Nick Clegg had a rough ride on the Today programme this morning after presenter Justin Webb reminded him of a Liberal Democrat election leaflet calling for an in/out referendum on the EU. Clegg is now oppposed to a vote on EU membership but not long ago he was calling for a “real referendum” and attacking Labour and the Tories for not doing the same.
The leaflet in question declared:
It’s been over thirty years since the British people last had a vote on Britain’s membership of the European Union.
That’s why the Liberal Democrats want a real referendum on Europe. Only a real referendum on Britain’s membership of the EU will let the people decide our country’s future.
But Labour don’t want the people to have their say.
The Conservatives only support a limited referendum on the Lisbon Treaty. Why won’t they give the people a say in a real referendum?
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Asked why he no longer supported an early referendum, a tetchy Clegg pointed out that his party’s election manifesto stated that an in/out referendum should only be held “the next time a British government signs up for fundamental change in the relationship between the UK and the EU.”
But as you’ll have seen, the leaflet was less specific, simply calling for a “real referendum” and not tying this pledge to a treaty change. Indeed, it criticised the Tories for only supporting “a limited referendum on the Lisbon Treaty.”
As in the case of tuition fees, it’s another example of a populist campaign promise that Clegg couldn’t live up to. Whether eurosceptic or europhile, British voters are likely to agree on one thing: you can’t trust the Lib Dems.
The leaflet row aside, most of the interview was devoted to Clegg denouncing those who argue that Britain should seek to repatriate powers from the EU. “I don’t agree with the premise that we can on our own, unilaterally, simply rewrite the terms of the membership of this European club,” he said. He went on to warn that the uncertainty created by a referendum pledge could have a “chilling effect on growth and jobs”. Rather than vowing to bring back powers from Brussels, Clegg suggested that the government should wait to see whether a new treaty emerges and whether it impacts on Britain (something that would trigger a public vote under the coalition’s “referendum lock“).
Intriguingly, however, he suggested that the distance between himself and David Cameron was smaller than thought because Cameron’s plan to renegotiate British membership was linked to a future treaty change. Thus, if there is no treaty change (as may well prove to be the case), there will be no renegotiation and no repatriation of powers. This is a point that Tory MPs will want reassurance on when Cameron delivers his speech on Friday.
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