European Union (Referendum) Bill — Clause 1 — Wording of Referendum Question — 29 Nov 2013 at 09:30
The majority of MPs voted in favour of a referendum question asking if the UK should "be" a member of the EU rather than "remain" a member, and starting the question with "Should..." rather than "Do you think...".
MP Mike Gapes proposed changing the referendum question to:
"Should the United Kingdom remain a member of the European Union?"[1]
rather than that included in the bill[2 which was]:
“Do you think that the United Kingdom should be a member of the European Union?”
Gareth Thomas MP explained the rationale behind Mr Gapes' rejected amendment, dealing first with the wording at the start of the question[3]:
- "Amendment 35, tabled by my hon. Friend the Member for Ilford South, responds to the concerns of the Electoral Commission about the Bill’s question:
- “Do you think that the United Kingdom should be a member of the European Union?”
- It suggests removing the opening phrase “Do you think”. That would result in the question beginning with “Should”, and the remainder of the words being reordered appropriately.
- The Electoral Commission’s research found that some people felt the phrase, “Do you think” was too informal for a referendum question. Others felt that the phrase sounded less concrete, and suggested, without prompting from the interviewers or being given the alternative option, that the question should be changed to begin with the word “Should” , as my hon. Friend has proposed. Some of the interviewees felt that a change to the wording would make the question on the referendum ballot paper shorter, more direct and, importantly, to the point.
In relation to the use of the word "remain" rather than "be" Mr Thomas added[4]:
- Importantly, the issue about which we should be concerned is the fact that many participants in the Electoral Commission’s research felt that the question
- “was misleading because it does not make clear that the United Kingdom is currently a member of the European Union.”
Mike Gapes MP confirmed his agreement with what Gareth Thomas MP had said about his proposal: "My hon. Friend Mr Thomas eloquently explained why amendments 35 and 36 have been tabled."[5]
- [1] Official record of the House of Commons debate
- [2] Text of the European Union (Referendum) Bill as introduced
- [3] Gareth Thomas MP (Harrow West, Labour). House of Commons 29 November 2013
- [4] Gareth Thomas MP (Harrow West, Labour). House of Commons 29 November 2013
- [5] Mike Gapes MP (Ilford South, Labour). House of Commons 29 November 2013
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