Baited breath, but just look at how the political landscape has shifted

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...te-Europe.html

'It's time to open the door and consider a referendum': Cameron to give Britain a vote on Europe

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/...66_306x533.jpg
Referendum... just not yet: David Cameron has promised the UK a vote on whether to remain in Europe IF he is voted in again at the next election

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Originally Posted by Mail

David Cameron paved the way for a historic popular vote on Britain’s role in Europe yesterday by indicating he is ‘opening the door’ to a referendum. Voters could be asked if they want the UK to stay in or out of the European Union, or to sever many of its existing ties with Brussels. The Prime Minister is gearing up to resolve the matter once and for all – but not yet. He is considering turning the next Election, due in 2015, into a vote on Britain’s membership of the EU – or holding a referendum afterwards if he is still in No 10.

Mr Cameron believes it is too early to decide the crucial question to be put to voters: whether it be a straight ‘in or out’ choice, or a proposal to grab back some of the powers lost to Brussels bureaucrats. And he believes it would be a mistake to hold such a vote before the dust settles over the euro crisis. A source close to the Prime Minister said: ‘It is time to open the door on this matter and consider a referendum. It could either be a standalone referendum or it could be part of the Conservative manifesto at the next Election.’ Explaining why Mr Cameron has not yet decided on the wording of the question to be put to the nation, the source added: ‘Now is the wrong time when Europe is in flux and the whole continent is changing before our eyes.

‘We need to see where everything ends up before we consult the British people.’ Mr Cameron’s hand has also been forced by the financial crisis in the eurozone, which is forcing member countries to negotiate ever-closer ties. The accelerated integration is likely to lead to full-scale treaty renegotiations in the coming years.

Although cynics will describe the referendum as another Government U-turn following the Budget measures such as the ‘pasty tax’ and the aborted 3p petrol duty, the pledge is the latest evidence that Mr Cameron is increasingly turning his attention to political life after the Coalition. If he does call an referendum, it is almost certain that arch-europhile Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg would be on opposite sides to Mr Cameron. Recent polls show a majority of voters want a referendum, and a significant number are ready to turn their backs on the EU completely. However, the result would not be certain.

In the run-up to the last referendum on Europe in 1975, surveys suggested a ‘No’ vote, but in the event, the public decided against going back on Britain’s decision two years earlier to join what was then known as the Common Market. Mr Cameron’s pledge comes in the face of intense pressure from Tory backbenchers to give the public a vote. Last week, 100 Tory MPs – more than half of all backbench Conservatives – sent a letter to the Prime Minister which argued that there was ‘a consistent majority in this country who believe that the EU meddles too much in our everyday lives, that the regulation on our businesses is too burdensome, and that the cost of membership is far too high’.

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Growing election threat: Ross Taylor burns his Conservative membership card at demonstration by UKIP supporters including the UKIP leader Nigel Farage, pictured right, at College Green, London

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mail

They also pointed out that the EU is ‘very different’ from the Common Market that Britain originally signed up to – and that no one under the age of 55 has had a vote on the nation’s membership. The picture appeared confused on Friday when Mr Cameron emerged from a marathon Brussels summit on the euro crisis to say: ‘I completely understand why some people want an in/out referendum – some people just want to say, “Stop the bus, I want to get off.”

‘I completely understand that, but I don’t share that view. I don’t think it’s the right thing to do. There are other things I would like us to get out of. That’s the trouble with the in/out – it only gives you two options.’ Newspapers interpreted the remarks as a sign that Mr Cameron had ruled out a vote on the UK’s membership of the EU, while Peter Bone, one of the signatories to the backbenchers’ letter, said it showed that Mr Cameron was ‘on the wrong side of the argument’. Furthermore, Ministers were increasingly worried that Labour leader Ed Miliband might outflank Mr Cameron by pledging a referendum if Labour won power. Mr Cameron has hardened his stance in an attempt to seize back the initiative.

In addition, Mr Cameron faces a growing Election threat from the anti-EU UK Independence Party, which has overtaken the Liberal Democrats in some opinion polls. Worryingly for the PM, many eurosceptic Tory voters are switching to UKIP and its populist leader Nigel Farage. There are also persistent rumours that some Tory MPs could defect to Mr Farage’s party. More than 80 Tory MPs defied Whips to demand a referendum on Europe during a major Commons rebellion last year.

Another thread I know, and I know it's more political drama and i'm no fan of it either - I much prefer policy. But it's such an important issue with the Eurozone crisis and the fact that the EU now makes well over 50% of our law - it's essentially our (unelected) government.

But as usual with these promises, i'll believe it only when i'm standing in the voting booth ready to vote yes to our independence. Until then, hollow words from a hollow man. And if he thinks i'm going to fall for the "vote me and and i'll give you a referendum" then he has another thing coming.

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Originally Posted by Comment

He'll promise it for AFTER the election, then do a u-turn and not run it and the suckers fall for it every time.

- Stanica, London, 1/7/2012 2:09

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Originally Posted by Comment

Too little too late.....you are finished Cameron!

- UKIP, Only Hope Now, 1/7/2012 2:02

Thoughts on how the political landscape has shifted in the last few years on this?

It will never happen. As it stands and unless there is a really major upset he won't be in power next time around. So like most politicians, they 'defer' it for when they are not in power after the election.

The countries been screwed over once again and Cameron just keeps getting worse.

I don't see this Euro crisis ending any time soon, it certainly won't be resolved in the next few years, I think it's going to drag on for around a decade as more country's are dragged into it and it all continues to get worse. Now is the time to vote on the EU seeing as they'll never be a "perfect" time to vote on it.

A pledge is not good enough, so many of these promises are broken every election and I people are realising that, but evidently Cameron looks at the public as if they are all morons.

It seems unwise for the Government to keep delaying the inevitable. The EU and the Euro will be in constant turmoil for many years to come. It's promised so many times a referendum and it's pushed aside - the fact that people are asking for one shows there must be something seriously wrong with the Euro and the EU in total. Norway and Switzerland are doing surprisingly for countries who haven't bought in to the whole "the EU will make every country better" rhetoric. As an island, we're automatically and naturally shunned, we do not reap any benefits from it and we have a different culture.

The key here is that he's said it will happen IF we vote him in for the next term. Which won't happen. Any party in power over the next few years will be unpopular, simply because the World is in such a poor state at the moment, primarily the economy. The Government in power will always take the blame whoever it happens to be and we'll just keep switching parties in and out of Parliament until the crisis is over. Once things get better again, everyone will thank the Government who is in power at the time and keep them in. Either he's doing this to convince people to vote for him next time, for want of a better word, blackmail, as he knows it's a subject many people feel strongly about, OR he's saying it because he feels he made a mistake in saying we needed a vote and now he's backtracking and saying he'll give us a vote if he's voted in again because he knows it won't happen and he therefore doesn't have to worry about the fact he said we should have a vote in the first place (because for some reason all out Government parties seem to believe we should be part of the EU). I personally think it's the latter. And I think we should leave the EU. I know which way my vote will be going (IF this ever happens; unlikely).