Senior Tories Reject Calls for EU Referendum
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October 4, 2011 TheFreshOutlook  |
Eurosceptics at the Conservative conference have made fresh calls for a referendum on the UK’s membership of the European Union.
David Cameron is under increasing pressure from his own party to fundamentally re-examine the UK’s membership of the EU. Calls for the repatriation of EU powers and an “in or out” referendum come as European integration faces the biggest crisis in its 60-year history: the sovereign debt crisis.
On Sunday, the prime minister said that he would not hold a referendum because of his belief that most British people want to “reform (the EU) and make sure the balance of powers between a country like Britain and EU is better”.
However, news that an e-petition with over 100,000 signatures has forced a Commons debate on the issue is likely to embolden hard-line eurosceptics. Furthermore, a YouGov poll which found that two thirds of the Conservative Party support Britain leaving the EU indicates that David Cameron may be underestimating the anti-EU sentiment within his party.
For many Tories, the current strife in Europe’s monetary union is a vindication of the party’s “save- the -pound” campaign in 2001. During that time, it was William Hague who led the argument that the euro would rob states of their sovereignty. That Greece, Ireland and Portugal are now endeavouring to meet the demands of external financiers seems to prove his point.
Yet in recent days, the current foreign secretary has been a lot more conciliatory to the European project. In an interview with The Observer at the weekend, Mr Hague cited a trade deal with South Korea which is of “vast economic benefit” as proof of the EU’s worth. The foreign secretary also rejected calls for a referendum, saying simply: “Our place is in the European Union.”
Mr Hague’s sentiments were echoed by George Osborne yesterday when, in his speech to the party conference, he said that the stabilisation of the eurozone would provide the most significant boost to Britain’s ailing economy. The chancellor must also be mindful of the fact that discussing an exit from Europe would severely undermine Britain’s already limited role in fixing the eurozone crisis, not to mention its position in a post debt-crisis EU.
However, this does not mean that Tory leaders wholly embrace the EU. Mr Cameron and Mr Hague still identify themselves as eurosceptics and assert that they are committed to finding a more independent EU membership for Britain. The leadership’s stance was reflected by Iain Duncan Smith’s pledge last week to resist the EU’s demand for Britain to drop its eligibility test for EU nationals seeking UK benefits.
By Dermot Tobin
[Image courtesy Of UK in Italy]
