European Council Debate

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Department: Cabinet Office

European Council

Stephen Doughty Excerpts
Monday 26th November 2012

(11 years, 5 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton Portrait The Prime Minister
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I do not want to come between this great friendship that is opening up across our Benches. It is important to form alliances to try to get deals that are in our national interest, but as in all these things we have to have a bottom line, and sometimes that means that we will have to go it alone.

Stephen Doughty Portrait Stephen Doughty (Cardiff South and Penarth) (Lab/Co-op)
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Does the Prime Minister agree with his party chairman that we should leave open the option of exiting the EU?

Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton Portrait The Prime Minister
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As the hon. Gentleman knows, my view is that the problem with an in/out referendum is that both the options are not really what I would want or what the British people would want. I do not think that keeping our membership as it is under the status quo is acceptable: nor do I think that walking away from Europe would be a sensible idea. That is why we need a new settlement—and new consent for that settlement —and that is what we will set out.