Miliband pressured on EU vote
LABOUR leader Ed Miliband is believed to be under pressure from party members to pledge that he will call an in-out referendum on EU membership should Labour win the next general election.
Senior party figures apparently want Miliband to step up pressure on Prime Minister David Cameron well ahead of any election date by promising to hold a vote on the UK’s membership of the European Union.
Miliband’s new policy chief John Cruddas, who was appointed in a front bench reshuffle last week, has been a particularly vocal campaigner for a referendum.
In his new role Cruddas is leading a review of Labour policy, giving him significant influence over the strategies that will shape the opposition’s election manifesto.
The MP for Dagenham and Rainham is a long-time supporter of an in-out referendum, lending his support to the People’s Pledge campaign, which is holding its own local referenda around the country to gauge support among the electorate.
“I think we should use every opportunity to push the case for a referendum, simply on the basis of the democratic principles involved,” Cruddas told the group’s supporters.
Miliband has refused in recent weeks to rule out a vote, but has appeared determined to keep focus on more urgent economic concerns at the moment.
A ComRes poll over the weekend showed that 42 per cent of Labour voters would vote to exit the EU, compared to 51 per cent of Tories and 39 per cent of Lib Dems.
The poll results suggest that an overall vote would go against Labour’s party line, with 61 per cent in favour of an exit, compared to 39 per cent that would choose to stay in.