Shadow foreign secretary says economy rather than EU referendum will be main focus of 2015 campaign
Europe, and Labour's unwillingness to offer voters an in/out referendum, will not be the major issue at the next general election, Douglas Alexander, the shadow foreign secretary, has said.
In an implied rebuke to Ed Balls, the shadow chancellor, Alexander said the economy would be the key election issue in 2015, not Britain's membership of the European Union.
Labour figures are divided on the merits of a referendum and the party has settled on a compromise position, not supporting one now but refusing to rule out backing one at some point in the future.
Last week Balls broke ranks by saying the party would be "pretty stupid" if it allowed itself to be perceived as the "anti-referendum party" on Europe. He said the fact that Labour had not absolutely ruled out a referendum reassured him that this was not the case.
In an interview with the Guardian, Alexander suggested he was not worried about Labour's referendum stance damaging the party in an election campaign because he did not think Europe would be the main issue.
"My judgment is the central, defining issue of the next election is not going to be Europe," he said. "It is going to be the economy. And it's my sense that, given the failure of the Conservatives to deliver growth and rising prosperity for people across the United Kingdom, that will continue to be the dominant issue."
Asked whether it was probable that Labour would go into the 2015 election campaign still not offering a referendum, Alexander replied: "The party that shifted its position was the Conservative party. They came through the division lobby with us in November 2011 [to vote against an in/out referendum]."
Alexander said Labour should not be preoccupied with trying to win the support of the Eurosceptic press. "Of course politicians would prefer to go into a general election with the support of newspapers. But they can't be the compass by which you navigate what you judge is the right policy for the country," he said.
"If you talk to most people under 30, they don't read a newspaper. And the facts are that newspaper readership is falling rather than rising." Reported by guardian.co.uk 2 days ago.
Europe, and Labour's unwillingness to offer voters an in/out referendum, will not be the major issue at the next general election, Douglas Alexander, the shadow foreign secretary, has said.
In an implied rebuke to Ed Balls, the shadow chancellor, Alexander said the economy would be the key election issue in 2015, not Britain's membership of the European Union.
Labour figures are divided on the merits of a referendum and the party has settled on a compromise position, not supporting one now but refusing to rule out backing one at some point in the future.
Last week Balls broke ranks by saying the party would be "pretty stupid" if it allowed itself to be perceived as the "anti-referendum party" on Europe. He said the fact that Labour had not absolutely ruled out a referendum reassured him that this was not the case.
In an interview with the Guardian, Alexander suggested he was not worried about Labour's referendum stance damaging the party in an election campaign because he did not think Europe would be the main issue.
"My judgment is the central, defining issue of the next election is not going to be Europe," he said. "It is going to be the economy. And it's my sense that, given the failure of the Conservatives to deliver growth and rising prosperity for people across the United Kingdom, that will continue to be the dominant issue."
Asked whether it was probable that Labour would go into the 2015 election campaign still not offering a referendum, Alexander replied: "The party that shifted its position was the Conservative party. They came through the division lobby with us in November 2011 [to vote against an in/out referendum]."
Alexander said Labour should not be preoccupied with trying to win the support of the Eurosceptic press. "Of course politicians would prefer to go into a general election with the support of newspapers. But they can't be the compass by which you navigate what you judge is the right policy for the country," he said.
"If you talk to most people under 30, they don't read a newspaper. And the facts are that newspaper readership is falling rather than rising." Reported by guardian.co.uk 2 days ago.