Airstrip One

Roll on the Referendum - 15th May 2003, 23.30

Anatole Kaletsky writes, as a convert, on the need for a Euro referendum. We should thank the former Tory, Chris Patten, for this.

The EU’s Constitutional Convention is preparing the next great leap forward towards a centralised Europe in 2004. The Government has decided to deny voters a chance of expressing their opinion on the new constitution, but a referendum on the euro would give democracy an outlet. It would prove once and for all that the people of Britain are not “fully and unequivocally committed to EU membership”, at least in the mindlessly obedient manner that Mr Patten demands.