An EU Referendum for the UK

The purpose of this petition is to force the government into granting the British public a referendum on the UK’s continued membership of the EU and bring democracy back to our political process.

This is the case for a referendum.

1. Labour won an election in 2005 on a manifesto pledge to give the British people a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty, but just two years later the Government under Tony Blair signed up to the treaty without consulting the British people in a referendum as promised.

2. Before the recent general election David Miliband described the Lisbon Treaty as merely a tidying up exercise that would make things run smoother. He claimed it did not reduce the UK’s sovereignty in any way.

3. In January 2008 David Cameron the Conservative leader widened his pledge of a referendum on the EU reform treaty, saying that the Tories would hold one if they gained power before it was ratified in all countries, even if it has already been ratified by the British Parliament. But he stopped short of meeting the wishes of party Eurosceptics who wanted him to promise a referendum even after the treaty has been ratified by the rest of the EU, a position that ministers claim would lead to a Tory government being forced to pull out of the EU.

4. David Cameron said in November 2009 before the general election The Conservative campaign to hold a referendum on the Lisbon treaty is now over. Confirming a complete U-turn on his "cast iron guarantee" that a Tory government would hold a public vote on the controversial treaty, Cameron said the Czech Republic's decision to ratify the agreement meant he could "no more hold a referendum on the treaty than ... a referendum on the sun rising in the morning.". Since when did the Czech Republic decide what happens in the UK.

5. At the lectern during the televised Leaders debates David Cameron asserted that he would ensure that no more of Britain’s sovereignty would be lost to the EU and he would in fact reverse some losses and yet Teresa May The Home Secretary has already agreed for Britain to Opt into the European Investigation Order which gives EU police forces sweeping powers to come to Britain and this less than three months into the new government. Teresa May described the pt in as just a tidying up exercise, does that sound familiar. What will this government give away next?

6. It is now 1st November and yesterday it was announced by the EU that their new Foreign Affairs Department created at a cost of £5.8 billion will take over all common interest ideas of the 27 EU countries. This will reduce Britains sovereignty without question but still the Prime Minister refuses to do the democratic thing and give us the people of the UK the referendum we deserve.

The above proves that successive governments and political parties cannot be trusted. They say one thing before an election and do something completely different afterwards. They depend on the electorate having short memories. A referendum on signing up to the Lisbon Treaty is now totally inadequate what we need is a referendum on the UK’s continued membership of the EU. Why?

1 The UK pays £40m pounds into the EU every day, despite us being in the worst economic recession in living memory.

2 The EU wants to increase its budget by 6% in 2011 this despite every EU country exercising austerity programmes.

3 The EU gives away more than €38 billion in Foreign aid each year, that is more than half of the total world budget for foreign aid, The United Kingdom gives away an additional £7.6 billion.

4 There is unfettered EU immigration into Britain from the EU despite promises to the contrary from our leaders. Now David Cameron actively encourages the accession to the EU of Turkey. Do you want another 74 million people having the legal right to come to Britain. Hungary and Portugal are about to give away 5 million passports to residents of non-EU countries legally under EU law, again these people will have a full legal right to come to Britain.

5 The population of the UK rose in 2009 by 421,000 people due mostly to immigration and births to immigrant families. At the same time the population of France grew by only 35,000 and the population of Germany actually shrunk. Britain is a dumping ground.

6 Britain’s health service, education system, housing, benefits system and infrastructure are already stretched to the limit ahead of proposed government cuts to claw back the country’s £176 billion debt. How can the country afford to take in more immigrants be they from the EU or not.

7 Seventy five percent of new laws come to the UK from the EU. I want the laws in our country to be decided by our elected representatives, not faceless bureaucrats in a foreign country.

The Europhiles will say the EU is all about trade and the free movement of labour. Make no mistake Europe needs our goods, services, expertise and financial services industry. They will always deal with us as they always have; many countries from outside the EU have trade treaties that allow free trading to take place. There is a world market which Britain is part of. Leaving Europe will not alter our lives in any detrimental way, instead it will leave the country free to decide its own fate and laws, it will prevent millions of people having access to our shores and all the benefits that the British taxpayer is paying for, it will stop the drain on our financial resources that the country can ill afford.

But most of all it will bring freedom and democracy back to our country that thousands of our grandparents and parents died for in two world wars.

Please sign this petition; we need millions of signatures so that this government is forced to offer us the referendum that our supposed democracy has denied us for so many years. Please pass the details of this petition onto all your friends, relatives, associates, colleagues so that we can force this government to take notice.