This in from Andrew Turner‘s office in their own words. Ed
The Island’s MP, Andrew Turner, is asking Islanders to ‘co-sponsor’ a draft law to bring in a national referendum on the EU. The Let Britain Decide campaign is supporting a move to bring in the first public opportunity for nearly 40 years to vote on Britain’s membership of the EU, once a new deal for Britain has been renegotiated. Nobody under the age of 57 has ever voted on the subject.
The Let Britain Decide campaign is organised by the Conservative Party – but many people from all parties and those with no alignment to any party want an EU referendum and are co-sponsoring the Bill. Opinion polls show that 62% of the public would support a public vote.
Mr Turner said:
“We are no longer able to decide for ourselves who to let into our country, who can claim benefits funded by British taxpayers or even whether we can have olive oil on restaurant tables. We need now to seek the support of the British people to a new, renegotiated deal with Europe or decide whether we want to leave the EU.
“Over the last 40 years much has changed. In April 1975 I voted no to joining what was then called the Common Market because I feared that we may lose our independence. I never even dreamt that we would lose our sovereignty by stealth; yet that is what has happened. We are a member of a club that now has different members, different aims and different rules to the Common Market we signed up for. It has even changed its’ name to the European Union – and all at a simply phenomenal cost to British taxpayers.
“I support a referendum but the Let Britain Decide campaign is designed to put pressure on those MPs who oppose one. The number of supporters really matters – and as the largest constituency in the UK, the Island could make a real difference to persuading wavering MPs to support this historic vote on July 5th.”
You can sign up to be a co-sponsor of the EU Referendum Bill at www.letbritaindecide.com
Image: Quinn Anya under CC BY 2.0
