Murkens, J. (2015) “A referendum on Britain’s EU membership is a sure fire way to encourage the breakup of the UK“, LSE EUROPP, 02 March.
David Cameron has pledged to hold a referendum on the UK’s EU membership if his Conservative party wins a majority at the British general election in May. Jo Murkens writes on the impact an EU referendum would have on the UK’s place in Europe and on the UK as a whole. He argues that the EU referendum debate highlights the extent to which the UK has failed to contribute to the EU’s political goals in key areas like the Ukraine crisis, and that the net effect of the referendum could be to weaken the unity of the United Kingdom itself.
A referendum on European Union membership has been a longstanding demand from the Eurosceptic/phobic wing of UK politics. They regard the plebiscite and the prospect of withdrawal as a rejuvenation of national sovereignty and democracy. Over the past few years David Cameron has acceded to the demands by promising a referendum on EU membership in 2017. The three main obstacles he needs to overcome before then are concluding negotiations on reforming the European Union, or changing the UK’s current terms and conditions of EU membership – and, of course, the small matter of winning the May 2015 general election for the Conservatives with an overall majority.
The idea of a referendum opens up a space for discussing the principle of UK membership as well as the details of EU policy, institutional reform, and possible alternatives. This short piece is a comment on the UK’s continued failure to contribute to the EU’s political goals as well as on its failure to understand the EU’s relevance for the integrity of the United Kingdom.
Relevant posts:
- Campos, F. N. & Coricelli, F. (2015) “Why did Britain join the EU? A new insight from economic history“, VoxEU Organisation, 03 February.
- Michael White, Larry Elliott & Charlotte Higgins: “What if Britain left the EU?“, The Guardian, 04 November 2014.
- Salamone, A. (2014) “Britain’s EU membership hangs by one less thread“, Britain’s Europe Blog, 27 October.