Lib Dems not inclined to support a referendum

One of the key things to watch in the European referendum debate is the position of the Liberal Democrats; their support for a vote last time round was crucial to the government conceding one. Ming Campbell, however, seems unlikely to repeat the call. Speaking on the Westminster Hour this evening, he said that having compared the guidelines that the IGC has been given with the original constitution he’d concluded that it was “much less likely” that a referendum would be needed this time out. He did, however, hedge this with the line that he couldn’t confirm anything until he’d seen the final text. He also implied that if there was line by line scrutiny in Parliament that would make a referendum unnecessary. Overall, his “inclination is that a referendum will not be required”

It will be interesting to see if Lib Dem MPs start breaking with Ming’s line in numbers. Those facing Tory challengers can’t welcome the weapon this gives their opponents. This is probably why Campbell combined his line on the referendum with an attack on David Cameron’s motives in calling for one, arguing that Cameron was only doing so to keep the Euro-sceptics on board.