Tuesday, May 14, 2013

14 May 2013 Last updated at 03:56 ET

Tories to publish details of draft EU referendum bill

David Cameron: "Is it in our interests to reform the European Union? Yes, it is"

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The Conservatives are to publish a draft parliamentary bill to legislate for an in-out referendum on Britain's membership of the European Union to be held by the end of 2017.
The move is an attempt to show David Cameron is serious about a referendum pledge he made earlier this year.
It comes amid growing ructions among Conservatives over Europe.
But the move has been criticised by the Lib Dems and Labour, while one Tory MP said the "ploy could fail".
Foreign Secretary William Hague told the BBC that the promise of a draft bill was a "demonstration of our commitment to a referendum".
The prime minister has pledged to renegotiate the UK's relations with the EU and then hold an in-out referendum before the end of 2017 if the Conservatives win the next election.
But many of his MPs want a vote sooner or, at the very least, a bill committing to a referendum put before Parliament.

Analysis

image of Robin BrantRobin BrantPolitical correspondent, BBC News
David Cameron's move is designed to do two things. First, to placate Conservatives on his own side who are planning to express their displeasure at him for not going further on a referendum. Second, to force the Liberal Democrats - and more importantly Labour - to come out and declare where they stand on a vote.
On the first it does not appear to have worked. Tory MP John Baron has led the calls for more than just a prime ministerial pledge to hold a vote by 2017 - he wants a law. But he is not impressed. He said publishing a draft bill was "not good enough", then urged Tory rebels to stick to their plan and vote against the Queen's Speech on Wednesday.
David Cameron does have a longer-term aim here - the second point. This proposal may have little chance of becoming law but it could force Ed Miliband to take a long hard look at his policy on a referendum. Labour is currently against a pledge to back one now, saying it is more than four years off.
But the prospect of being the party which comes out against a national vote, against the first expression of national will on Europe in almost 40 years, is something that some in the opposition believe would be deeply unpopular.
MPs are seeking to force a vote on the issue - in an amendment expressing their regret that there was no mention of a future referendum in the Queen's Speech - on Wednesday.
Up to 70 MPs, including a number of Conservative ministerial aides, have said they will support the move.
But in an attempt to dissuade them, draft legislation on a referendum is expected to be published by the Conservatives, with the idea that it could be brought to the Commons for debate by a Tory backbencher in the form of a "private member's bill".
The ballot to choose which MPs can bring forward private members' bills will be held on Thursday and, although such bills have little chance of becoming law, there is non-government parliamentary time available for them to be debated.
The BBC's political editor Nick Robinson said the Conservatives were pursuing this route because they assume that their Liberal Democrat coalition partners would block any move by the government to allow MPs to debate an EU referendum in government time.
Speaking on Monday, Mr Cameron - who is on a trip to the US - said it was in the "national interest" to renegotiate the UK's relationship with EU before holding a referendum.
However, having one now would provide a "false choice" between the status quo and an immediate exit, he said.
Nevertheless, two senior cabinet ministers have said publicly they would vote to quit the EU if a poll was held straight away.
Speaking on BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Foreign Secretary William Hague refused to say how he would vote in a referendum, but declared himself "certainly a Eurosceptic".
He added: "The best thing to do is to try to get some legislation through. That's why we are publishing this draft bill."
'Seize the moment'
Tory MP John Baron, a Eurosceptic, said any draft bill could get "bogged down by a determined minority" and fail.
Instead Mr Cameron should have the "courage" to support the Queen's Speech amendment, which would "force Labour and the liberals to decide" their position on the EU.
"If we won, the prime minister would then have the mandate to introduce legislation through the normal channels which would have a far better chance of success," Mr Baron told Today.
"The prime minister should seize the moment presented by our amendment. He can legitimately claim to the liberals that the situation was not of his making and therefore not within the confines of coalition agreement."
John Baron MP: "That is a ploy that could well fail"
More pro-European Tories have warned against a "kneejerk reaction" and said there must be an orderly process leading up to any vote over the UK's future in the EU.
Labour says committing to hold a referendum in four years' time makes no sense and creates uncertainty at a time when securing economic recovery should be the government's priority.
"This seems to be just the latest panicked response from the prime minister who is now following, rather than leading, his backbenchers," said shadow foreign secretary Douglas Alexander.
The Lib Dems said the government had already legislated to seek public approval before any further powers were handed to Brussels, and having a referendum "in response to nothing" was self-defeating and a distraction.
Party president Tim Farron said the Conservatives' strategy was "in chaos".
The UK Independence Party - which campaigns for a UK exit - has raised the possibility of Conservative and Labour candidates who favour withdrawal standing under a joint banner with UKIP at the next election.
Leader Nigel Farage described the proposed draft bill as "nothing more than gesture politics".                                BBC
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