Some of my fellow Eurosceptics became quite excited this week when George Osborne spoke openly about the possibility of an EU referendum.
In an interview on Radio 4’s Today programme, he said the Government will go to the people if there is any further transfer of power to the EU.
But this was hardly evidence that the Chancellor has become a committed Eurosceptic. The Parliamentary Sovereignty Act, passed last year, means the Government is legally obliged to do that, whether it wants to or not.
And far from being the In/Out referendum that the Eurosceptics are calling for, this would only be a vote on whether to grant any new powers to the EU.
A “no” vote wouldn’t mean we clawed back any of the powers we’ve already given up. It would just mean a continuation of the status quo.
Which begs the question, what was the Chancellor up to? Why did he present this as a concession to the Eurosceptic cause? (To read more, click here.)
