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thomas davison

UK NEWS
NEW CHANCE TO FORCE EU VOTE

Letters from almost 400,000 readers poured in to support the Daily Express crusade to quit the EU.
Saturday July 30,2011
By Martyn Brown, Political Correspondent
THE great British public is today given a new chance to join a bid to force a key vote on Britain leaving the European Union.

We are calling on readers to grasp this unique opportunity to thrust the argument right to the heart of UK democracy � by signing up to our new online petition demanding a referendum on EU membership.

Once you have signed up via the link on Page 5 we will add your signature to our exclusive �Britain wants a referendum to leave the EU� petition, registered yesterday on the Government�s new directgov e-petitions website.

The Government has said it would consider any public campaign backed by 100,000 signatures for a debate in Parliament.

Joining our petition will force the country�s politicians openly to discuss an issue that is gathering momentum as Britain bails out failing eurozone states and our laws are increasingly adversely affected by EU human rights restraints.

Now our readers can force the issue direct to the heart of Government again via the e-petition.

This newspaper�s historic crusade � the first to demand that Britain must quit the EU � has already been backed by almost 400,000 people in a postal coupon campaign earlier this year.

Now our readers can force the issue direct to the heart of Government again via the e-petition.

Senior Tory ministers and MPs have expressed their support for us in driving the issue of winning freedom from Brussels interference to the forefront of national debate.

Mark Reckless, Tory MP for Rochester and Strood, said last night: �I am extremely supportive of the wonderful campaign by the Daily Express which has helped push the debate on to the national stage.

�I would urge as many people as possible to sign up to this petition so we can push the debate for a referendum into Parliament once and for all.�

Another staunch supporter of our crusade, Tory backbencher Douglas Carswell, said: �I for one will be signing up. The Government has said they want more direct democracy and I hope they welcome the Daily Express�s efforts to give us a chance to debate whether there should be a referendum on the EU.�

The eurozone crisis has only heightened the sense of urgency for a referendum that will give people the chance to decide if we are better off out of the EU altogether.

In the past year the UK has stumped up �12.5billion to help rescue Greece, Ireland and Portugal with bail-outs. As further economic disasters loom in Spain and Italy, the financial noose on Britain from Europe could tighten even further.

Opponents of the EU are also angry about the threat to Britain�s democracy by meddling Brussels bureaucrats. Critics claim we have lost control of immigration due to EU freedom of movement laws.

And they complain that our law and order system � and basic common sense � are being undermined by the European Convention on Human Rights. Ukip leader Nigel Farage said last night: �Direct democracy is a great principle and one Ukip has advocated for years.

�It is great news that the Government is introducing this scheme, and of course the Daily Express is absolutely right to take the opportunity to call for a referendum on our EU membership.�

The latest chance to push the issue on to the agenda follows a relentless Daily Express crusade urging the UK to cut ties with Brussels. Our battle, launched with an unprecedented 24-page pull-out edition in January, has been backed by hundreds of thousands of people.

We were instantly deluged with overflowing mailbags packed with our special coupons calling on David Cameron�s Government to launch an orderly withdrawal from the EU.

Support hit the six-figure mark within days of the campaign�s launch. The astonishing response made it one of the fastest-growing campaigns in newspaper history. At the end of January we delivered a 373,000-signature petition to 10 Downing Street. The new e-petitions website was launched yesterday by Commons Leader Sir George Young.

Any campaign on the site backed by 100,000 signatures will trigger consideration for debate in Parliament, he said. The Commons backbench business committee will assess all petitions that qualify and decide if they should be given time from the 35 days allocated each session for non-governmental business.

Sir George said: �This new system of e-petitions could give the public a megaphone to make themselves heard.�

Sign the petition today at www.express.co.uk/web/referendum. We will collate your signatures and put them on the official e-petition website on Thursday.

I know quite a lot of people are saying that signing an e-petition won't make any difference. And I know where you're coming from. However, LET'S GET IT SIGNED!!

Why? Well, 100,000 signatures is supposed to trigger a point for "consideration of debate". LET'S TRIGGER THAT POINT!
And then we will see the government in it's true colours, when they refuse to consider an e-petition that actually carries in excess of 100,000 signatures. They will have promised "consideration" but in fact, when put to that test, they will fail miserably.

They will expose themselves even further for what they are; an untrustworthy bunch of self-serving scumbags.

Come on, let's get it signed and push over the 100,000....it should happen easily if the Express' last campaign is anything to go by.