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Zac Goldsmith dismisses Eurosceptic 'headbangers' Zac Goldsmith dismisses Eurosceptic 'headbangers'
(7 months later)
Some Eurosceptics opposed to Britain remaining in the EU are “headbangers”, Zac Goldsmith, the Conservative MP and candidate for London mayor has said.Some Eurosceptics opposed to Britain remaining in the EU are “headbangers”, Zac Goldsmith, the Conservative MP and candidate for London mayor has said.
He used the term in an interview with Andrew Marr on Sunday, referring to Tories and others who could never be persuaded by David Cameron’s renegotiation that remaining in the EU might be worthwhile.He used the term in an interview with Andrew Marr on Sunday, referring to Tories and others who could never be persuaded by David Cameron’s renegotiation that remaining in the EU might be worthwhile.
Goldsmith said he was also a Eurosceptic but insisted he was in a different category and still genuinely undecided as to how to vote in the EU referendum.Goldsmith said he was also a Eurosceptic but insisted he was in a different category and still genuinely undecided as to how to vote in the EU referendum.
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“I would like to see the prime minister deliver meaningful reforms so that Eurosceptic non-headbangers – I would not describe myself as a headbanger on this issue, there are plenty of headbangers on the issue – so that people with anxieties about the European Union, like myself, could vote to stay in,” Goldsmith said.“I would like to see the prime minister deliver meaningful reforms so that Eurosceptic non-headbangers – I would not describe myself as a headbanger on this issue, there are plenty of headbangers on the issue – so that people with anxieties about the European Union, like myself, could vote to stay in,” Goldsmith said.
Goldsmith has always been identified as a strong Eurosceptic because his father, the late Sir Jimmy Goldsmith, founded the Referendum party, which attracted support from those deeply hostile to the EU and which cost the Tories votes in the 1997 election.Goldsmith has always been identified as a strong Eurosceptic because his father, the late Sir Jimmy Goldsmith, founded the Referendum party, which attracted support from those deeply hostile to the EU and which cost the Tories votes in the 1997 election.
But on the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show Goldsmith said he is deliberately undecided on Brexit because he wanted to await the outcome of Cameron’s renegotiation.But on the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show Goldsmith said he is deliberately undecided on Brexit because he wanted to await the outcome of Cameron’s renegotiation.
He said the prime minister was doing “as good a job as he’s able to do at the moment” and that he thought Cameron was trying to achieve reforms that would benefit the whole of Europe.He said the prime minister was doing “as good a job as he’s able to do at the moment” and that he thought Cameron was trying to achieve reforms that would benefit the whole of Europe.
Cameron has said that he hopes Tories on different sides of the EU debate treat each other with respect, but Goldsmith’s language suggests they will not find this easy. In the Commons at PMQs on Wednesday, Cameron himself was quite dismissive when Tory MP John Baron asked if he would meet MPs concerned about parliamentary sovereignty.Cameron has said that he hopes Tories on different sides of the EU debate treat each other with respect, but Goldsmith’s language suggests they will not find this easy. In the Commons at PMQs on Wednesday, Cameron himself was quite dismissive when Tory MP John Baron asked if he would meet MPs concerned about parliamentary sovereignty.
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Cameron said since Baron seemed to have made up his mind already about wanting to leave the EU, “I do not want to take up any more of his time than is necessary”.Cameron said since Baron seemed to have made up his mind already about wanting to leave the EU, “I do not want to take up any more of his time than is necessary”.
In an article in the Sunday Telegraph, Baron said that he was one of 40 Conservative MPs who requested a meeting with the prime minister in November on this issue and that Cameron’s refusal suggested “No 10 has no intention of pitching for a ‘fundamental change’ in our relationship with the EU”.In an article in the Sunday Telegraph, Baron said that he was one of 40 Conservative MPs who requested a meeting with the prime minister in November on this issue and that Cameron’s refusal suggested “No 10 has no intention of pitching for a ‘fundamental change’ in our relationship with the EU”.
Baron also said that restoring the sovereignty of parliament in relation to EU law was much more important than getting a four-year ban on EU migrants claiming benefits – Cameron’s key demand.Baron also said that restoring the sovereignty of parliament in relation to EU law was much more important than getting a four-year ban on EU migrants claiming benefits – Cameron’s key demand.
Baron dismissed this as “tinkering with obscure rules over benefit eligibility - which ignores the fact the vast majority of immigrants come here to work hard”.Baron dismissed this as “tinkering with obscure rules over benefit eligibility - which ignores the fact the vast majority of immigrants come here to work hard”.