A couple of weeks ago, James revealed that the promise of an EU referendum is almost certain to feature in the 2015 Tory manifesto. But might we actually have one before then? If the speculation by ‘senior government sources’ in today’s Times is to be believed, we might indeed.
According to No.10 and the Foreign Office, a Greek exit from the euro — which could follow soon after the country’s new round of elections on 17 June — would necessitate a rewriting of
EU treaties. And that, the Times says, ‘would trigger “aggressive” demands by Tory MPs to hold a referendum on Britain’s EU membership.’ Meanwhile, over on the other side of
the coalition, Nick Clegg tells the Times that, if a new treaty is needed for the health of the eurozone and the
EU,
‘of course any rational British government, certainly any British government of which I am a member, will not stand in the way because it would be cutting off our noses to spite our face if we did so.’
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