In an interview held with the The Sunday Times yesterday, former Tory leader William Hague emphasized that, should the Tories win power in 2009 or 2010, a ‘Conservative government could still hold a referendum on Europe, even if the Lisbon Treaty had already been ratified.’ Considering a national ballot on Britain’s EU membership may seem a rather bold and possibly even clever move (if as stated in the article’s comment section the Tories are to ‘make Britain Great again’) - if only there was nothing else on that agenda, writes Judith Gollata.
Voters’ interest seems to be fuelled by the ‘thrilling prospect’ of opting –out of the Union. Therefore, Hague is apparently not courting ‘unity in diversity’ but simply more votes in the upcoming general election. On the other hand Hague’s latest comments will not just gain positive responses, especially by some party members who would fear that a prolonged debate on the EU could distract voters from the Tories domestic agenda. EU-scepticism has been part of British politics since the founding of the European Economic Community in 1957 and survives in rude health, particularly after the Irish rejection of the Lisbon Treaty.
Hague himself admits that there is yet to be a decision made on this subject within the party. One hopes he has learnt the lessons of the past, most notably from 1997 when Tory fighting over the EU led to an election debacle. Before making such claims Hague should ensure he will not be risking internal conflict. Hague has always struggled to intertwine a Tory political agenda of the Thatcher era with the political challenges of the current day, but by attempting to re-open the party’s agenda of loosening Britain’s ties to Brussels he is unlikely to gain what he might hope for – a strong political programme for the medium term, to overcome the Labour leadership in an upcoming general election.