Steve Richards in the Independent today:
I wonder still if the referendum will ever be held in Scotland. Precedent suggests something or other will get in the way. What a titanic moment it was in British politics when in 1991 John Major persuaded his Chancellor, Ken Clarke, to support a referendum on the Euro. Mr Clarke has regretted conceding the ground ever since, one of those moments when the Euro-sceptics proclaimed a significant victory. Of course the referendum was never held, neither by the Conservatives, nor by Labour who also offered one.
As Richards says, this was a significant victory for the euro-sceptic cause. It didn’t just commit the Tories to a referendum on the single currency, it forced Labour into committing to one too. And it’s that commitment that has kept Britain out of the eurozone. The “something” getting in the way here is, well, public opinion and the risk of humiliating defeat.
Britain’s best politics newsletters
You get two free articles each week when you sign up to The Spectator’s emails.
Already a subscriber? Log in
Comments
Join the debate, free for a month
Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first month free.
UNLOCK ACCESS Try a month freeAlready a subscriber? Log in