Europe, in or out? Let’s have the debate

One of the most enjoyable events of the election so far has been the ‘Question Time’ arranged at Banbury School by one of the sixth formers: well chaired, with a packed room, it also drew some of the sharpest questions to date.

One of the things that struck me during it was the number of young people in the room who were opposed to the European Union. They are, of course, not alone — I know there is suspicion and concern among other residents of North Oxfordshire. In that situation, I must say, the response from the two old parties that ‘it’s to our benefit to be in the EU’ might be true but it is certainly not enough.

Our political system has failed us in so many ways and this is certainly one of them: politicians have been too frightened to talk about ‘Europe’ so they have stifled any debate on the issue. I remember previous elections when the LibDems tried to push the issue onto the agenda but Labour and the Conservatives both ran a mile. Hopefully, finally, as our political world changes, they can’t hide any more.

We really do need to have a fundamental debate about our position in Europe. The issue is so important that it deserves a campaign of its own: an honest referendum on whether we stay in the European Union or get out — anything less would be dishonest. A vote on this or that treaty, a work of prose so leaden, so lengthy and so dull that very few would actually read it, would not get to the heart of the matter.

From what I hear from the young voters at Banbury School and elsewhere is that they do want that fundamental debate. If so, there are only two parties that will give them what they want: UKIP or the LibDems.

Of course, make no mistake: when we LibDems have enough seats and high enough share of the vote to force a referendum on the political establishment as part of the change to our politics, I will be on the other side of the debate from UKIP. As will be clear to those of you who have read other pages of this site, I will be arguing strongly that we should be reforming the EU to our advantage from the inside. Others, like UKIP, will call for withdrawal. The battle lines will then be drawn — but for now, getting a referendum is where the battle is.

The European Union is far from perfect — far too bureaucratic, far too little democracy. But it is made worse by a political élite that has failed to let us have the open discussion of the issue that we deserve. We can’t deny the geographical and cultural reality of our European identity, but we can and should have the opportunity to decide how we want to express that in the twenty-first century.