Government Referendum Leaflet

Steve Double Excerpts

Monday 11th April 2016 Commons Chamber

[Mr Lidington]

There is a crucial difference between the two. In 2011, we were part of a coalition Government. The two coalition parties took opposite views on the preferred outcome of that referendum, so there was no agreement on what the Government’s collective message should be. This time around, the Government have a very clear collective view, which is that we should remain in a reformed European Union, and the way that we communicate in the literature that we are distributing reflects that fact.

[Steve Double (St Austell and Newquay) (Con)]

Several times in this debate the Minister has made the point that the Government came to a balanced view that the UK should remain within the EU. If it was a balanced view, it would be fair to assume that the Government saw pros and cons on both sides of the argument. Will the Minister tell us what benefits the Government recognise would apply to the UK if we voted to leave, and why was that information not contained in the leaflet?

[Mr Lidington]

We have to come to a judgment about the costs and benefits of European Union membership. The Government considered that at considerable length, went through the negotiations that culminated in the February European Council and reached the view that we would be better off, stronger and more secure by remaining in the European Union. One of the challenges for my hon. Friend and those who share his view is that in the absence of a clear and coherent view about the desired future relationship of the United Kingdom with the EU if we were to leave it, it is quite hard to form a judgment about the difficulties that might stem from that. We can estimate the risks—we certainly will do that—but it is incumbent on those who are championing the cause of leaving to spell out with much greater clarity than they have hitherto exactly what they see as that future relationship.