Stephen Metcalfe, local MP
for South Basildon and East Thurrock, has said that we are one small step
closer to an EU referendum after the European Union (Referendum) Bill passed
its final stage in the House Commons last week.
The Bill, which will now move
to the House of Lords, would guarantee an in-out referendum in 2017 after the
Government have tried to re-negotiate a fresh settlement with the EU that
better serves Britain’s interests.
Labour abstained from voting
in the Bill with Shadow Foreign Secretary, Douglas Alexander MP, stating that
Labour do not think “committing now to an in/out referendum up to four years
from now is in the national interest because the priority must be getting
growth into the economy.”
Mr Metcalfe commented:
“Unlike Labour, we are committed to letting the British people determine our
future in Europe. This is a decision that affects us all and it is therefore
vital that we all have a say.”
“I was delighted to see the
Bill pass through the House of Commons and I am also pleased with progress that
is already being made by this Government in Europe.”
Among other measures, the
Government have already secured the first ever real terms cut in the EU’s
long-term budget; ended UK participation in EU bailout mechanisms; vetoed
a new EU fiscal treaty; and introduced a ‘referendum lock’. The Lock means that
no powers can pass from Britain to Brussels without the consent of the British
people in a referendum.
The local MP added: “I have
every confidence that this Conservative Government will continue to champion
British interests in Europe and I look forward to seeing this Bill enshrined into
the law in the near future.”
