Davis would have referendum on Europe
David Davis today promised to hold a referendum on returning all powers to Britain from the European Union if he became prime minister.
The Tory leadership hopeful put the restoration of national sovereignty at the heart of his campaign to succeed Michael Howard, calling for an ‘open Europe’ in which all member states could call for their powers to be returned from Brussels.
Such a policy would inevitably require some complex negotiations with European states, Mr Davis said, but he promised that the end result would be put to the public in another referendum.
Gaining support for these proposals would then give the British government “the authority to look the European Commission in the eye” and take back control over asylum and immigration, fishing and social policy, he said.
“I would like to see us more bold than we were in the last election. We talked about taking powers back. I want to see an ‘open Europe’ where all powers can be brought back to all countries,” the shadow home secretary told The Sun.
“In many ways we would have a new and better relationship with Europe. We would not be squabbling with France and Germany because we would all have control over our own destinies.”
The issue of Europe has long split the Conservatives, and despite his right-wing credentials, Mr Davis does not advocate pulling out of the EU altogether – he believes efforts to restore national sovereignty would be enough to win back Tory voters.
His rival for the Tory leadership, David Cameron, has in many ways gone further by advocating the Conservatives’ withdrawal from the European People’s Party (EPP) – the main right-wing group in the EU parliament – and call for them to set up a new group of their own.
However, this has caused some consternation within the party, with one Tory MEP describing the proposals to create a new ‘Atlanticist’, free trade splinter group as being in “cloud-cuckoo land”.
Critics argue that this would leave the Tories marginalised in Europe – their associate membership of the EPP allows them the influence accorded to a large group without forcing them to diverge in any way from the Conservative party manifesto.
Robert Atkins, MEP for the north-west and deputy leader of the party in Europe, wrote to constituents earlier this week saying: “The advantages of this arrangement far outweigh the disadvantages.
“As 27 MEPs sitting alone, we would be unlikely to have any real influence in debate and discussions and would be in unsullied but futile isolation.”
In addition, Cameron-supporter Phillip Bushill-Matthews, the MEP for the West Midlands, issued a press release urging the shadow education secretary “not to create new splits over Europe when he should be uniting our party to replace the present government”.
