Monday, 24 October 2011
NEWS RELEASE
24 October 2011: Release time immediate
Cross-party campaign group urges party leaders to allow their MPs a free vote on EU Referendum
Imposing a 3-line whip in today's Commons vote on Europe risks alienating millions of British people
With the House of Commons due to debate and vote on a backbench motion this afternoon calling for a referendum on Britain's relationship with the EU, a cross-party Eurosceptic group is warning that the imposition of a 3-line on Conservative, Labour and Liberal Democrat MPs, to force them to vote against the proposal for a referendum, will be seen by the electorate as “arrogant and dictatorial in the extreme” and will lead the way towards “a decisive shift away from the present three-party domination of British politics”.
The Campaign for an Independent Britain (CIB) – which includes Eurosceptic campaigners from across the political spectrum – says that the leaders of the three main parties in Westminster should “call off the whips or face the wrath of voters at the next General Election” which without a political realignment in the meantime could result in “massive political instability and chaos”. CIB believes that the leaders of Tory, LibDem and Labour parties have developed “groupthink” about Europe, and cannot understand why people outside “the Westminster bubble” might actually conceive of a future for Britain outside the EU. The gap between the nation’s political leadership and its citizens has never been wider, says CIB.
CIB spokesman Andy Smith said: “The level of public dissatisfaction with the three big parties is already so great that there was no overall winner in the last General Election and we were landed with a Coalition government which is struggling to bridge the party divide – but the situation next time could be even more confused if millions of voters abandon the main parties in droves and vote for smaller parties or independent candidates. The cry will go up for ‘Anyone but the Big Three!’ – and the Tory, Labour and LibDem leaders will have brought it upon themselves by their decision today.”
He added that David Cameron, David Miliband and Nick Clegg had failed to appreciate the long-term significance of today’s Commons vote, and that by “ganging up” to suppress pro-referendum views within their parties they were showing how “chronically out-of-touch” they had become since last year’s General Election.
“According to the latest opinion polls, over two thirds of British voters want a referendum on our membership of the EU, and a third say they want Britain to leave the EU altogether. Cameron, Milband and Clegg cannot ignore this strength of feeling. If they do not allow their MPs a free vote on the referendum proposal it will massively increase the ‘democratic deficit’ that already exists in this country. By ignoring public opinion and trying to suppress pro-referendum views, the three leaders are sticking two fingers up to the British people. If our political system is to survive at all, we need more democracy, not less.”
CIB has been the main cross-party Eurosceptic organisation since the 1970s and has consistently argued against British membership of the EU. Prominent supporters include Tory MPs Mark Reckless and Philip Hollobone, Labour MP Austin Mitchell, Independent Labour peer Lord Stoddart, UKIP peer Lord Pearson, former Labour MP Nigel Spearing and former Tory MPs Sir Richard Body and Sir Teddy Taylor.
-ENDS
Press contact: Andy Smith, Press Officer, Campaign for an Independent Britain, tel: 07737 271676.
www.eurosceptic.org.uk
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