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| James Goldsmith |
Background
Sir James, a multi-millionaire, was elected as MEP for a French seat in June 1994. He is President of the anti-federalist Europe of Nations Party (l'Autre Europe) which took 19 French seats at the European Parliament elections in June 1994.
The party hopes to recruit Euro-sceptic business and professional people not previously involved in politics to stand as candidates at the next general election. The aim of the Referendum Party will be to gain enough seats in Parliament to push through a Referendum Bill within a few months of a general election. Referendum Party MPs would then resign their seats as soon as the Bill is passed. The party does not aim to establish a permanent presence in the House of Commons but intends to do all it can to break what it sees as a blockage to reforming policy on Europe.
The Party has a number of well known people candidates contesting seats on its behalf, including Zoo owner John Aspinall, botanist David Bellamy for John Major's Huntingdon seat and entrepreneaur Peter de Savary. Also standing for the Referendum Party is Sir Alan Walters (Mrs Thatcher's former economic adviser). The party has already selected over 400 candidates.
Reigate will be contested for the Referendum Party by Sir George Gardiner, the former Tory MP who defected after being deselected by his local Conservative party.
On 11 March 1996 the party took out full page advertisements in a number of papers which neatly set out its entire political position and raison d'etre. "The Government is indicating that it is moving towards granting a referendum. That's all to the good. But it must be genuine....an agreement to hold a referendum only if the Cabinet decides that sterling should be absorbed into the European single currency would be an empty gesture."
It has continued to use this campaign tactic, regularly taking out double page advertisements in the broadsheets, perhaps the most controversial being that which appeared in the Sunday papers on 17 November 1996. It stated, "John Major is impotent. Tony Blair is dumb".
On 28 November 1996 the Referendum party revealed the wording of the question they would pose to the British electorate in the event of winning the general election. It asks,
"Do you want the UK to be part of a Federal Europe? or Do you want the UK to return to an association of sovereign nations that are part of a common trading market?"
The most recent controversy to surround the party is its publication of an 8-page tabloid paper, delivered to households all over the country in February 1997. The front page article claims that the former Prime Minister, Sir Edward Heath, deliberately deceived the public about the impact of taking Britain into the Common Market. The paper quotes Sir Edward from a television interview in 1973, when he said"
"There are some in this country who fear that in going into Europe, we shall in some way sacrifice independence and sovereignty. These fears, I need hardly say, are completely unjustified." (Daily Telegraph 16 January 1997). Sir Edward has rejected the Referendum Party's claims as "misplaced and unfounded." (ibid)
Party Headquarters:
1st Floor
Dean Bradley Hse
52 Horseferry Road
London, SW1P 2AF
Tel: 0171 227 8500
Web site: www.referendum.org.uk