European Union. Photograph by Yanni Koutsomitis
A group of Conservative backbench MPs calling themselves “Fresh Start” will publish a report demanding a substantial return of powers to the UK from the European Union.
The group claims to have the support of more than 100 Tory MPs, and is looking for “significant revisions” to various EU treaties but still to remain as part of the union and economic zone.
The report has been welcomed by Foreign Secretary William Hague, and comes ahead of David Cameron’s much anticipated speech on the role of the UK in Europe, which is due on Friday. In this address, Cameron is expected to call for a loosening of the relationship between the UK and Europe, which he hopes to be endorsed by a referendum.
Other pro-Europe Tory MPs, however, worry that a referendum could result in the UK leaving Europe all together. There is no certainty that the other states of Europe would agree to the UK to maintaining its trade links but reducing its other ties with Brussels, with Ken Clarke MP describing the possible referendum as a “gamble” when speaking to the Financial Times.
The UK is currently one of the major powers of Europe alongside Germany and France, and if ties are loosened, then the UK would likely hold less influence over the economic and social policies of the European Union. Diplomats from the US have already described their concerns about the UK’s loss of influence and power if it leaves Europe, and risks the country sitting on the sidelines of future changes.
Fresh Start was founded by George Eustice, Andrea Leadsom, and Chris Heaton-Harris to demand the repatriation of key powers from Brussels in order to retain the UK’s “national democratic accountability”. The powers referenced by the group include treaties previously agreed to by the UK which define social and employment law, including a number of provisions and protections for workers’ rights.
