Appearing on the Today programme this morning, Ed Miliband was asked the question that will be put to him repeatedly between now and the general election: will you offer the British people a referendum on the EU? He responded by saying that an in/out referendum now would be damaging to the UK’s interests but went on to note that the coalition’s European Union Bill meant a public vote would be triggered whenever there was a transfer of powers to Brussels. Significantly, for the first time, he said that Labour did not propose “repealing” the legislation. When the bill was debated by parliament in 2011, Labour denounced it as “unnecessary”, a “dog’s breakfast” and a “political gesture” to appease Tory backbenchers (it subsequently abstained from voting). But Miliband has now accepted that his party is in no position to oppose the measure, designed to safeguard UK sovereignty.
After David Cameron yesterday accused Labour of planning to take Britain into the single currency, Miliband also gave his clearest statement yet on euro membership. “Britain’s not going to be joining the euro, it won’t be joining the euro if I’m Prime Minister,” he said. As Cameron is fond of pointing out, the Labour leader once previously remarked that whether or not the UK joined the euro would depend on “how long I’m Prime Minister for”.
Repeatedly asked whether he favoured a “looser European Union”, Miliband struggled to offer a satisfactory answer. He said that we were moving to a “more flexible” EU but argued that this was not the same thing as “a looser one”. For now, Miliband rightly emphasises that the priority is to move Europe away from austerity and towards growth, but he will need a much more detailed answer before the election.
Intriguingly, then, Miliband said that he was willing to consider restricting benefits for EU immigrants. He told Jim Naughtie: “Of course that’s an issue that should be looked at, the length of entitlement to benefits and how quickly can get them. All of these issues should be on the table.”
The Tories will hope to use this to begin a political arms race that only one side can win.
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