Labour leader says party will only hold referendum if government wants to sanction power transfer to Brussels
Ed Miliband will aim to sharpen Labour's approach to the European Union by saying the party will go into the next election promising an in/out referendum, but only if a government he leads wants to sanction a transfer of power to Brussels.
The shift, agreed by the shadow cabinet, is designed to prevent Labour being portrayed as the anti-referendum party in the European elections in May at a time when hostility to Brussels is gaining public traction. But despite the promise, party sources do not believe that the transfer of power that would trigger the proposed in/out referendum will actually occur.
Miliband, writing in the Financial Times, says: "It is unlikely there will be any such proposal in the next parliament."
In a speech on Wednesday, Miliband will acknowledge there is public concern about a ratchet effect in which powers are transferred to Brussels, symbolised by the European treaty commitment to "an ever closer union". Until now, Labour has advocated holding an EU referendum on the proposed specific transfer of power to Brussels, but not on the wider principle of UK's continued membership. Miliband's move will be the first time Labour has held out the prospect of an in/out referendum since Harold Wilson held the poll in 1975, although Labour proposed total withdrawal in the 1983 election campaign.
"This is a clearer and stronger lock for the British people", said one shadow cabinet source. "It should reassure people they will get their say. We are setting out the terms on which there would be a referendum in the national interest and not in the Conservative party interest. If there is a transfer of power, that will require full democratic consent for Britain's continued membership".
The Labour leader will also set out a reform agenda for the EU, but say that programme is not best achieved by setting an artificial timetable. Miliband argues that his commitment to an in-out referendum would require primary legislation after the election of a Labour government, but he will also say he does not currently foresee circumstances in which such a transfer of power would occur. A shadow cabinet member added: "No such proposal for a transfer of power is on the table at the moment. It is unlikely but possible."
The revised policy has been pressed on Miliband for months by many senior shadow cabinet members including the shadow chancellor, Ed Balls, health secretary Andy Burnham and the policy review co-ordinator Jon Cruddas. Some are frustrated that the change has come relatively late.
Some shadow cabinet sources said would have preferred an absolute Labour commitment to an in/out referendum, but that would have left Miliband exposed to the charge hurled at the Tories that he was leaving an open question mark over Britain's continued membership of the EU, and so putting a blight on future inward business investment in the UK. The shift could also leave Labour exposed to the charge that it has blinked when faced by a possible Ukip surge, when the party previously said that any growth in support for Ukip had little to do with Europe.
It also takes Labour's European policy closer to the stance of the Liberal Democrats, who have also supported a full in/out referendum if there is any proposed transfer of power. Nick Clegg, unlike Miliband, has suggested the transfer of power will be sought by Britain's EU's partners saying it is a matter of when, not if, there is a sovereignty transfer.
The referendum, Miliband will say, would be triggered by any transfer of power specified in the European Union Act 2011 passed by the coalition parties. That Act sets out not just a transfer as part of a wider treaty change, but also in respect of some specific transfers of competency. Both the Dutch and French key players in any talks on the future of the European Union are opposed to full scale treaty change, but the Germans have said there may be a case for surgical treaty change underpinning new Euro governance arrangements.
Miliband also believes Cameron has been politically foolish to set a deadline of 2017 for the referendum, and by implication is promising that by that date he will have renegotiated the terms of British membership of the EU. Reported by guardian.co.uk 2 hours ago.
Ed Miliband will aim to sharpen Labour's approach to the European Union by saying the party will go into the next election promising an in/out referendum, but only if a government he leads wants to sanction a transfer of power to Brussels.
The shift, agreed by the shadow cabinet, is designed to prevent Labour being portrayed as the anti-referendum party in the European elections in May at a time when hostility to Brussels is gaining public traction. But despite the promise, party sources do not believe that the transfer of power that would trigger the proposed in/out referendum will actually occur.
Miliband, writing in the Financial Times, says: "It is unlikely there will be any such proposal in the next parliament."
In a speech on Wednesday, Miliband will acknowledge there is public concern about a ratchet effect in which powers are transferred to Brussels, symbolised by the European treaty commitment to "an ever closer union". Until now, Labour has advocated holding an EU referendum on the proposed specific transfer of power to Brussels, but not on the wider principle of UK's continued membership. Miliband's move will be the first time Labour has held out the prospect of an in/out referendum since Harold Wilson held the poll in 1975, although Labour proposed total withdrawal in the 1983 election campaign.
"This is a clearer and stronger lock for the British people", said one shadow cabinet source. "It should reassure people they will get their say. We are setting out the terms on which there would be a referendum in the national interest and not in the Conservative party interest. If there is a transfer of power, that will require full democratic consent for Britain's continued membership".
The Labour leader will also set out a reform agenda for the EU, but say that programme is not best achieved by setting an artificial timetable. Miliband argues that his commitment to an in-out referendum would require primary legislation after the election of a Labour government, but he will also say he does not currently foresee circumstances in which such a transfer of power would occur. A shadow cabinet member added: "No such proposal for a transfer of power is on the table at the moment. It is unlikely but possible."
The revised policy has been pressed on Miliband for months by many senior shadow cabinet members including the shadow chancellor, Ed Balls, health secretary Andy Burnham and the policy review co-ordinator Jon Cruddas. Some are frustrated that the change has come relatively late.
Some shadow cabinet sources said would have preferred an absolute Labour commitment to an in/out referendum, but that would have left Miliband exposed to the charge hurled at the Tories that he was leaving an open question mark over Britain's continued membership of the EU, and so putting a blight on future inward business investment in the UK. The shift could also leave Labour exposed to the charge that it has blinked when faced by a possible Ukip surge, when the party previously said that any growth in support for Ukip had little to do with Europe.
It also takes Labour's European policy closer to the stance of the Liberal Democrats, who have also supported a full in/out referendum if there is any proposed transfer of power. Nick Clegg, unlike Miliband, has suggested the transfer of power will be sought by Britain's EU's partners saying it is a matter of when, not if, there is a sovereignty transfer.
The referendum, Miliband will say, would be triggered by any transfer of power specified in the European Union Act 2011 passed by the coalition parties. That Act sets out not just a transfer as part of a wider treaty change, but also in respect of some specific transfers of competency. Both the Dutch and French key players in any talks on the future of the European Union are opposed to full scale treaty change, but the Germans have said there may be a case for surgical treaty change underpinning new Euro governance arrangements.
Miliband also believes Cameron has been politically foolish to set a deadline of 2017 for the referendum, and by implication is promising that by that date he will have renegotiated the terms of British membership of the EU. Reported by guardian.co.uk 2 hours ago.