Monday 2nd July 2012

(12 years, 4 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton Portrait The Prime Minister
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No, that is not what I have said. What I have said is that I do not support an immediate in/out referendum. I believe that we should show strategic and tactical patience, and then I want to see a fresh settlement for which we seek fresh consent. The right time to determine questions about referendums and the rest of it will be after we have that fresh settlement. That is what we should do.

Gregg McClymont Portrait Gregg McClymont (Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East) (Lab)
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The Prime Minister has repeatedly endorsed the United Kingdom’s membership of the EU this afternoon. Will he say something about the circumstances in which he would endorse withdrawal from the European Union?

Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton Portrait The Prime Minister
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What I have always said is that we should act in the interests of the whole United Kingdom, and I do not think our best interests would be served by leaving the European Union. That does not mean that we meekly and lamely accept the status quo. We are not happy with the status quo, as the British public are not. I am not a defeatist who says that you have just got to take what you are given. We have already shown in a small way, by getting out of the bail-out fund, that we can do better, and I want Britain to do better.