This I am writing just before the Lib Dem conference gets started in Brighton. Events will take their course, and I do not know where the Lib Dems will end up by next Thursday. But I for one am feeling rattled already.
The Liberal Democrats have never been seriously divided over Europe before. Whilst Labour and the Tories tear themselves apart, the Liberal Democrats have been left sitting pretty, even though the electorate have been largely unsympathetic to our policy. Never mind, we reassure ourselves, the electorate don’t care about Europe anyway. To a large extent that is true, but it would obviously be better if they positively supported our policy.
Now all of a sudden, the most pro-European party may well inadvertently find itself supporting policies that lead the country out of the EU. How did it come to this?
The way in which the Lib Dems choose whether to support referenda or not is certainly something that I find confusing. We could have had a radical coalition in Scotland with the SNP, introducing the Local Income Tax, opposing the replacement of Trident and introducing radical Green taxes.
All that was thrown away because the party did not want a referendum on Scottish independence, which we were told would create uncertainty that would damage the Scottish economy. Now we are told that we support a referendum on whether or not to stay in the EU. What effect on the uncertainty of the outcome would that have on the economy?
Quite a bit more I would have thought!
The reason of course why Ming has upped the stakes on the issue is because of the rebellion brewing over whether the Lib Dems should support a referendum over the new constitution. If the naysayers get their way at conference, Ming may well have to resign.
In the past I have called for Ming to resign, but I do not want him to resign over this issue, nor do I want the party to be seriously divided at this moment in time. I accept that the time to debate the leadership is over and we should focus on the next general election instead. If Ming resigns over this particular issue, his successor will have an almighty mess to clear up.
So in not wanting to be defeated on a debate on a relatively trivial referendum, the whole debate over that becomes obliterated about whether we stay in the EU.
Personally I am a pro-European, I like the policy (up until now) of the party. I am confused by the policy of not supporting a referendum over whether or not we support the changes to the constitution of Europe this time, compared to the previous time when we did. I looked forward to conference where I could get these questions answered. I was minded to support Ming, because I support Europe.
But a small group of bloggers and Lib Dem MPs put a stop to that.
* Geoffrey Payne is secretary of Hackney Liberal Democrats.
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9 Comments
In the past I have called for Ming to resign, but I do not want him to resign over this issue.
We can’t be too fussy.
What is the point on having a stance on an issue only to change it for no good reason? We had a clear policy for calling for a referendum on the EU Constitution and the Reform Treaty is basically the COnstitution slimmed down. Now the U-turn that MIng has done along with his ridiculous call for a referendum on membership has thrown a lifeline to Brown, whilst making his own supporters divided and the voters confused. I have resigned from the party today as I can now longer support it. The Lib-Dems are heading for a slump at the next election unless Ming resigns.
The referendum decision was absolutely right – and I would believe that if there were a vote and the country voted to leave. And I say that as a pro-European LibDem.
That stated, the involvement of every single European state in the EU must be grounded totally in popular consent.
We cannot avoid a vote on the EU simply because we fear the people want to leave. Voters are not little children who need to be looked after by the adult politicians. Europe’s democratic deficit and the feeling of alienation that some people feel towards it are not best conquered by “protecting” them from what some might see as the error of their beliefs.
We’re liberals, for Heaven’s sake. Let us act like liberals.
Well, policy up until now has been a referendum on treaties. We called for a referendum on Maastricht and on the constitution.
We should have been calling for one on the Reform Treaty, Ming messed that up though so has tried to salvage it by calling for a membership treaty.
It may reinvigorate the pro-EU camp – hopefully it will get a debate going on substantial terms, not the yah-boo-sucks, evil right wingers/evil EU ‘debate’ which exists currently.
It might also serve as a great platform for us to call for liberal reform in the EU and how we deal with the EU in the UK. We are pro-EU but much of the way the EU works is at odds with our party philosophy and we do pay lip-service to this fact, but for the most part we keep quiet on the EU.
Stuart – there are those who don’t want a vote on the EU Treaty because they believe it is too complex for the voters to understand. However the majority of people want a vote on the Treaty. So who is treating the voters as children?
Dave – I get the message that you don’t like this policy. Your notion however that Ming is somehow denying the British people a say on Europe by proposing their first real and fundamental say on our membership of the EU for 30+ years is nonsense.
Stuart – where have I claimed “that Ming is somehow denying the British people a say on Europe?” I am saying that he is denying the people a vote on a SPECIFIC issue – the EU Treaty. This policy equates to a U-Turn, does it not?
The Grand Old Duke of York would have better sense of consistency than Ming has shown in the last week.
Well the other two major parties play fast and loose either side of the Scots-English border, it’s nice to see the Lib-Dems join in. Let’s face it folks either side couldn’t care less what each other is doing, as good a reason as any for seperate parliaments is it not?
People want a referendum on the treaty, not on the EU itself. Ming’s policy comes accross as a bit petulant and grumpy.