Should we stay or should we go?

[Geordie Stu]

The PM David Cameron has "promised" a referendum in 2017, that's assuming we the public vote the Tory's back in power. Why can't we have the vote now?

Is this a way of trying to sway voters now or a of saying we won't win the next election & then blame labour for not giving us the chance to vote on the EU. Personally I don't see us ever getting the vote & we should bail out of the EU & stand alone. We are being held to ransom by Brussels.

[Jon_W]

Is only a ploy to woo potential UKIP voters back.

Has been done before. Remember raising motorway speed limits?? A promise made pre the last election.... it never happened.

[Snowy]

Without a doubt its a ploy to seek re-election. Regardless of political viewpoints most voters want the choice to say yes or no to Europe. So if you want to vote yes or no then you have to vote Tory at the next election. They're going for all the undecides and swing voters.

[Jon_W]

Agreed. Rather that decent policies and a direction, the Tories just tap into the europe question. Nothing like good honest politics and this is nothing like...

[Conehead]

I hate politicians promises as they are never kept. Waste of breath. > >

[Swanny]

Ah the illusion that we have a choice in the matter ;D

[redken1]

Back in January of last year, First Minister of Scotland Alex Salmond revealed that the referendum on Scottish independence would be held sometime in the autumn of 2014.

In the wake of Salmond’s announcement the leaders of the three main UK unionist parties called on him to hold the referendum vote much sooner. PM Cameron made an extremely serious and valid point on the timing delay when he said, “The uncertainty about this issue I think is damaging to Scotland and Scotland’s economy, because you have companies and other organisations asking “well what’s Scotland’s future? Is it within the United Kingdom or not?” That’s damaging.”

Well, apart from going some way to explaining why the Tories are a political non-entity in Scotland, today’s hypocritical decision by the PM to pledge an unambiguous yes/no vote to the UK electorate on staying in the EU raises some serious questions, like why announce it now and why wait until the end of 2017?

If two & half years of uncertainty is damaging for the Scottish economy, how damaging for the UK economy is nearly five years of uncertainty. Large potential investors may well ask, ‘is it within the EU or not?’

This is not about what’s best for Britain – more a case of what’s best for the Tory party. Cameron was coming under increasing pressure from his own Euro sceptic backbenchers and was outflanked on the right by UKIP.

All three main parties will stand on an EU referendum ticket at the next general election because to do otherwise would be political suicide, as the vast majority of the UK voters want to have their say on Europe either way, and quite rightly so.

Whatever the outcome at least I won’t have to listen to right-wing waffler Nigel Farage anymore.

[Rabb]

Out now.
We don't need this layer of bureaucracy that costs us all a 'pretty few thousand pounds' per person.
They all lie and talk b@@@@@@s anyway.

It's a 'political gravy train'!!!

[Swanny]

Nigel Farage is the only one worth listening to

[Dabz]

Is only a ploy to woo potential UKIP voters back.

Has been done before. Remember raising motorway speed limits?? A promise made pre the last election.... it never happened.

I thought the speed limits were being raised, just not yet?

Can only find a Daily Fail link tho... http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...sed-80mph.html