§ Q6. Mr. Martenasked the Prime Minister if he will propose legislation to provide for a national referendum on entry into the Common Market once the terms are known.
§ The Prime MinisterNo, Sir.
§ Mr. MartenBut as a form of referendum is already held in Wales and Scotland, should we in England not get used to having referenda, as they are held in the Common Market? Indeed, the present negotiations arose because of a referendum in France. As the Prime Minister has declared that this would be a historic occasion which would lead to a surrender of sovereignty, and as there is no getting out of the Treaty of Rome, is not a referendum the best way in which the public could express its anxieties?
§ The Prime MinisterIt is contrary to our traditions in this country. Even in 1962, when the hon. Gentleman may well have been a member of the then Government, for reasons which must have seemed good to the then Prime Minister, the then Prime Minister refused a suggestion from his own side for a referendum on the Common Market, even though it had not been an election issue. If the hon. Gentleman feels so strongly about it, I wonder why he did not resign on that occasion.
§ Mr. MartenI was not a member of the Government then.
§ The Prime MinisterHe joined it shortly afterwards in the light of that reply. It is significant that on 30th January, 1962, the hon. Gentleman who put a Question from the Conservative side referred to referenda on Sunday drinking in Wales and got slapped down by the then Prime Minister for suggesting that it should be done on the Common Market.
§ Mr. Raphael TuckAs Britain's entry into the Common Market would represent the biggest constitutional step which has been taken since perhaps the Bill of Rights in 1832, or perhaps an even bigger constitutional issue, does not my right hon. Friend think that the people of Great Britain should have an opportunity of expressing their views?
§ The Prime MinisterHon. Members on either side of the House do not usually feel that referenda are a way in which to conduct our public affairs. I am sure that a referendum would give 100 per cent. support for increasing expenditure on every item. It would give 100 per cent. support for abolishing income tax.
§ Sir G. NabarroWhat a splendid idea!
§ The Prime MinisterThat was what I hoped to imply. It is not a way in which we can do business. These are matters on which hon. Members are elected to the House and they have been free to express their opinions, as they were in the debates in the House, and as they will be again when we are offered terms for joining the Common Market.