Conservative backbencher James Wharton’s EU (Referendum) Bill was debated and defeated in the House of Lords during a second day at Committee stage on Friday 31 January.
Lord Turnbull (CB) put forward an amendment that would oblige the civil service to “provide voters with the best information they can on what a decision to leave would involve and what our relationship with the EU would be.” This amendment, together with Lord Roper’s amendment that was passed last week, “ensures that no order can be made to trigger a referendum until that duty has been discharged”.
Lord Turnbull’s amendment was agreed by a majority of 64 votes.
Peers debated an amendment by Lord Foulkes of Cumnock (Lab), which “requires that the votes cast in any referendum on Britain’s membership of the European Union would ‘be carried out and declared separately for’ each of the component nations of the United Kingdom.” Lord Anderson of Swansea (Lab) added Gibraltar to Lord Foulkes’ amendment.
Lord Williams of Elvel (Lab) proposed an amendment to the Bill that would allow devolved Administrations “to request of the Secretary of State what amounts to an opt-out from the referendum proposed in the Bill.” He explained: “The best we can do is to allow a formal mechanism which would enable the devolved Administrations to have their voices heard. At present, under the devolution Act, they have no right to do so.”
The debate came to a close when Peers voted by 180 to 130 to end discussions at Committee stage. Consequently, the EU (Referendum) Bill will not be able to complete all parliamentary stages and become law before the end of the current parliamentary session.
Mr Wharton stated: "Labour and the Lib Dems have conspired in the House of Lords to kill this important piece of legislation, doing the bidding of their political masters in the Commons. It's now clearer than it has ever been that it's only the Conservatives who will give people a choice on this important issue.”
Prime Minister David Cameron reacted at a joint press conference in Oxfordshire with French President Francois Hollande: “we are not going to give up in our efforts to turn our referendum commitment into law. Far from it. […] We are going to try to reintroduce the same bill in the next session of Parliament and, if necessary, rely on the provisions in the Parliament Act to stop Labour and Liberal Democrat peers killing the bill once again."
“[T]he one way to guarantee a referendum is to vote Conservative at the general election,” Cameron said.
Lord Dobbs, sponsor of the Bill in the Upper House, tweeted on Sunday 2 February: “#EUReferendumBill will return. Case for #LetBritainDecide stronger than ever. Tx to all who helped get it this far & partic ?@jameswhartonmp?”.