I'm pretty dubious about the talk of a potential In/Out referendum apparently being considered by the Labour Party's top brass. Sure, it would split the Conservatives massively and give David Cameron a huge headache. But ultimately, would someone as wedded to the EU project as Miliband really risk the British public voting to leave?
Recent polls have confirmed the trend that the 'In' side is down by about 20% to the 'Outers', hardly favourable. Whilst the issue is an important one that should be put to the people, I have always thought that the politician most likely to call an In/Out referendum would be one wanting us to leave, as that would seem to be the likely income.
Then again, if the benefits of EU membership are 'self-evident' as the Labour line has gone for years, maybe they truly do believe that come a referendum the British public will suddenly want to be part of the EU no matter what the cost in terms of our democracy or prosperity? That seems just about deluded enough to seem plausible to me.
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Self-evident benefits?
Look, Miliband, Cameron, Clegg and the rest of you, will you please treat me like I'm completely thick and spell it out for me? Please forgive me for being such a half-wit, and explain to me what these self-evident benefits are.
You'll probably also need to explain to me how these self-evident benefits justify the price tag that comes attached to them -- I mean the political price as well and the financial one.
The self-evident benefits must be massive and numerous, because we do pay a very heavy price for it. What is the self-evident benefit of the Common Fisheries Policy, for example, that makes putting our own fishermen out of business and destroying centuries-old fishing communities so worthwhile? What is the self-evident benefit of giving the vote to prisoners in a way that makes the prime minister "physically sick"? What is the self-evident benefit of undermining the City of London with a Tobin tax?
Yes, I know Cameron has vowed to fight it, but you wait -- it'll happen, whether he likes it or not. That's because, while he can plead, cajole and beg, it's not really up to him -- and perhaps you could explain the self-evident benefit of electing a prime minister who is required to carrying out the commands of an unelected elite, while you're about it.
Oh, and please make sure you explain it all in words of one syllable. As Comrade Rumpy Pumpy will tell you, members of the general public are very stupid indeed, and their very tiny brains can't cope with complexity.
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