Owen Paterson, the former environment secretary, will urge the prime minister to apply to leave the EU two years before holding a referendum.

David Cameron must hold a gun to the head of the European Union if he is to secure meaningful reform, a standard-bearer for the Tory right will warn today.

Owen Paterson, the former environment secretary, will urge the prime minister to apply to leave the EU two years before holding a referendum.

The actual speech text is here, delivered at 11am this moning. It is reviewed in The Times, in theTelegraph, the BBC, the New Statesman and elsewhere (140 reports and counting).

The essence of speech is that, instead of pussy-footing around, Cameron should cut to the chase and commit to invoking Article 50 the moment a Conservative government takes office after the election. With an electoral mandate, there is no need for a referendum.


 http://www.eureferendum.com/blogview.aspx?blogno=85326