European Convention

The European Convention taking place at the moment is important in modernising the structure and decision making process within the EU.

I previously worked as a European Officer at Leicestershire County Council and know only too well from first hand experience the difficulties of the decision making process with only 15 Member States! I fully back the accession of a further 10 applicant countries and therefore support the need to modernise the structure to cope with this.

Some have called for a referendum on this issue as though the convention is proposing a new European super state with a European constitution that overrides our own democracy. I fear this is where the Eurosceptics have let themselves down over the years. They have tried to make every decision made in Europe somehow an attack on our very way of life. They have cried wolf too often.

I do not support a referendum for a number of reasons. Primarily because by convention we support the principle that we live in a parliamentary democracy where Parliament scrutinises these matters. I don't recall the Tories demanding a referendum on Maastricht or the Single European Act. I believe referendum should be used for questions of major constitutional change and questions of sovereignty. I cannot see anything in the Convention proposals which warrant such a fundamental change in this attitude.

I fully support a referendum on something as important as the Euro but not this issue.