Three months after it was sent, the Prime Minister has replied to a letter signed by over 100 backbench Conservative MPs calling for legislation in this parliament for an EU referendum in the next.
John Baron, who co-ordinated the letter, is not releasing David Cameron’s response as the original message was private, too. But I’ve managed to get my hands on a copy from elsewhere, and here are some of the key points Cameron makes:
‘As we discussed, I do believe it would be wrong to rule out any type of referendum for the future. However, I am concerned that making a legal commitment now to hold a referendum in the next Parliament without setting the exact referendum question would not be a workable, nor a sustainable, position.’
But the Prime Minister adds that he believes that ‘as a fresh deal in Europe becomes clear, that is the time when we should consider how best to get the fresh consent of the British people’, and also says he understands ‘the depth of feeling’ among many MPs and that he does ‘share many of your frustrations’ on the matter.
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