This is Staffordshire --IN my three years in Parliament, I have never ceased to be amazed at the extraordinary way in which we carry out our business.
Recently, a Conservative backbench colleague, James Wharton – the MP for Stockton South – spoke in favour of his Private Member's Bill to have a referendum by the end of December, 2017, on whether the UK should leave or remain in the European Union.
Here was a subject which has been of importance for the past four decades to all of the major parties, from the Labour Party's pledge to withdraw from the European Economic Community in their 1983 manifesto, and the Liberal Democrat's pledge of a referendum at the 2010 election, to the Conservatives' recent decision to commit to an in/out vote.
So why was it left to James Wharton – in, by the way, one of the best speeches I have heard in Parliament – to put the case with cabinet and shadow cabinet ministers listening? Because, in a Coalition Government, both parties have to agree on legislation; and the Liberal Democrats declined to support a Bill.
So the only route open was by a Private Member's Bill. There are only 20 of these Bills permitted every year and MPs' names enter a ballot to see who will be the fortunate ones. (My record so far is zero in three ballots). James Wharton came first in the ballot and made a referendum the subject of his Bill.
So one of the – potentially – most significant pieces of legislation in a decade or more, which the Government of the United Kingdom could not bring forward, has instead passed its Second Reading thanks to a backbencher. Some would argue that this shows a dysfunctional system. I disagree. It shows that Parliament can do things which Government is unable or unwilling to.
I have long advocated such a referendum and so I was pleased to be able to vote in favour of it. It is time that the hugely important question of our membership of the European Union, a very different organisation to that which we joined in 1973, is fully debated and decided.
Personally I believe that the UK needs to engage fully with Europe and the rest of the world. To succeed internationally, we must both work with our closest neighbours and reach well beyond the EU's borders.
But for the EU to be successful, it will need to reform itself. It will have to get used to the idea that not all states will join the euro. At the moment, non-membership of the euro is seen as a mistake which will be remedied when countries like the UK 'come to their senses'. Recent history has shown how wrong and complacent that attitude has been.
If we had joined the euro, stripping ourselves of the power to manage our own currency, the UK would have been forced to go for bailouts to the IMF and the ECB in the same way as Ireland, Greece and Portugal.
So the EU will need to become more flexible. Recent sensible progress, led by the UK, in reforming the Common Fisheries Policy is a start and shows what can be done by patient negotiation and hard work by UK ministers.
What will the debate be when we approach an in/out referendum in 2017?
Those against point to the cost of being in the EU, loss of sovereignty and the fact that the free movement of labour within the EU has resulted in hundreds of thousands of people moving to the UK for work, putting pressure on housing and social services.
Supporters of remaining part of a reformed EU will argue that it is vital for the UK to be a major part of the most important economic bloc in the world, which accounts for at least 45 per cent of our trade and which is a major reason why so many of the world's businesses choose to make the UK their European or even global centre. That alone is worth the cost.
There is not the space here to explore these arguments in depth. Suffice it to say that it will be a vital debate, the most important for our country's future in many decades. It must be carried out based on facts and a proper assessment of the UK's national interest, not on myths nor on a patronising belief by politicians that they know best.
I very much hope that we are able to reach a solution within Europe which is in our national interest and which will win the approval of the British people.
The EU referendum will, most importantly, show the Parliamentary system at its best. A truly democratic process enabling individual MPs, and eventually all the British people, to have their say. Reported by This is 13 hours ago.