 signatures.
Referendum with three options
The motion calls on the Government to hold a referendum with three options: staying in the EU, renegotiating membership to ‘create a new relationship based on trade and co-operation’ or quitting the EU completely. Britons were last asked about our relationship with Brussels in 1975, when a referendum was held on membership of what was then known as the Common Market.
If next week’s motion is passed it would not be binding, but would put pressure on the Prime Minister to respect the will of the Commons and seek the public’s view. However, it looked likely last night that the leaders of all three main parties will oppose the motion and order MPs to vote against it.
“I will be voting in favour”
Andrew Turner said, “I will definitely be voting in favour of a referendum next Thursday. Britain is the second largest contributor to the EU and costs every man, woman and child over £1,000 every year – yet nobody under the age of 54 has ever been asked about the relationship. The principles of a Common Market have changed beyond all recognition; these days the EU is about ever closer political integration and ever more interference and rules and regulations from Brussels.
“There is cross-party support for this motion, even amongst some Liberal Democrat MPs who generally are the most pro-EU party. The LibDems insisted on a binding referendum on the AV voting system – which only a few political anoraks were interested in. This is a subject that many people do want a say on. A nationwide referendum on this issue is long overdue, so that we know what the public think of the EU project and Britain’s place in it.”
Image: Open Democracy under CC BY 2.0
