Sunday 17 May 2015

Ukip’s Carswell says Farage should not run Brexit campaign

LONDON, ENGLAND - MARCH 04: United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) Member of Parliament, Douglas Carswell, arrives to attend a conference in which the party's immigration policy was unveiled on March 4, 2015 in London, England. UKIP leader Nigel Farage stated that UKIP wants immigration to return to "normal" levels with around 20,000 to 50,000 migrants issued with work permits. (Photo by Carl Court/Getty Images)

Douglas Carswell has said that Nigel Farage should not run the campaign to leave the EU, arguing that a business figure would be better placed to build popular support.
The comments from Ukip’s only MP highlight concerns among eurosceptics that a prominent role for Mr Farage could damage their campaign ahead of a referendum expected in 2016 or 2017.
They came as Andy Burnham and Liz Kendall, the two frontrunners for the Labour leadership, both signalled that they would abandon Ed Miliband’s resistance to a plebiscite on EU membership.

“By definition a referendum means getting 50 per cent support plus one. No single party can deliver that, so we’re going to have to be more consensual,” Mr Carswell said.
“This is going to require not just a more collegiate style within Ukip but also a more conciliatory approach among all eurosceptics.”
The intervention reflects the fact that Mr Farage is a hugely divisive figure, loved by some of the electorate but loathed by others — his party picked up less than 13 per cent of the popular vote in the election.
Godfrey Bloom, a former Ukip MEP, meanwhile said it would be “unwise” to give a major role in the referendum campaign to someone who “doesn’t cut it outside the Ukip conference”.
The comments are the latest sign of tensions within the anti-Brussels party which has been rocked by internal attacks and counter-briefings over the past week.
Mr Farage insisted he had never wanted to lead the “out” campaign, arguing that there were people with far bigger egos who would want to do it.
“I’ve never wanted to be the leader of the campaign, but do I have an important role to play? Yes,” he said. “Am I more likely than the posh boys to reach Labour voters and non-voters? Yes.”
Mr Miliband had resisted pressure from many senior Labour colleagues to back an EU referendum. Both he and former shadow foreign secretary Douglas Alexander believed it would be opportunistic — and risky — to have a public vote.
Instead they said there should only be a plebiscite if there was a substantial transfer of power to Brussels.
In the run-up to the election this was one of Labour’s few policies with widespread support among business leaders, who are concerned that “Brexit” would damage investment in the UK.

But Mr Burnham, the bookies’ favourite to become the next opposition leader, used an interview on Sunday to call on the Tories to bring forward their in-out referendum.
He demanded that David Cameron’s proposed renegotiation must include reforms to address public concerns about immigration in particular.
“The country has voted now for a European referendum and under my leadership the Labour party will not be a grudging presence on that stage,” he told the Observer. “We will now embrace it. It should be brought forward to 2016.”
He said his minimum requirement to ensure Labour support for a deal was that there should be a two-year ban on people from other EU countries claiming benefits after arrival. “If Cameron doesn’t deliver legislative change in terms of abuse of the rules of free movement by agencies and the effect on people with jobs here, it won’t be good enough,” he said.
Ms Kendall, shadow social care minister — currently the leading Blairite candidate for the Labour leadership — also said she would back a referendum.


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