I am exhausted after another night’s canvassing for my former agent John Mackie who is standing for Dover District Council. But I think I still have the mental energy to write.
Good people have warned that this post may ruin my chances of coming first or second in the South East European Selection. I believe those people are mistaken. Even if they are right, I have such strong feelings that I am obliged to speak out.
In my judgement, Ming is wrong to dismiss calls for a referendum on the proposed European Treaty.
I am not a Lib Dem with an anti-establishment, anti-party leadership mentality. If anything, the contrary has more often been put to me.
The treaty should be approved. Most of its content is welcome. But there should be a public decision about it.
There should be a referendum because the treaty has important consequences for the distribution of power in and between this country and all of Europe. That cannot be denied of a legal instrument to make a person rather than a member state President of the Council, to create a de facto European foreign ministry, and abolishes some member state vetoes. It gives the ECJ entirely new jurisdiction over immigration and Home Office type areas of law.
All of these are welcome but their significance is undeniable. If we think that re-organisation of local and regional governmnet should be based on referenda (see Policy Paper 79 in the papers for conference) then how can we dismiss one here?
Opposing a referendum is inconsistent with our position on the previous Consitutional Treaty and on Maastricht, which established the single market on 1 January 1993. I joined the party during the Paddy Ashdown era and I was impressed by Paddy’s leadership over Maastricht. He said it would be a deception on the British people for the treaty to be ratified without debate and a referendum. It seems to me the present treaty has comparable importance.
We can win this referendum. We can take to the people the arguments for a reform treaty and for Europe generally and I have total confidence that the British people will understand and give their endorsement.
Otherwise we risk the resentment of people who will have to live with the effects of the Treaty but were never consulted at any election or at any time at all about it.
I do not lightly disagree with Ming, who I believe is best qualified man to be Britain’s next Prime Minister. But looking at where we are heading and what we want to accomplish for Britain as a part of Europe, I think Liberal Democrats must support a referendum.
There’s a lot at stake. I had to come out and say this, whatever the effect may be on my campaign to represent South East England in the European Parliament.
I still intend to win the Selection and I also intend that we will win a referendum.
