Re: MP's to debate EU referendum
 

Lets see just how in touch with the public MP's are.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011...-uk-withdrawal

Re: MP's to debate EU referendum
 

Looks like i will be voting UKIP from now on.

http://www.ukip.org/

Re: MP's to debate EU referendum
 

Oh, come on! Did anyone really believe that we were ever going to get a referendum?

Seriously?

Re: MP's to debate EU referendum
 

I believe that we should have the right to say if a government is not doing a good job for the people that voted them in, should have right to vote them out after 12 months.

Re: MP's to debate EU referendum
 

We might, but we were never going to get one today. The significance of today is the size of the Tory backbench rebellion.

Re: MP's to debate EU referendum
 

How do you propose that we do that Arthur?

Do you have a large military base in mind that we could ransack? ;)

---------- Post added at 22:36 ---------- Previous post was at 22:35 ----------

I agree Chris, however whilst the snouts are still in the trough so to speak it is never going to happen though imo.

Re: MP's to debate EU referendum
 

Cameron..

"He insisted he remained "firmly committed" to "bringing back more powers" from Brussels"

The man is either a fool or a liar. The whole structure of the treaty denies the 'bringing back of powers'.

I don't believe he's a fool. A puppet maybe but not a fool.

Re: MP's to debate EU referendum
 

An unconfirmed 81 according to the Times. That's over 25% of all Tory MPs. Big ouch if true...

Re: MP's to debate EU referendum
 

I think this one thing more then any other so far has shown cameron to be nothng but a political oppurtunist. When labour didn't give us a referendum as they said they would he couldn't shut up about our right to have one and now when he has the chance to give us one he impose's a three line whip. Whatever happened to "listening to the people", "more open and free government" and "true democracy" they were all things he banged on about at one time or another but now seems more then happy to get the usual bout of amnesia about.

We were never going to get a vote on the matter with or without the whip not least because i think most mp's realised if they gave us one and we voted to leave it wouldn't be long before other countries would demand the same vote. Whole thing stinks to high hell and this is one more nail in any faith i had in this government to actually do any good rather then repeat the past ad infinitum :(.

Re: MP's to debate EU referendum
 

Exactly.

Re: MP's to debate EU referendum
 

Any party when in opposition will take a stance on a variety of topics that are in the public eye at the time and are the opposite of what the present government are pursuing .They promise much and then when in power change their tune.The EU is always one of those issues that an incoming government changes stance on, Tory or Labour.

I do not and never have expected ANY party that said it would have a referendum when it wins an election to actually organise a vote on the EU.

IF they did it would be worded in such a way that we would still end up with a vote to stay in the EU.

Re: MP's to debate EU referendum
 

I'm rather hoping that this issue puts the last nail in the coffin of the duplicitous Liberal Democrats.

They went as far as removing their campaign from their website, the one I linked earlier in this thread, and I've had a bit of a discussion with my own Lib Dem MP, ongoing.

The trouble is they can't remove the printed leaflets, these are a bit less easy to weasel out of with legalese over manifesto wording.

Re: MP's to debate EU referendum
 

I was under the impression that the government was totally against bullying, if that's the case they are hypocrites.

The government told its ministers that if they voted against the government, they would be sacked - bullying tactics.

When l stated that after 12 months, if the government were not doing a good job, they would be voted out.

If l am not wrong, when we start a new job, ain't you on a trial basis. Should be the same for the government.

Re: MP's to debate EU referendum
 

Time to appoint you as the new leader of the country then but only on a trial basis.

Re: MP's to debate EU referendum
 

Standard parliamentary procedure, practiced by all parties. MPs with Government jobs are expected to support the Government line in Parliament. If they can't, or won't, they are expected to relinquish their government job.

No, it shouldn't. We would have a new government every 12 months forever if the were the way it worked. Politicians are prone to short-term thinking as it is. Th last thing we need is parties governing with one eye constantly on the ballot box. They need to be free to take decisions that are in the longer-term good of the country even if they cause short term difficulty or unpopularity.