Though Cowards Flinch

I admit; I’m in no way unbiased. I think Nick Clegg is a Lilliputian attempt to mimic Tony Blair. To attempt to imitate Blair is not a good thing – witness David Cameron. To fail so horribly at it is just unforgivable.

Yet this is what Clegg has been trying to do since he took up the leadership of the Lib Dems – the best example being the ideologically devoid stance whereby Clegg might become king-maker to the next prime minister.

Now the Lilliputian clothes-thief has put forth calls for a referendum on being in or out of the EU. Far from actually having the balls to vote for a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty – a referendum which might actually happen if the Lib Dems voted for it – Clegg has decided to go completely off on a tangent. And people though Ming Campbell was a bit senile?

As far as I can see, this nonsense about referendums is an appeal to the lowest common denominator. With respect to Europe, Clegg’s push for a referendum is treating a highly complex issue as black and white, in or out, yes or no. A referendum on the Lisbon treaty is a bit more nuanced, because the Lisbon treaty carries very definite suggestions.

A referendum on Europe as a whole serves no good purpose. A yes vote could be used to bulldoze future objections to things which the government signs up to as we progress further and further into the mires of Brussels bureaucracy. A no vote could have disastrous repercussions for the UK economically speaking – not that a no vote is even remotely likely.

Which brings me to my next point; referendums are a blunt instrument. The yes vote to stay in Europe would consist of people and groups which want diametrically opposed results from any federation of European powers. No meaningful policy can be decided on the basis of a referendum unless the question is exceptionally clear cut.

In the case of Europe, the far left and far right might vote against whilst everyone else votes in favour. How do you reconcile the vast difference between me, a pro-Europe advocate who wants to redesign European government from the ground up, and a Conservative common marketeer who resents European judicial influence but is still pro-Europe?

I can’t help but see either political stupidity or extreme political cynicism in the case of Clegg’s demand for a referendum. As Clegg can’t seriously believe that a referendum will ever settle anything “once and for all” since the state of the EU is in constant flux, I’m going to say that it is extreme political cynicism.

Clegg is trying to weasel out of a manifesto promise to support a referendum on the EU Constitution, substantial parts and ideas of which are accounted for in the Lisbon Treaty. So are Labour, to be honest, but as a Labour supporter I didn’t have any part writing our manifesto and frankly I wouldn’t have promised a referendum for aforementioned reasons.