EU: UK Membership

Lord Hannay of Chiswick Excerpts

Monday 11th February 2013 Lords Chamber

[Viscount Younger of Leckie]

The answer to the noble Lord’s question is that we are fully focused on staying within the EU. We do not see a two-tier Europe coming forward.

[Lord Hannay of Chiswick]

Can the Minister clarify another simple point? How does the announcement of a referendum in four years’ time, the result of which cannot possibly be predicted, remove uncertainty?

[Viscount Younger of Leckie]

The Prime Minister emphasised in another place that now was not the right time to hold a referendum, and that it would be right to hold a referendum after the next election—and after, we hope, the current EU crisis has abated.