Cameron should consider offering a twin-track EU negotiation

A big problem with the coming European Union referendum is that voters won’t know what voting ‘leave’ means. If we do decide to quit, it will be a leap in the dark that could cause huge damage to the country. There is, therefore, a strong democratic case for spelling out the terms of our departure before it becomes final.

The best way of achieving this would be for David Cameron to launch a double negotiation. As well as trying to improve the terms of our membership – the focus of his current talks with the EU – he would clarify our potential divorce deal. The voters would then get to compare two clear options and choose the one they prefer. If something like this had been done with Scotland, we wouldn’t still be wrangling over the Scottish issue.

Such a twin-track negotiation would be an alternative to the ‘double referendum’ that some Eurosceptics have been pushing but which Cameron has now scotched.