Sir Nicholas Soames MP questions the Minister of State for Europe following the government statement on the Government Referendum Leaflet.

·         The Minister for Europe; The Rt Hon David Lidington MP

I would like to make a statement on the European Union referendum and public information. On Thursday 23 June, the British people will vote on whether the United Kingdom should remain in the European Union or leave. As the Prime Minister told Parliament on 22 Feb 2016, the referendum is potentially the most important decision that the British people will make on any political issue in their lifetime.

This Government made the commitment to hold a referendum and delivered that commitment through the European Union Referendum Act 2015. The Government have made a clear recommendation to the British people that we judge it to be in our national interest for the United Kingdom to remain a member of the European Union. It is important that this key decision by the British people should be made on the basis of the facts. Independent polling, carried out on behalf of the Cabinet Office, has suggested that 85% of voters want more information and, in particular, want the Government to set out more information on the basis of which electors could take an informed decision.

The European Union Referendum Act already obliges the Government to publish information for the public on the outcome of the renegotiation that the Government have conducted to secure our special status in the European Union, on alternatives to membership and on the rights and obligations that arise from EU membership.  Papers on the first and second of those topics have already been published, and a paper on the third will be published shortly. Those are available on a section of the gov.uk website dedicated to the referendum, along with other related information. The reports have also been laid before Parliament.

The same is true of a separate Government report on the process of withdrawing from the European Union. Although that was not a specific obligation under the 2015 Act, it represents the delivery of an undertaking given from the Dispatch Box in the House of Lords by Baroness Anelay. The Treasury, as the Chancellor has announced, will publish a comprehensive analysis of UK membership of a reformed European Union and of the alternatives, including the long-term economic costs and benefits of EU membership and the risks associated with an exit.

Separately, every household in the country will receive a leaflet from the Government. The leaflet sets out the facts, explains why the Government believe that a vote to remain in the European Union is in the best interests of the British people and shows some of the choices that the country would face if the British people were to vote to leave. The leaflet encourages the public to register to vote by 7 June and directs electors to where and how they should do that.

Last week, the Government launched a stand-alone website that features the leaflet online and provides further information to the public. That will be advertised on social media and other digital channels. The leaflet follows precedent from previous referendums, including those on EU membership in 1975, on the creation of the Scottish Parliament and Welsh Assembly in 1997 and on the creation of the mayoral system in London ​in 1998; in addition, there were two Government leaflets during the Scottish referendum in 2014.  Government publications of that kind, and the distribution of a Government leaflet, are entirely lawful. Special rules limiting all Government publications and communications will apply in the last 28 days of the referendum campaign under the provisions of the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000.

The text of the leaflet is 16 pages in length. It will be delivered to households in England from 11 to 13 April, ahead of England’s local election purdah, and to households in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland throughout the week commencing 9 May, to avoid disrupting the pre-election period in those parts of the United Kingdom. The total cost will be £9.3 million, which is equivalent to 34p for each household in the country.

The Electoral Commission will shortly announce the designation of the two overall campaign groups, ahead of the 10-week official campaign period that leads up to polling day. Those two groups, in addition to having a higher spending limit of £7 million apiece, will each be entitled to the publicly funded delivery of a leaflet of its own, which will be sent to every household or to every elector, as the campaign group chooses. That benefit will be worth up to £15 million each for the designated leave and remain campaigns. The two campaigns will also be entitled to campaign broadcasts on television, the use of certain public rooms and a public grant of up to £600,000. That is in addition to the Electoral Commission’s own leaflet to every household, in which each campaign will be given a page.

Whether the United Kingdom should remain in or leave the European Union is a huge decision for this country. It is right that it should be a decision for the British people as a whole. Equally, it is right that people have the facts in front of them and understand the reasons for the Government’s recommendation before they go to the polls.

·         The Rt Hon Sir Nicholas Soames MP (Mid Sussex) (Con)

I have received many inquiries from constituents who are eager to know more about the Government’s position, and I warmly welcome this decision. Outside the incestuous hothouse called the Palace of Westminster, and under the baleful influence of much of our dismal press, almost all grown-up sane opinion will want to know what the Government’s position is and how they intend to present their case.

The Rt Hon David Lidington MP

I completely agree with my right hon. Friend.

Hansard

Monday 11 April 2016   

Volume 608

No 140

Columns 72-73 and Column 79

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