I received the following broadcast email from my local Conservative MP, Sir Alan Haselhurst, this afternoon. My reply, which can also be found below, included reference to the above cartoon in yesterday’s Observer.

 Sir Alan Haselhurst’s Referendum Message

‘The next Conservative Manifesto in 2015 will ask for a mandate from the British people for a Conservative government to negotiate a new settlement with our European partners in the next Parliament. It will be a relationship with the single market at its heart. And when we have negotiated that new settlement, we will give the British people a referendum with a very simple in or out choice. To stay in the EU on these new terms; or come out altogether. It will be an in/out referendum.’  (David Cameron – 23rd January 2013)

The question about the UK’s relationship with the European Union has
been an issue at the forefront of British politics for the past
couple of decades. The EU is an entirely different type of organisation to the
one that was in existence when the UK signed up to the European Economic
Community (EEC) in 1973.

The ongoing economic crisis in the EU and specifically within the single
currency has caused some in this country to question whether we would be better
off leaving the EU and ‘going it alone’.

Last week, in his much anticipated speech, the Prime Minister outlined his
views on the EU and how vital it is to the United Kingdom.

The EU is met with hostility by some in this country partly due to a lack
of understanding of what happens in the European Parliament and other EU
bodies.

This fact is exasperated with newspaper stories about how the EU, or as some
put it, ‘Brussels’, dictates that some fruit can be sold whilst others have to
be thrown away because they are not straight or round enough, how the Pint
as a measurement is under threat and how we face the ‘influx’ of immigrants
from other EU countries – it is understandable that people feel a sense of
disillusionment with it.

It is with this in mind that David Cameron wants to renegotiate a better
settlement for Britain in the EU and have a fresh mandate from the British
people.

With a new settlement, the Prime Minister is seeking for it to be ‘rigorously focussed on what matters to the peoples of Europe: competitiveness, flexibility and fairness for all Member States, whether inside the Eurozone or out of it; more respect for national democracies; and crucially, this new settlement must make clear that powers should be able to flow back to the Member States, not just away from them’.

David Cameron has pledged that the Conservative Party Manifesto for
the 2015 General Election will include the promise of an In/Out referendum in
the next Parliament after renegotiations with the EU.

Whilst the focus is on the fact that ultimately an In/Out referendum could be
held, the next major step is to hold talks with other EU Member States about
how the EU progresses forward and whether this is in our best interests.

I will be campaigning for the UK to remain in the European Union.

In the 60 years since the creation of a European institution, the work carried
out by this body has ultimately completed what it was set up to do –
prevent war in Europe. Recent generations have taken for granted the fact that
they are not expected to be called up and fight on the battlefields of Europe
for their country. This was not the case prior to my generation.

Since then, the EU has evolved into other areas with the aim of becoming ‘an
ever closer union’.

The most vital policy area is the creation of the single market, the size of
which is crucial to UK business and industry. This allows barriers
and tariffs to be removed when buying and selling goods and as a result of
this, the UK completes about 50% of its trade with other EU countries.

To leave the EU would be to put in jeopardy the trade network we
currently have. A major drawback would be the additional costs associated
with being an outside state. People point to countries such as Norway and
Switzerland which are outside the EU but still have the trading benefits
of a Member State, as an example that we could still trade without being in the
EU. The problem with this argument is that it has taken years if not decades
for those countries to be in that position. This could not be completed
overnight.

David Cameron spoke about the different type of relationship we have with
the rest of Europe because we are an island nation. Being an island
nation makes us independently minded. If we were outside the EU, we could
no longer sit at the table when new legislation was being drafted. If new trade
laws were introduced, we would have to accept them without negotiation if
we wished to continue trading. I would rather the UK be on the bridge of
the ship rather than a mere passenger.

There are of course aspects of the European Union jurisdiction which
are not perfect and some which we would like to re-examine.

This will be the next step forward and once the talks have been completed, then
and only then, will there be a referendum if a Conservative Government is
returned in 2015.

The EU can be an emotive subject and there are calls for the referendum to be
brought forward.

Now is not the time to hold an In/Out referendum. Time has to be given for the
Prime Minister to negotiate a possible new treaty and for that to be put to the
public. It is important that everybody is aware of all the facts rather than
the headline-grabbing and sometimes emotional aspects of our relationship
with the EU.

For the next few years, the UK-EU relationship will continue to be high on the
agenda and I hope that people have a full and frank discussion before making
their final decision.

Cllr Alan Dean’s Response

Dear Alan

I am grateful for your sharing with me these views on the proposed EU referendum.

I recognize some of the myths about the EU that you include in this paragraph: “This fact is exasperated with newspaper stories about how the EU, or as some put it, ‘Brussels’, dictates that some fruit can be sold whilst others have to be thrown away because they are not straight or round enough, how the Pint as a measurement is under threat and how we face the ‘influx’ of immigrants from other EU countries – it is understandable that people feel a sense of disillusionment with it.”

I would suggest that the way to deal with this is to provide leadership from the top of government to explain realities rather than succumb to those who peddle them. They will not stop. I do not think that a referendum is the answer. To timetable one so far ahead and on an unknown question about an ill-defined renegotiation seems to me to be somewhat reckless. I feel that the Conservative Party ought to have something better to offer the country and Europe at this uncertain time than even greater uncertainty. Chris Riddle’s View in yesterday’s Observer – which I have attached -perhaps sums up the risks to the Conservative Party.

Of course, if the Conservative Party is not in a position to try to deliver on its commitment after May 2015, the matter will be academic. I will back those who propose evolutionary and consensual negotiation of change within the EU with its partners, rather than those who put a gun to their own head and threaten to shoot themselves if no one will accede to their demands.

Kind Regards, Alan