Why is Cameron running scared of a referendum?
An informative come back in answer to the Daily Mail question from Dave Barnby a constituent of Camerons - as detailed below.
'Who, exactly, is David Cameron so frightened of offending?' Douglas Hurd for one. Hurd lives in Cameron's constituency, was MP here until 1997, and was instrumental in Cameron becoming the candidate for PPC in 2000.
Sean Woodward was put in place after Hurd stood down by Hurd himself. Woodward defected to New Labour in December 1999 over some triviality (bill against promotion of homosexuality).
Hurd spends a lot of time promoting the EU - even now (is / was strong in European Movement).
Hurd was Heath's PPS in the 1970s.
Hurd for all his blabber has a forceful personality and Cameron being weak will bend to Hurd (and no doubt other minders).
I live in Cameron's constituency and know Cameron's personality (he came to my house in 2000 when I was looking to see who to support) .
Cameron will do what he is told. I can tell you some stories of weakness if anyone wants to know.
Cameron will not be allowed to give us a referendum unless his minders allow him to and I can't see them doing that.
To get out of the EU it will need someone to neutralise his minders.
By the way, Cameron worked with Sean Woodward as a researcher on 'That's Life' in his very early career.
I have often wondered whether Woodward's defection was engineered (by Hurd?) to enable Cameron a fast track to where he is today.
I am halfway through writing a short history (10 - 20 pages, I expect) of Witney Constituency.
Did you know that Francis Walsingham, was MP for the constituency as well as being Queen Elizabeth First's spymaster. dave Daily Mail getting stronger on the referendum and the anti-EU arguments
Why is Cameron running scared of a referendum? 08/10/2009 Daily Mail When you think about it, what is vulgarly called 'Europe' - meaning the EU - has been a millstone around the neck of every Tory leader since we first signed up to the so-called Common Market.
Ted Heath would have avoided his relatively narrow defeat in 1974 but for Harold Wilson offering a referendum on membership.
Eurosceptical Margaret Thatcher was ousted by the alliance of Euroenthusiasts Geoffrey Howe and Michael Heseltine. John Major's authority - and very nearly his party leadership - was undermined by his silly battle with the 'bastards' on his own side over the Maastricht Treaty.
The controversy over the Lisbon Treaty is causing headaches for David Cameron and the Tories The decision to join the EU's Exchange Rate Mechanism also destroyed the Tory reputation for economic management. Now we have the old trouble flaring up yet again.
The fact that a majority of the public, and an even larger majority of the party, want a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty makes the leadership's resistance and evasion look all the odder.
However, as usual with anything to do with the EU, the tail always wags the dog.
Who, exactly, is David Cameron so frightened of offending?
One obvious answer is Kenneth Clarke.
But it is hard to see the Shadow Business Secretary walking out of a government or a government-in-waiting, especially when, at 69, this is just about his last chance of office.
Perhaps Cameron fears upsetting that part of the supposed opinion-forming elite that has always been pro-EU. If so, that is a crass political error.
To be attacked for intending to grant the British people a referendum is a vote winner, not a vote loser.
Very well, then, perhaps Cameron does not want to cause a great row with other EU governments. Yet he has promised that, come what may, he will be tough with Brussels and demand the recovery of some of the powers that Britain has lost. So while he may be prepared to have rows, it seems he isn't prepared to have a really big one.
You have to wonder about Cameron's experience in serious negotiations.
It may be that his life has been too comfortable.
Every normal home-owner who has had to fight hard for the property he wants, with limited resources, knows that you get nowhere in negotiations unless you are prepared to walk away.
A Tory Government, if it wants concessions from the EU, must be prepared to walk away. In this context, that means renouncing the whole Lisbon Treaty and its extension of EU powers, even though Labour has already signed it.
There would be no better way of making the EU ready to accept other, and overdue, British demands for concessions - apart, that is, from threatening to leave the EU altogether.
You can see the convenience of having the Czechs make a last stand, which could lead to a referendum on a treaty not yet in effect. If Cameron and his senior colleagues are too frightened of promising a referendum come what may, you have to doubt his credentials as a tough leader for a country in a crisis.
But all is not lost for the referendum cause. It would obviously be rash to set up Boris Johnson as a rival.
There is also the problem of UKIP. Its intervention could cost Cameron a significant number of seats.
It will need to be appeased or sidelined. A firm referendum promise might do the trick.
Compared to balancing the Budget, this is the easy one.
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