Justin Tomlinson MP writes for the Swindon Advertiser:
On the 23rd June 2016 we will face a once-in-a-lifetime chance to vote on Britain’s place in the world.
In the Conservative Manifesto last May, we were the only party to outline plans to deliver an in/out referendum on the UK’s membership of the European Union. I am proud that we have delivered on this promise and that this decision will ultimately be up to the great British public to decide.
As you can imagine I have been inundated with emails from both sides of the debate as well as those who remain undecided. As an elected representative I will make sure that I respond to each residents individually so that they have access to all of the correct information. I have also been receiving numerous telephone calls on a daily basis from journalists who want to know where I stand. Whilst I appreciate that they have a job to do, a decision as big as this one is not always that simple.
In fact I genuinely find myself where I suspect the vast majority of people are. Whilst already being hounded with statistics and counter-statistics (is this really only the first week?!) what we all want, and what the public deserve, is an informed and well-balanced debate to take place.
Many people will know that I am a Eurosceptic by nature. I share the everyday frustrations of the European Union - such as the bureaucracy and the escalating cost - but also more substantial and longstanding issues such as the increasing interference in British Sovereignty. I also think that the European Union has escalated into something that was never originally intended when people first voted to join the European Economic Community. I also believe that we could succeed on our own. This is Britain. We have achieved great things and we will continue to achieve great things whether we are in the European Union or not.
However the Prime Minister has achieved significant concessions and reforms in his renegotiation. Under his new package, Britain will have access to the world’s largest single market (without needing new trade deals) and it will have zero obligation to bail-out Eurozone countries. Britain has been opted out of Schengen open borders and we’ve got co-operation on vital security issues but no European army. Fundamentally he has achieved an opt-out of ever closer union which means Britain will never become part of a “European superstate.”
Fundamentally the deal is this. Should we stick with the “safe bet” of the status quo, or should we roll the dice and embrace the growing global economy on our own terms.
My instinct - my gut instinct - is that I want to vote out. As the 5th largest economy in the world, I believe that Britain can succeed and govern freely on its own. But I absolutely understand what a serious and important decision this is. Like the majority of the public I will be agonising about this over the coming weeks. I am therefore grateful that this crucial decision will be reached not by me alone, nor politicians. But by all of us collectively. By the great British public.
